Swindler Extraordinaire

Or master charlatan, take your pick. On the other hand, perhaps merely a foxily enterprising opportunist. He seems to have glommed on to the incontrovertible fact that people will believe what they want to believe. And they appear to want to believe that anyone who declares themselves to be seriously committed to that Old Tyme Religion - of U.S.-style hucksterism that appeals for money to support the cause of God - to be the Almighty's spirit working on earth.

For the fact seems to be that people are just itching to take the word of Jim Bakker; yes, that ineffable primate of Praise The Lord and Tammy Faye fame. He's back. He of the $129-million-a-year empire of religion for the masses through the expedient of televangelism gone directly to the peoples' living rooms where he could mesmerize them into rhapsodic visions of heaven in the futures through the simple medium of financing the Bakkers' Heritage Christian theme park. Itself heaven on earth.

Until, alas, revelations of a sex scandal erupted and not even old friend Jerry Falwell's kindly monetary intervention could do anything to keep that PTL Empire from collapsing. They proved between them, with Jim Bakker's silver-tongued platitudes in praise of the Lord, and Tammy Faye's irresistible mascaraed, lash-batting that God had faith in them, so why wouldn't those who worshipped at the alter of tatty Big Box Religion not have faith in Jim and Tammy?

Faith! They also worshipped them, every word that dropped out of their mouths, every promise that erupted from their throats, every inducement and enticement had their irresistible pull. And when Jim Bakker appealed despairingly to his audience that "we need ten thousand dollars a month to stay on air, we're on the verge of bankruptcy, we can't pay our bills", his wheedling weeping distress loosed a waterfall of donations.

But with his failed reputation also came enquiries of the most inconvenient kind from disbelieving, disgruntled supporters. The shame they endured, so sad. Even sadder the five years of imprisonment for embezzlement. But you can't keep a good Man of God down, and here he is once again, surfaced in Missouri, and moving from temporary quarters in a run-down area into a huge new complex newly built for him, a 600-acre complex named Morningside.

It's a start, with more to come. It's nothing like his previous empire, with all of those three thousand employees doing his bidding and that of the Good Lord. The current enterprise boasts a mere 30 employees, but it's on the go. And destined to grow. The same entranced supporters who shelled out big time for "lifetime partnerships" in Heritage USA will do the same for Morningside, and it'll take off like a rocket hurtling into space. And Mr. Bakker will be advanced the same opportunities to divert millions for his personal use.

You'd think, logically, that all those hundreds of thousands of former supporters of this failed televangelist would denounce his feeble attempts at a come-back, disgraced for life, and good riddance. But, none of it. This is Missouri, after all, the "Show Me State", of Missourians thought to be somewhat slow on the take-up and as bright as a tarnished penny. So Jim Bakker is showing them, and they're lapping it all up, delighted he's back in business and entertaining them as only he can.

As one of his ardent supporters claimed, "there's a lot of love left for Jim Bakker". And what does that say about the perspicacity of his followers? Um, guess they deserve one another.