How interesting to come across this story from the NY Times today (hat tip to Pat Dague) after we’d already prepared to post the entry below on the new faith and politics blog that’s past of the Washington Post\/Newsweek’s On Faith site. Blogging, faith, and politics especially in relation to the 2008 Presidential election certainly seem to be a very hot topic at the moment.<\/i><\/p>\n
WASHINGTON \u201d\u201d The morning meeting could have been at any news outlet, with discussion around the glass conference-room table about stem cells, Iraq and the presidential candidates. But afterward the members of the small group in the room bowed their heads in prayer.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just pray for all of us, reporters, photographers and editors,\u201d\u009d said David Brody, a reporter. \u201cGive us the strength to get through the day. Bless our work, Lord. Give us the right words to say.\u201d\u009d<\/p>\n
Mr. Brody, 42, writes a blog and covers politics for the Christian Broadcasting Network, the television station founded by Pat Robertson. With the three leading Republican presidential candidates in the early going each confronting his own serious obstacles in winning over evangelical Christians, Mr. Brody occupies a position of influence in the 2008 presidential campaign as a gatekeeper to a crucial constituency.<\/p>\n
CBN has about a million viewers a day on television, making it a big platform for Mr. Brody and the Republican candidates.<\/p>\n
In addition, Mr. Brody\u2019s blog, the Brody File, which scours the conservative credentials of Republican candidates but also looks at Democrats on occasion, has become required reading for political insiders, and is frequently cited by mainstream news organizations and bloggers on both ends of the political spectrum. With its blend of reporting, jokey commentary and savvy explanations of the concerns of evangelical voters, it now draws almost 100,000 hits a month, more than five times the traffic it was getting just several months ago.<\/p>\n
Rudolph W. Giuliani of New York recently became the latest Republican presidential candidate to appear with Mr. Brody on the network\u2019s main news program, \u201cThe 700 Club,\u201d\u009d with segments posted on the Brody File. Earlier this year, Mr. Brody interviewed Senator John McCain of Arizona. He has twice sat down with Mitt Romney, the former governor of Massachusetts.<\/p>\n