Although a lower court ruled in favor of Smith, an appeals court reversed that decision. The reasoning was that mere exposure to instruction is not unconstitutional simply because it happens to coincide with ideas the plaintiffs call humanistic. The court ruled that "appropriate secular effects" of teaching included independent thought, tolerance, self-respect, selfreliance, and logical decision making. The case ended there. By this time Pat Robertson had become a national presidential candidate, and he was trying to build up his image as a political, as opposed to a religious, figure. The publicity engendered by appealing this case to the Supreme Court would have focused national attention on his 700 Club statements and the testimony of the trials.