Republicans were fond of pointing out during the primary that it was hard to criticize Obama without being accused of racism. (Secretly, some Democrats agreed). Democrats beware: Sarah Palin has two coats of Teflon. If you attack her, you may be accused not only of sexism but of being anti-Christian.
When Bush supporters were pushing his life story among Christians in the 2004 election, they went to great efforts to show how his professions of Christian belief were mocked by the chattering classes. It is a common theme in Christian circles that American Christians are the victims of persistent discrimination. David Limbaugh, brother of Rush, had a best-seller called Persecution all about this.
If (or should I say, when) Democrats criticize, mock or even question her on homeschooling, intelligent design, abortion or her faith, they will be accused of being anti-Christian. To some degree, Christians are just like other Americans in that they’ve absorbed victim-think; you get extra moral standing if you are oppressed.
But there’s another reason they leap so quickly to this: being persecuted is Christ-like. The more Sarah Palin is attacked, the more Christian she will seem. I don’t mean she’ll seem Christian in her forgiving response; I mean she’ll seem Christian merely by being criticized.