Government Dirt

In the fine, new American tradition of presidential campaign "pastor disasters," Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin might have one she can call her very own, complete with its own sensational YouTube video and stunned cable TV commentary. You knew it was coming -- but probably didn't suspect it would involve witchcraft.

Back in the fall of 2005, when Palin was running for governor of Alaska, a Kenyan pastor named Thomas Muthee preached several times at Wasilla Assembly of God, Palin's church home for more than two decades. In one service, Palin joined Moothy onstage while he prayed for her.

"We say grace to be reigned upon her in the name of Jesus," Muthee prayed while Palin bowed her head. "We are asking you as the body of Christ in this valley make a way for Sarah even in the political arena . . . Bring finances her way even for the campaign in the name of Jesus . . . Give her men and women who will buck her up in the name of Jesus . . . Oh, Father, use her to turn this nation the other way around . . . "

So far, not that unusual. Intercessory public prayer is a common and often powerful form of encouragement and blessing in evangelical or Pentecostal settings, for politicians or anyone else. But Muthee goes on: "In the name of Jesus, in the name of Jesus, every form of witchcraft is what you rebuke. In the name of Jesus, in the name of Jesus, father make away now."

Turns out, Muthee began his ministry with a witch hunt against a Kenyan woman who he accused of causing car accidents through demonic spells, according to the Christian Science Monitor, which first reported the story in 1999. Muthee publicly declared the woman "a witch responsible for the town's ills, and order her to offer her up her soul for salvation or leave Kiambu . . . The woman fled."