Even Bush Thinks You're Spooky and Weird.

In a new tell-all memoir by former White House official David Kuo, Tempting Faith: An Inside Story of Political Seduction it is reported that Karl Rove and George Bush buddied up with evangelical leaders such as Ted Haggard and James Dobson for political reasons, but privately thought that they were wacky religious fanatics. The irony here is that the members of the religious right have for years now repeatedly used their ties to the President as a badge of legitimacy and as a statement of their own normalcy. Every other mention of Haggard that I see mentions his infamous "Monday morning conference calls" with the President. That they weren't actually ever taken seriously is like a big joke on all the evangelicals who think that Bush was sent by God to fight for their interests.

Having Rove refer to Haggard and Dobson as "the nuts" undercuts whatever power the evangelicals ever thought they had.

So I have to ask; If the Bush administration views the evangelicals as a bunch of nut-bags and doesn't take their issues, advice or opinions seriously, who do they take seriously?

abpnews.com:

"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,'" Kuo wrote. He added that top political officials in the office of White House aide Karl Rove referred to the leaders as "the nuts."

He described conference calls and meetings that White House officials regularly held with conservative Christian leaders, such as James Dobson of Focus on the Family and Ted Haggard of the National Association of Evangelicals. While Bush officials would assure such leaders that the White House was pushing their concerns, Kuo said, the advice the leaders gave was rarely followed.

Comments

[Zen]

I've said it lots before. I will say it once again. The Evangelical Right naively assumed Bush & Co. was like them. They were too quick to trust, and when things got ugly for this administration, too quick to defend. The likes of Dan & Dawn confusing politics and faith, and corrupting both in the process.

Kudos to Kuo for this work. Whether anyone will listen however is another matter.

[pete]

Doesn't matter. They have faith. They will still vote, follow, and worship any page-fucking republican.

But this also means everyone on the left who's been saying Bush is one of them(evangelical) has also been wrong all along.

[Zen]

Mr. President, I served with Jesus Christ. I know Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is a friend of mine. Mr. President you're no Jesus Christ. Years ago after enduring a fierce debate with some of my Bush-can-do-no-wrong Christian friends, I recall telling my wife, "the best thing that could happen to the Christian church is for Bush to be brought down to human earth by blistering scandal."

Placing blind faith in the wisdom of men is heresy. You hear that Dan & Dawn? Heresy.

[Friar_Tuck]

Hmmmm. I guess as someone who might be labeled an evangelical Christian, I dont find this forthcoming book suprising or discouraging. Nor do I think this means that Bush is less evangelical if that is how he wants to be known.

I think there are a lot of evangelical Christians that find Haggard and Robertson a little kooky themselves.

I remember watching a Chris Rock comedy routine where he was talking about every time some heinous crime that had happened all he would say over and over again was "please dont let them be black, please dont let them be black".

I think most evangelicals (to be distinguished from fundamentalists) see Robertson on TV and we say, "please dont let him say something stupid...please dont let him say something stupid" and then he pops off with how we should assasinate somebody and we just have to shake our heads.