Many writers pursue consistent themes in their work. Mark Steyn has his campy references to show tunes. Paul Greenberg works in journalists’ inside joke of “It was as if an occult hand had.” GetReligion’s editors chafe at glib references to fundamentalism. And Jon Meacham of Newsweek chips away at “certainty” and “literalism,” which means he managed to find a theological angle in last night’s presidential debate about foreign policy.

Alex Johnson of MSNBC writes: “George Bush has not said directly that he was ever born again. He has often said he was pointed on the path to God after a discussion with evangelist Billy Graham in 1985. . . . There is a second story about how Bush started on the road to salvation, one that is more in line with the common narrative.”

Charlie Madigan, senior correspondent of the Chicago Tribune, coins the phrase “Jesus-baiting” to introduce his report from the dreaded Bob Jones University, which he calls “the shiny, big brass buckle on the Bible belt.”