On a purely secular note - do you or do you not want your politicians to have a set of core beliefs and adhere to them, or do you want their convictions to be founded in opinion polls?
I expect candidates to know their audience which includes a hostile media. Now every Republican running for office in Virginia is going to have to respond to this statement day after day. Here is a probable scenario.
Media: Do you believe Judaism is a false religion?
Candidate: Of course not.
Media: So do you denounce what E.W. Jackson candidate said?
Now the candidate is put in a difficult position of supporting what was said after saying he didn’t believe the statement, or not supporting the candidate. I don’t think this is going to be a one-day story either. Remember the media is supporting his opponent.
What E.W. Jackson said may be good theology, but it’s lousy politics and at this time he’s a politician.