It’s been said many times—religion and politics don’t mix.

The results of Monday’s Iowa caucus indicate many Iowans have never heard that saying. At least those who voted on the Republican ticket.

TV preacher Pat Robertson garnered 24 percent of the Republican vote, taking second place behind Sen. Robert Dole of Kansas in the nation’s initial vote for delegates to the national party conventions to be held this summer.

While this in no way means Robertson will be elected president come November, the implications are no less frightening.

In all presidential races, the Iowa caucus and the New Hampshire primary—which will be held next week—serve as springboards to prominence for those who fare well.

Because Robertson did just that, he now will become the focus of a certain amount of media coverage which otherwise would not have been bestowed upon him. And it is such media coverage that could lend impetus to the evangelist’s campaign—a campaign which many political thinkers might question the propriety of in the first place.

Put simply, church and state do not belong together. For each to operate smoothly, they must remain separate.

Ideally, politicians should have no outward leanings toward any one religion because it could lead to a bias on the politician’s part. But of course, complete religious neutrality in any group might not be practical. So certain exceptions can be made.

“Robertson ’88” is not one of those exceptions. He has made clear his religious beliefs through his ownership of the nation’s fifth-largest cable television network—a network Robertson uses to engage in TV evangelism.

Robertson’s strong fundamentalist religious leanings negate him as a legitimate candidate for president. Unfortunately, the voters of Iowa don’t seem to agree. They showed as much in their support for the man on Monday.

Hopefully, the people of New Hampshire will not feel the same way next week. Because if they do, they could, with the power of their votes, give a resounding boost to a presidential candidate who merits nothing of the sort.