Republican presidential nominee, Arizona Senator John McCain, October 3, 2008 upon arrival in Flagstaff, Arizona. AFP/Getty Images

Last Sunday the New York Times ran a monster front-page story about Sen. John McCain’s gambling ties.

The story largely ignores the religious implications of McCain’s interest in gambling, but I figured paragraphs like these would get the attention of some Christians, most notably, Southern Baptists, who oppose gambling and have lobbied against its seeming ubiquity in today’s America:

As a two-time chairman of the Indian Affairs Committee, Mr. McCain has done more than any other member of Congress to shape the laws governing America’s casinos, helping to transform the once-sleepy Indian gambling business into a $26-billion-a-year behemoth with 423 casinos across the country. He has won praise as a champion of economic development and self-governance on reservations.

“One of the founding fathers of Indian gaming” is what Steven Light, a University of North Dakota professor and a…