Evangelicals distrusted a clergyman’s capacity for robust national leadership

Evidence

For those who wanted access to the Oval Office for the next four years, backing the establishment candidate seemed a safer bet. But there was also the fact that Robertson’s occupation as a clergyman was seen by some as a detriment. It wasn’t just that he was a televangelist launching a campaign amid a slew of televangelist sex scandals, but many Christians themselves didn’t seem entirely confident that a pastor could provide the robust leadership necessary on the national stage. Certainly, Robertson paled in comparison to Reagan. — Kristin Kobes Du Mez, Jesus and John Wayne, 318

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to the book’s central militant-masculinity thesis: even within the movement, a pastor was judged too soft for the presidency — masculinity outranked ministerial identity.