David Surrenders?

People often make allusions to biblical stories, but sometimes they do not seem to get the story quite right. Consider, for instance, the comments made by Indiana Democratic Senator Evan Bayh when he announced that he was not going to run for president in 2008. He called himself a “David” surrounded by “Goliaths.” At one point he was correct; there are much bigger names in the field on the Democratic side (Clinton, Obama). However, if the metaphor is accurate why did he drop out? Usually one only uses that metaphor when they announce themself as an underdog but still declare they will somehow win in the end. But to use that metaphor while dropping out seems to undermine the comparison.

Hopefully, this should be a reminder to us all to be careful with the biblical allusions and comparisons we attempt to make. We should not try and use an example that does not fit. We must definitely not use one in such a way as to completely undermine the very biblical story to which we are trying to pay homage.