Even as Barack Obama and John McCain are preparing to head to Southern California this weekend to kow-tow at the altar of mega-church Pastor Rick Warren, the Washington Post is featuring an angry screed by the Rev. Susan K. Smith, a pastor from Ohio who rips into Obama and McCain for using the religious community like a ten-dollar whore…

Are you pimping the American religious community? Is your quest for the presidency so intense that you will do anything, even muddy the so-called separation between church and state?

Will you, or would you, consent to having a similar meeting in a synagogue? Mosque? An AME church? I guess what I'm struggling [with] is… is your purpose. No pun intended… but why are you going to the church pastored by the man who is devoted to helping people find purpose in their lives? Is it because he's so famous and well known and you figure you will get a good chunk of the evangelical vote?

Frankly, I think all politicians ought to stay out of church while they're running for office.

That's right, Rev. Smith! I'm also tired of politicians seeking the endorsement of high-profiled figures who control huge swaths of voters. In fact, I'm tired of seeing any politicians doing anything to cater to any sorts of voters.

Politicians should just sit on their front porches, drink whiskey from sunup to sundown, and wait for the election results to come in.

Hey, it worked for President McKinley.