Can Christians be "Country First"

Ryan Bolger suggests that the McCain campaign slogan of "Country First" cannot be adopted by evangelicals. (He doesn't mention McCain by name, but it's clear who he has in mind.)

Although there would be many citizens who, for very understandable reasons, advocate this position, it is not a viable option for Evangelical Christians.

Evangelical Christians share the conviction that their first and primary task in life is to love God completely with their entire heart, mind, strength, and soul. They are also called to obey the second part of this command: to love their neighbors as themselves...Christians must refuse all allegiances that supersede their commitment to God and neighbor. We encourage Evangelical Christians to refuse putting “Country First”.

Can Christians put country first? It strikes me that Bolger is mixing categories and suggesting a contradiction where none exists. The theme of "Country First" is a political allegiance that does not rule out other commitments. Just as we can support one sports team over another doesn't mean we can't also support the other players in a different context. I think the mistake Bolger is making is thinking that allegiances are all pervasive and exhaustive, and that one cannot have allegiances in different contexts without a contradiction. Of course in the same context (e.g. politics) one can have contradictory allegiances, but when the contexts are different, the contradiction doesn't arise so easily.

Political allegiances simply mean you support particular policies and beliefs about government, (or in this case about a political party), they don't necessarily imply beliefs about faith . Just like a sport allegiance doesn't imply a political allegiance. I can hope that my sports team wins without alienating the other players in a different context. If I am a Los Angeles Dodger fan, does that mean I cannot love and support all the other non-Dodger fans? Can't I support one team and still love the other players?

I remember a talk that Tony Campolo gave about capitalism in which he asked whether Christians can be capitalists. "What's the motive for capitalism?" he asked. "Profit. What's the motive for Christians? Love. So how can Christians be capitalists?" Easy, I say. Because we can be motivated by different things in different contexts.

I can put "Country First" with respect to government policies, yet still value people with respect to faith. I can disagree with a family member about politics and still love them as my family and want the best for them.