Mr. Bush, a committed Christian of Texas by way of privileged schooling in New England,

[rodeodance]

seems to me bush speeds too much time peering into other leaders eyes!

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/25/washington/25maliki.html

July 25, 2007
Bush and Iraqi: Frequent Talks, Limited Results
By JIM RUTENBERG and ALISSA J. RUBIN

WASHINGTON, July 24 — Once every two weeks, sometimes more often, President Bush gathers with the vice president and the national security adviser in the newly refurbished White House Situation Room and peers, electronically, into the eyes of the man to whom his legacy is so inextricably linked: Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki of Iraq.

In sessions usually lasting more than an hour, Mr. Bush, a committed Christian of Texas by way of privileged schooling in New England, and Mr. Maliki, an Iraqi Shiite by way of political exile in Iran and Syria, talk about leadership and democracy, troop deployments and their own domestic challenges.

Sometimes, said an official who has sat in on the meetings, they talk about their faith in God.

“They talk about the challenges they face being leaders,” said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity in order to discuss private conversations. “They, of course, also share a faith in God.”

The official declined to elaborate on the extent of their religious discussions, but said, “It is an issue that comes up between two men who are believers in difficult times, who are being challenged.”

[Tanuki]

1. "Committed Christian," my foot!

This sounds like something Karen Hughes initiated. Lip service notwithstanding, I would have thought that by now any serious journalist would have noticed the discrepancy between Bush's behavior and serious commitment to the Gospel of Jesus. Here is a good piece on the subject:

http://www.commondreams.org/views05/1209-29.htm



>>>>There remain millions of Americans who continue to stand by this president. Many of them see him as a godly man anointed to lead us at this important time. They have been inspired by this president’s ringing declarations about our basic values, and by his pronouncements of faith. To those of my traditionalist, religious countrymen who have given this presidency their support I say, quoting Jesus in the Gospel According to Matthew: "By their fruits ye shall know them."

.......As a result, it has become exceptionally difficult for Americans of different leanings to talk with each other. Across the country, innumerable friendships have broken apart because of the extraordinary polarization our present leadership has fostered.
So also has this presidency created enmity between America and the world. Till our present leaders came to power, America had been for generations more trusted than any dominant power in history. But beginning even before 9/11, and before this “war of choice” with Iraq, this president has been alienating our friends and making us lots of new enemies.

........
Turning people against each other --rendering the human drama into an Us against a Them-- has been the practice of destructive rulers throughout history. Such division furthers not goodness, but its opposite. For when people are focused on their conflicts, they’re unable to build a more whole world based on their common goals and their common humanity.

.......
On issues on which much of humankind has seen a need to work together to solve global problems – from the international community’s efforts to deal with important environmental issues to the long-established Geneva Conventions against torture—the Bush administration’s unraveling of hard-won progress has made the United States an international pariah, feared and distrusted by other countries. .......

[LiberalFighter]

2. Who wrote that slob about Christian and Shiite? Rutenberg or Rubin?

Or did they let Hughes or some other lackey write the piece for them?