Profound faith: Laying wounded on a gurney staring up at the emergency room ceiling, an assassin’s bullet lodged an inch from his heart, hemorrhaging internally, Ronald Reagan said a prayer for the crazed young man who’d just shot him; later, fighting to win the Cold War, Reagan warned, If we forget we are one nation under God, then we will be a nation gone under.

Years rolled by…faith rolled downhill…running for President the first time, asked if he’d asked God for forgiveness, Donald Trump answered, I don’t think so. Hardly an eyebrow arched.

Fading echoes, prayers for forgiveness mattered less.

Staring at Reagan and Walter Mondale on a debate stage voters asked: Is he honest? And, ‘Do I agree with him on issues?’

As religion waned, character and honesty fell by the wayside. Today, as soon as a man hears the words he wants to hear roll off a candidate’s tongue it triggers a reflex-like salute. Rolling downhill, promises matter but not the character of the man making the promises.