While doing the dishes (definitely a man’s job in this household. By choice!) I listened to Matt Frei’s excellent ‘Americana‘, a weekly collection of odd stories from that most entertaining of all showbiz variants: American politics. After Newt Gingrich pretty much confirmed that he will be standing for president in 2010, Frei then proceeded to interview domestic security guru Richard Clarke, who astonished me with the little snippet that according to a Harris Poll 24% of Republicans believe that Barack Obama is the ‘Antichrist‘.

Gosh.

I don’t know what’s worse about this factoid, the amount of rabid religiosity this displays or the sheer stupidity. With Sarah Palin and the Tea Party movement gaining momentum, Newt Gingrich looks positively desirable as the next republican candidate.

As someone who lived through the beginnings of his ‘Contract with America’ I never thought I would ever write this.