THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, September 26, 1996 TAG: 9609260054
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: LARRY BONKO
LENGTH: 100 lines
PUBLIC BROADCASTING on Friday goes back in time to 1988 when Pat Robertson ran for president, carrying this message to the voters: ``The floodtide of America's social problems is a direct result of moral decay.''
If elected, he promised to roll back that unwelcome social tide just as in 1985, Robertson prayed away a hurricane churning up the seas at Hampton Roads' doorstep.
The time machine in this case is ``With God on Our Side: The Rise of the Religious Right in America,'' a six-hour miniseries on PBS beginning Friday night at 10 on WHRO.
Virginia Beach televangelist (``The 700 Club'') and cable mogul (The Family Channel) Robertson is shown at the forefront of what the producers call ``one of the most important political and cultural phenomena in post-World War II America.''
The miniseries was done, said executive producer Calvin Skaggs, with no point of view, no prejudice and no controversy intended. ``Expect to see a balanced and accurate account of the impact of American religion on American politics.''
Robertson must have thought that Skaggs and colleague David Van Taylor were sincere in promising balance and accuracy. He cooperated with the producers, and after seeing some of the documentary, is happy with it.
So says Gene Kapp, spokesman for Robertson at the Christian Broadcasting Network. ``Alarm bells went off here when we heard about the project. But there was no need for the alarm. The miniseries is fair and balanced. Pat is quite pleased with the outcome.''
There is a moment in ``With God On Our Side'' which may give Robertson supporters some discomfort, when he tells interviewer David Frost that he wouldn't be against isolating victims of AIDS. (Virginia's other famous televangelist, the Rev. Jerry Falwell, wonders out loud why we can't quarantine people with AIDS as we quarantine sick cattle).
Let's hope that both men have grown more compassionate since 1988.
If you toss out the Frost interview, ``With God On Our Side'' is a shining testimonial to Robertson's political savvy, drive and leadership. It reminds viewers how his Christian soldiers of the Freedom Council in Iowa and Michigan got out of the vote and made life miserable for then Vice President George Bush.
``Robertson Burns Bush,'' screamed the headlines.
Then came The Scandals involving televangelists Jim Bakker and Jimmy Swaggart. Bakker once worked for Robertson at Channel 27 in Portsmouth when that station was WYAH and the rock upon which Robertson built CBN.
In ``With God On Our Side,'' Robertson hints that the Bush campaign may have had something to do with breaking the stories about Bakker's financial troubles at PTL in Charlotte, N.C., and Swaggart's sexual indiscretions.
The timing was devastating for Robertson.
The Robertson-for-president flame died quickly when Bush on Super Tuesday of that primary season swept South Carolina with 48 per cent of the votes to Robertson's 19. Brother Pat lost in Virginia. Home. After that, he was out of the race.
Robertson wanted to win so badly in 1988 that he gave up his title as minister - got out of the preacher business, as he put it, and became Pat Robertson, citizen, so as not to blur the line between church and state. It was a remarkable chapter in Robertson's life and from it came a wealth of material for Skaggs and Van Taylor, which they used in Episode 5 (``And Who Shall Lead Them?'').
With God On Our Side'' was produced on a shoestring compared to other PBS projects such as the recent Ken Burns 12 1/2 miniseries, ``The West.'' It is therefore not as slick, sophisticated or as watchable as a Burns' production, which is not to say it isn't worth your time.
Zoom in on ``With God On Our Side'' for no other reason than to see how Robertson here in Hampton Roads helped create the ``religious right'' and make it a force in politics since the 1980s, and up to and including the 1996 elections.
Look for the impact of Robertson's Christian Coalition not so much in the race for the White House, said Skaggs, ``but down in the grassroots, in the Congressional districts, where the religious right really gets in going.''
As for the praying away the hurricane thing, Robertson does, indeed, take some credit for that after Skaggs shows tape of him on TV saying, ``In the name of Jesus of Nazareth, we command you to stop where you are and move away from land. . . ''
That is precisely what Hurricane Gloria did 11 years ago.
``Sure enough, we moved the hurricane,'' Robertson says in Episode 5 of the PBS miniseries. It was a test, he said. ``If I couldn't move a hurricane, I couldn't move a nation.''
WHRO stays on top of politics with other programming in the immediate future. On Thursday, Oct. 3 at 8 p.m., Channel 15 premieres ``Things That Must Be Done . . . The Public Career of Hunter Andrews.'' Virginia's contemporary political history is reflected in the career of the Hampton legislator, says WHRO.
On Sunday at 8, WHRO puts on ``Virginia '96: The Senate Race,'' a discussion among voters and senatorial candidates John Warner and Mark Warner. That broadcast will originate from Colonial Williamsburg as will ``PBS Debate Night: The Future Congress'' moderated by Jim Lehrer, which airs at 9 on Sunday. ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
ASSOCIATED PRESS
LEFT: Virginia Beach televangelist and cable TV mogul Pat Robertson
is featured on the program. by CNB