WONDER WHAT George W. Bush and Al Gore prayed about on Thanksgiving. You can be sure they were not traditional prayers. Did I hear that right at the Gore table? ''Lord, bless the dimples we are about to receive.'' There is less mistaking what was probably said in Bush's home. ''Father, forgive the Florida Supreme Court, for they know not what they did.''
I wonder about this because remember how, before the presidential election, both Bush and Gore professed how Jesus was their personal secretary of state? In the deadlock since Nov. 7, it sure has been hard to find Jesus. Both men, drunk on privilege and predestination, have become Cain and Abel.
After screaming ''Rule of law!'' ''Rule of law!'' as if it were the Ten Commandments, Bush does not want to obey the law and the rules. James Baker, the former secretary of state who is representing Bush in the Florida recount, whined ''unfair!'' ''unacceptable!'' and ''unjust!'' when the Florida Supreme Court allowed the recount to continue through this weekend.
In ''The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe,'' Lily Tomlin says, ''One thing I have no worry about is whether God exists. But it has occurred to me that God has Alzheimer's and has forgotten we exist.''
You could apply that to this election. The candidates have gone overboard to assure us that God exists. Just this past Sunday, both of them were photographed going to church. But once the bread has been broken and the wine has been sipped, there is scant evidence of the body and blood. All you have are operatives whose only job is to smell blood in the water.
As Bush seeks rulings that could disenfranchise thousands of voters, there is no sign that Jesus is his favorite philosopher. There is little sign, in Gore's now legendary disdain for ordinary intellects, that he is really asking what Jesus would do. At this point, perhaps even an atheist might want Bush and Gore to pick a church and pray together for national unity.
Both would do well to remember the words of Joseph Addison, the English essayist and politician who nearly three centuries ago said: ''When I look upon the tombs of the great, every emotion of envy dies in me ... When I see kings lying by those who deposed them, when I consider rival wits placed side by side, or the holy men that divided the world with their contests and disputes, I reflect with sorrow and astonishment on the little competitions, factions, and debates of mankind.''
As you read this, Thanksgiving has already given way to the Christmas season. As that celebration is sure to inspire more photo ops of politicians going to church, it is not too much to ask Bush and Gore to behave more like wise men than the innkeeper. To keep themselves under control, both men could keep mantras from the Bible in their suit pockets. Given his politics, Bush might carry these sayings from Proverbs and Ecclesiasticus:
''He who oppresses a poor man insults his Maker, but he who is kind to the needy honors him.''
''A righteous man knows the rights of the poor; a wicked man does not understand such knowledge.''
''Defraud not the poor of his living and make not the needy eyes wait long.''
Given his faults, Gore could use these verses from Psalms, Proverbs, and Jeremiah:
''The man of haughty looks and arrogant heart I will not endure.''
''Seest thou a man wise in his own conceit? There is more hope of a fool than of him.''
''Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches.''
No one really knows what Bush and Gore prayed for on Thanksgiving, and the way they have been behaving, it almost does not matter. What matters is how they handle the end of this extraordinary moment in history.
They can go down like Cain and Abel, with a brother killing another in jealousy. They can knock heads as in Jeremiah, where ''the mighty man hath stumbled against the mighty, and they are fallen both together.'' They can read in Matthew, ''If the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch.''
Only one of these men will become president. But these two mighty, fallen men can draw upon their professed spirituality to put the nation ahead of blind ambition. The winner can leave the loser and half of American voters in the ditch. Or he can quote Romans 12:16: ''Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly.''
If the winner does that, the nation will give the greatest of thanks. If not, the winner will be the hypocrite in Job whose joy was but for a moment. ''Though his excellency mount up to the heavens and his head reach unto the clouds; yet he shall perish forever like his own dung.''
Derrick Z. Jackson's e-mail address is jackson@globe.com.
