We all know that we have a born-again, right-wing fundamentalist president. So this should come as no surprise:
President Bush’s participation in a National Day of Prayer ceremony with evangelical Christian leaders at the White House will be shown tonight, for the first time in prime-time viewing hours, on Christian cable and satellite TV outlets nationwide.
For Bush, the broadcast is an opportunity to address a sympathetic evangelical audience without the risk of alienating secular or non-Christian viewers, because it will not be carried in full by the major television networks. Frank Wright, president of the National Association of Religious Broadcasters, said more than a million evangelicals are expected to see the broadcast.
Some civil liberties groups and religious minorities charged that the National Day of Prayer has lost its nonpartisan veneer and is being turned into a platform for evangelical groups to endorse Bush — and vice versa.
“Over the years, the National Day of Prayer has gradually been adopted more and more by the religious right, and this year in particular there is such an undercurrent of partisanship because for the first time they are broadcasting Bush’s message in an election year,” said the Rev. Barry W. Lynn, executive director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State.
The event’s organizers denied that it amounts to a tacit political endorsement.
“We’re in an election year, and we believe God cares who’s in those positions of authority,” said Mark Fried, spokesman for the National Day of Prayer Task Force. “But we’re not endorsing a candidate — just praying that God’s hand will be on the election.”
…Fried said this year’s theme is “Let Freedom Ring.” He described it as the evangelical response to efforts to remove the words “under God” from the Pledge of Allegiance and keep the Ten Commandments out of public buildings.
“Our theme is, there is a small group of activists unleashing an all-out assault on our religious freedoms. They are targeting the Christian faith,” he said.
Um … can I just say that if the words “under God” in the pledge are a religious freedom, then they need to be eliminated. Because our government cannot promote religion. If a parochial school wants kids to use “under God” every morning, that’s great. But the government can’t expect it to be used by everyone regardless of their own beliefs.
Anyway:
Bright did not hesitate, however, to express admiration for Bush: “I don’t think he has a political agenda of his own. I think he’s really trying to do what would please God.”
Holy CRAP.
