The Barack Obama campaign today launches what it calls a “Faith, Family, and Values Tour” in key battleground states such as Ohio, which has 500,000 United Methodists. The slogan is, “Vote ALL Our Values.” The emphasis will be on the usual Democratic Party boilerplate issues. But with a religious twist.

When conservatives did this sort of thing in the ’80s, some of the same liberals who are participating in the faith tour screamed church-state separation. They said the church should either not be involved in politics, or if it was, it should only endorse liberal, democratic ideas.

As first reported on CBN’s “The Brody File,” the faith tour will include at least one Roman Catholic and an evangelical. How a serious Roman Catholic and a serious evangelical could endorse someone who is so pro-choice is – he voted against the Born Alive Act, which would have protected babies who survive abortion – is strange indeed. Not to mention that Obama is someone who supports same-sex marriage and views the Constitution as something in need of constant updating by judges. That takes more faith than I have.

Cal Thomas is a nationally syndicated columnist based in Washington, D.C.