U.S. Representative Beto O’Rourke (D-TX) campaigns in Houston, Texas U.S. November 11, 2017. REUTERS/William Philpott – RC155B415260 **Want FOX News Halftime Report in your inbox every day? Sign up here.**On the roster: St. Beto and the August altar call – Time Out: Iconic – In Indiana Senate race, both candidates embrace Trump – Poll: Two thirds say Trump should talk to Mueller – That Jell-O must be some kind of good ST. BETO AND THE AUGUST ALTAR CALLThe slanting sun of late summer is conspiring with air damper than a dog’s breath to make the end of August most uncomfortable here on the Potomac. It’s too hot to cook, so how about a six-piece news nugget meal instead. – We have talked from time to time about how the word “Evangelical” has lost its utility in political demography. Once it identified a devout, spirit-filled branch of Protestantism, but by 2016, the term has gradually come to be understood by survey respondents as some kind of generic intensifier for the noun “Christian” with little correlation to church-going rates, beliefs, etc. (Theologian and teacher Tim Keller wrote usefully on the phenomenon here.) The good people at the Pew Research Center seem to have heard our pleas and have debuted a fascinating and detailed breakdown of religious beliefs and practices among Americans, including a seven-category sorting. This looks like a good start for a more useful conversation about the intersection of politics and religion. – Speaking of Pew, the indispensable Amy Walter of Cook Political Report mined the center’s recently-released trove of 2016 voter data in the name of fostering a more intelligent conversation about “white” voters. Her analysis should be the death knell for lazy shorthand writing that treats 74 percent of the electorate as some kind of monolithic bloc. Alas, writers will no doubt continue to tell their readers that three quarters of the electorate is moved by the same issues and concerns. It’s too bad because aside from generating some mind-bendingly dull analysis, that kind of thinking is deeply divisive. The truth is that affluence, education, geography and other things say far more about the distribution of votes than does race. – Another day, another long-form gushy piece about the political gifts of Rep. Beto O’Rourke. This time it’s from Vanity Fair but it is just one of a herd of articles that extol the gifts of the congressman running to unseat Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz. The Beto-ification of St. O’Rourke has gotten more than a little throne-inducing. At a certain point the massive expectation for the congressman will begin to work against him. It’s already working against Democrats as the charismatic Texan absorbs attention and donations that would probably be better spent on more competitive contests. But there is something else going on here. It may sound crazy to be talking about a congressman in a long-shot Senate race as a potential 2020 candidate, but O’Rourke really is gifted and Democrats really do tend to swoon rather than select when it comes to their favorite nominees. – The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the oldest newspaper west
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