God and the Inaugural Story aired: Wednesday, January 26, 2005
President Bush begins each day with a prayer and a bible reading, so the fact that the president brought his born-again Methodist faith into his inaugural address last week is nothing new for him or past presidents. But at his second inaugural, President Bush spoke in a dramatically new way, describing freedom as a religious calling and the nation's mission.
Religious conservatives are applauding the president for both subtly and not-so-subtly couching foreign policy in biblical terms such as when the president, referring to 9/11, quoted the Prophet Isaiah about being endowed by spirit to set captives free. But one critic, President Reagan's speechwriter Peggy Noonan, called it "way too much God."
Joining us on the line to parse the words of the president is Professor John Green. He is director of the Bliss Institute of Applied Politics at the University of Akron, which studies the relationship between politics and religion.
Guests:
Professor John Green. He is director of the Bliss Institute of Applied Politics at the University of Akron, which studies the relationship between politics and religion.
SPECIAL FEATURE:
Read the prepared text of President Bush's second inaugural address.
