(from the NYTimes)
By DAVID D. KIRKPATRICK
Like many African-Americans, the Rev. Walter Humphrey, pastor of two mostly black churches in Akron, Ohio, and Oakland, Calif., has serious doubts about how fairly President Bush won the contested state of Florida in the last election. But Mr. Humphrey says that is not going to stop him from voting for Mr. Bush this year for the first time.
"I don't view that as an election that was stolen," he said. "I see that as the providence of God."
("Wha? The wha-wha?" - SisMad)
A registered independent who has now become a volunteer for the Bush campaign in Florida, Mr. Humphrey said the president's outspoken Christian faith, his support for church-based social programs and his opposition to same-sex marriage won him over. "As far as I am concerned, I see the hand of God on President Bush," he said.
As an African-American pastor supporting Mr. Bush, Mr. Humphrey may be an anomaly. But he is not alone.
Mr. Humphrey and about 20 other black pastors held a news conference in Oakland in August to endorse Mr. Bush. Later this month, he and others said, the campaign has arranged a meeting in Toledo, Ohio, of more than 150 black clergy members who support his re-election.
In a departure from typical Republican presidential campaigns, the Bush campaign is making a serious push for the allegiance of African-American clergy, while the Democrats are fighting back to motivate them to get their parishioners to the polls.
---
Read the rest
here . (Requires NYTimes login)
Threaded Mode