‘A Jesus thing’

Oklahoma’s two U.S. senators aren’t known for pulling punches when they make public pronouncements. Tom Coburn, R-Muskogee, got blasted years ago for complaining about the nudity in “Schindler’s List” and for his remarks on “rampant” lesbianism in southeastern Oklahoma. Statements on global warming by Jim Inhofe, R-Tulsa, could practically fill a book. Now, Inhofe’s comments on his frequent trips to Africa have some people squirming. It seems Inhofe has a heart for Africa. He’s gone there at least 20 times at taxpayer expense and defends the trips as worthwhile missions to seek help for AIDS victims and starving children on the continent. But it was his choice of words that drew fire: The senator said his African trips are “a Jesus thing.” That’s a bridge too far for the secular world, but it’s vintage Jim Inhofe, the man who just got re-elected with 57 percent of the vote. We suspect that U.S. Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., could have made the same trips at the same time for the same amount of public funds and been praised by some of the same people who were discomfited by Inhofe’s remarks.