Faith Based Fictives

Their big success is now their biggest failure Their golden child has been dethroned Their reputation is now in ruins Their tower to heaven has come tumbling down And all the while The good Lord smiles And looks the other way And looks the other way -- Pedro the Lion Last night on Countdown, Keith Olbermann discussed David Kuo's new book, Tempting Faith. In it, Kuo says what many of us have been saying for a long time, that the Bush White House is using Christians to get elected, and nothing more: Author David Kuo's conservative Christian credentials are impeccable; his resume sprinkled with names like Bennett and Ashcroft. Now, as the Foley cover-up has many evangelical Christians wondering whether the G.O.P. is really in sync with their values, "Tempting Faith" provides the answer: No way. Kuo, citing one example after another of a White House that repeatedly uses evangelical Christians for their votes — while consistently giving them nothing in return; A White House which routinely speaks of the nation's most famous evangelical leaders behind their backs, with contempt and derision. Furthermore, Faith-Based Initiatives were not only stiffed on one public promise after another by Mr. Bush — the office itself was eventually forced to answer a higher calling: Electing Republican politicians. Kuo's bottom line: the Bush White House is playing millions of American Christians for suckers. According to Kuo, Karl Rove's office referred to evangelical leaders as 'the nuts.' Kuo says, 'National Christian leaders received hugs and smiles in person and then were dismissed behind their backs and described as 'ridiculous,' 'out of control,' and just plain 'goofy.' " This echoes the comments Tucker Carlson made recently. I wonder if conservative evangelicals will start to wake up, or if they will simply view this as just another liberal plot against them. Could it be that George Bush isn't God's golden boy after all? And they called Bill Clinton slick.