I don't see how we can have a separation of church and state in this government if you have to pass a religious test to get in this government. And I want to warn everyone in the press and all the voters out there, if you demand expressions of religious faith from politicians, you are just begging to be lied to. They won't all lie to you but a lot of them will. And it will be the easiest lie they ever had to tell to get your votes. So, every day until the end of this campaign, I'll answer any question anyone has on government, But if you have a question on religion, please go to church.
“In God We Trust” · Season 6
In this episode: Arnold Vinick (8), Josiah Bartlet (5), Bruno Gianelli (1)
It's not up to us to decide what the voters get to use in evaluating us.
A little odd coming from someone who wasn't completely open about his health.
That was a big mistake.
Was it? What did we know about Lincoln's health when he was running: nothing. Washington? Jefferson? What about FDR's health? And when he died in office, did people say, "Gee, why didn't he tell us he was sick?" No. Did they say, "I wish I didn't vote for him"? No.
You think a voter really needs to know if I go to church?
I don't need to know, but then I'm not going to vote for you anyway.
Whatever happened to the separation of church and state?
It's hanging in there, but I'm afraid the constitution doesn't say anything about the separation of church and politics.
The only thing you can pray for in this job is the strength to get through the day. You can try coffee if you want but prayer works better for me.
(watching Bob Russell and Matt Santos on TV) If either one of these guys had the political instincts of Jed Bartlet, I'd be 20 points behind right now.
RReporter
Senator, are you going to reconsider Reverend Butler's invitation to his church this weekend?
I fully respect Reverend Butler's position. I mean, I appreciate his invitation, and... Look, I respect Reverend Butler, and I respect his church too much to use it for my own political purposes. And that's exactly what I'd be doing if I went down there this Sunday. Because the truth is, it would just be an act of political phoniness. I may be wrong, but I suspect our churches already have enough political phonies in them. I don't see how we can have a separation of church and state in this government if you have to pass a religious test to get in this government. And I want to warn everyone in the press and all the voters out there, if you demand expressions of religious faith from politicians, you are just begging to be lied to. They won't all lie to you but a lot of them will. And it will be the easiest lie they ever had to tell to get your votes. So, every day until the end of this campaign, I'll answer any question anyone has on government, but if you have a question on religion, please go to church.
What do you know about Republican politics?
I don't care about Republican politics.
Well, that I believe.
I don't care about Democratic politics, either. Okay, I do care about the Democrats. Look, they don't know it yet; you are the best thing to ever happen to them. You're moving the Republicans away from the right wing. You're not saying Democrats are not patriotic; you're just saying that your approach is better than theirs. You are making politics a fair fight again. What? You think I'm a spy? I snuck in here, I'm trying to steer you wrong?
The thought has crossed my mind.
I have spent the last 20 years ripping this country apart, finding wedge issues to separate the voters, you don't have to do that to win; not this time. You do this right, you can do a lot more than win. You can stop using politics to divide this country. You can show us how much we agree, instead of how much we disagree. You can put this country back together.
Help me keep a secret.
What's that?
That I just gave you more than you asked for. Let me hang around for a while, as if we're really slugging it out in here.
Can I get you anything?
Where's the ice cream?
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