President Bush, Faith and Reality

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President Bush wears his religion on his sleeve, but just what is the role of "faith" in his conduct of American government? Two weeks ago, the New York Times Magazine published a lengthy story by Pulitzer-Prize winning reporter Ron Suskind. "Without a Doubt" says that "open dialogue, based on fact, is not seen as something of inherent value" in the Bush White House. Others contend that the influence of Bush's faith on US policy "has been greatly exaggerated by both friends and foes." Is a "faith-based" administration dividing the nation? We speak with Suskind and other journalists, political scientists, evangelicals and a former presidential speechwriter about the role of faith in Bush's conduct of the Presidency and his faith-based constituency.
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    "The Boss" and Bill Clinton are campaigning with Senator Kerry and President Bush is deploying "The Terminator" as the presidential campaign reaches fever pitch leading into the weekend before election day. Karen Tumulty, national political correspondent for Time magazine, is following the race for presidential votes before Tuesday's election.

Bush campaign

Kerry campaign

Suskind's NY Times magazine article, "Without a Doubt"

NY Times article on Iraqi civilian deaths

Johns Hopkins study on increased civilian Iraqi deaths after US invasion

President Bush's Faith-Based Initiative

Office of Faith-Based Initiatives

Bob Woodward's Plan of Attack

Credits

Host:

Warren Olney