Sir Galahad theory of politics and religion

I remember hearing about the Sir Galahad theory of politics long ago. It’s based on the characteristics attributed to Sir Galahad of the Knights of the Round Table.

“Sir Galahad among other versions of his name, is a knight of King Arthur’s Round Table and one of the three achievers of the Holy Grail in Arthurian legend. He is the illegitimate son of Sir Lancelot and Elaine of Corbenic, and is renowned for his gallantry and purity as the most perfect of all knights.” ( Source)

I added the extra emphasis to the quote because it’s the part that matters the most.

If you are willing to leave aside policies and ideology, you can read more about this theory from an article by conservative political operative Morton Blackwell wrote going back at least as far back as 2010, but probably further, in which he summed up the theory pretty well this way — “I will win because my heart is pure.” ( Source). In the article, Gladwell talks about why he thinks Barry Goldwater lost to LBJ in 1964 by a landslide. Gladwell says that Goldwater ascribed to the Sir Galahad theory of politics and it showed in his political slogan claiming, “In your heart, you know he’s right.” (same source).

I believe that Gladwell’s description of the Sir Galahad theory is on target concerning how it is applied. But even in his assessment, he also suffers from the Sir Galahad theory. But that’s not unusual for political people. I have seen many examples of this theory played out — on both the left and…