Whither Goest the Evangelical Vote?

We've been wondering which candidate would earn the allegiance of the evangelical voters.

In today's Washington Post, we found the answer we had been expecting, really.

No one.

All the Republicans covet the evangelicals' backing, but each has a shortcoming -- or two -- that gets in the way of closing the sale.

The Post spoke to Chuck Colson of the Prison Fellowship, a national Christian ministry. Colson's assessment: "Nobody has rung the bell yet."

There's a certain irony to the idea of the Washington Post quoting Colson, who spent time in prison for what he did in service to the president, Richard Nixon, who was driven from power by the Post's investigation into Watergate.

At the time of the Watergate break-in in 1972, Colson was a conniving chief counsel for Nixon, known as Nixon's hatchet man who was responsible for drafting the memo that served as the basis for the infamous Enemies' List.

It's also ironic that Colson's quote should appear in the Post on this date -- the 34th anniversary of the famed "Saturday Night Massacre" when Nixon ordered the dismissal of the special prosecutor, leading to the resignations of the attorney general and his top assistant.

Four weeks later, in defending his actions in a nationally televised press conference, Nixon uttered one of his most famous sentences, "I am not a crook."

Colson became one of the famed Watergate Seven, along with H.R. Haldeman, John Ehrlichman and John Mitchell, who were indicted for their roles in the scandal.

That was 30 years ago. In the last three decades, Colson has developed a reputation as a leader among evangelical Christians.

It's interesting, also, that the New York Times' David Brooks thinks former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee might be the most acceptable candidate to all the factions in the Republican Party.

As a former Baptist minister, Huckabee would appear to have a natural "in" with evangelical voters. But he doesn't seem to have registered with them yet.

Patrick Ruffini, writing in Town Hall, thinks the Republican Party may have hit rock-bottom and is due for a rebound.

So whoever wins the allegiance of evangelical Christians has the advantage in the race for the nomination. And that nomination may turn out to be more valuable than it appears to be right now.