As startling as John Edwards’ claim of the gift of healing for the Democratic nominee — I think Ben Shapiro characterizes it about right in TownHall.com this morning — Edwards’ statements actually align Kerry with other prominent world leaders.
North Korean megalomaniac Kim Il Sung comes to mind, which has a nice Axis-of-Evil, why-are-we-messing-with-Iraq connection to it. Fits the campaign and all that.
But a more distinguished parallel is the ancient practice of the kings of England and France (another tie-in !), who held scheduled audiences to lay hands on the scrofulous — a practice known as “touching for the King’s evil”.
And in an eerie coincidence, perhaps the foremost practitioner of the art chose the American electoral season, including the original March inauguration date, as the designated season for scrofula treatment, 106 years before the Constitution:
On this day in the year 1683, King Charles II in council at Whitehall, issued orders for the future regulation of the ceremony of Touching for the King’s Evil ? to appoint fit times for the ‘Publick Healings;’ which therefore were fixed to be from All-Hallow-tide till a week before Christmas, and after Christmas until the first week of March …
Indeed, the practice was at its height in the reign of Charles II. In the first four years after his restoration he touched nearly 24,000 persons.
Of course, John Kerry gives me sufficient reason to be fearful without signs and wonders attending. But it’s nice to have a historical precedent.
