During a public debate in 1999 among Republican candidates Steve Forbes, Alan Keyes, and George W. Bush for their party's nomination for president, they were asked which political philosopher or thinker had influenced them. Bush answered, “Christ, because he changed my heart.” Some questioned whether the term “political philosopher or thinker” really applies to Jesus, but Bush's answer was well received by the public at large and was quickly taken up by the mainstream media pundits as another volley in the so-called culture wars.