Regarding the Fox interview everyone is blathering about today:
I hate (and will possibly be hated for) saying this, but Fox won this unscheduled little battle hands down. Here's why:
They just converted some non-Republican Christians (those who are not very "religious" yet are quietly very faithful) to the R team for some time to come. It might not seem like very many votes swung anywhere today. But how many moderate votes does anyone need to win the White House these days?
As a result of the interview, this book is already a bestseller. Some people will even read the thing now. The book is clearly going to be perceived in many, if not most quarters as a revisionist and intentionally politicized refutation of the moral legitimacy of Jesus. What Fox just did is simultaneously present a new terror-Muslim threat against Jesus himself and set up shop on the highest ground as the only willing defenders of the lad's honor.
As a bonus the left is in danger of painting themselves as more interested in grammar than in keeping the poor fella off another cross. The (ex) Cowboy will wager that this episode becomes a machine gunned bullet point in a lot of elections to come.
Perceptions matter and in the long view this will end up being a three run homer for the perception among a small unknown number of very critical swing voters that Liberals are willing to accept awful Islamic terrorists as equals.
They Republican's didn't use Christianity to defend racism here - they used racism to defend Christ himself. And that's more than ok in many, many purple state kitchens.
It is always an election year at Fox News and the only battle that matters for them now (or should for any of us) is for the 6% swath of strangely undecided votes in the next POTUS dust-up.
I think this will turn out to be an important, even if very small, political clash and the bad guys just put a deep hook into one or two percent of the only 6% that matters.
Just a thought..