Gov. Dean may claim to be a "pretty religious" person and a church member, but he doesn't seem to know much about Christianity. Oddly, he doesn't seem to understand how little he knows. Talking to a reporter from The New York Times last week, Dean was asked to name his favorite New Testament book. He named the book of Job, which is, of course, not in the New Testament. The candidate had just claimed to know something about the Bible. Reflecting on a trip to Israel, Dean said, "If you know much about the Bible--which I do--to see and be in a place where Christ was and understand the intimate history of what was going on 2,000 years ago is an exceptional experience.

Dean also said that he doesn't like the way the book ends, apparently thinking that the book leaves Job in torment and despair. When reminded that the book of Job is found in the Old Testament and that Job is returned to health, family, and prosperity, Dean claimed that there are various versions of Job: "It's been a long time since I looked at this, but it's believed that was added much, much later. Many people believe that the original ending was about the power of God and the power of God was almighty and all knowing and it wasn't necessary that everybody was going to be redeemed." There is simply no intelligent response to this gibberish.

Newsweek's Howard Fineman asked Dean, "Do you see Jesus Christ as the son of God and believe in him as the route to salvation and eternal life?" Dean answered: "I certainly see him as the son of God. I think whether I'm saved or not is not gonna be up to me."

That's not going to fly on the campaign trail. The American electorate may not be a constituency of Bible scholars and theologians, but they know confusion when they see it. There is no way around the judgment that Howard Dean is desperately trying to re-invent himself for the national campaign. This is not just a question of political risk, but of personal character. Just who is Howard Dean--and does he even know himself?

In an informative statement made to CNN's Judy Woodruff, Dean revealed the awkwardness of his situation. "One thing I feel about religion, you have to be very careful not to be a hypocrite if you're a religious person. It's really tough to preach one thing and do something else. And I don't think you can do that." It will be most interesting to see if Howard Dean remembers those words as he presses his new "Jesus agenda" on the campaign trail. As Governor Dean said so clearly, "I don't think you can do that."