George Bush's Faith-Based Presidency

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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? Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter Ron Suskind 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? Has the influence of faith on policy been exaggerated? Is faith what many supporters like best about George W. Bush? In this archived edition of To the Point, Warren Olney discusss the role of faith in the Bush presidency and about Bush's faith-based constituency. (This segment was originally broadcast on October 29.) Making News: Natural Deaths Spike at Christmas and New Year More Americans die from natural causes on the day after Christmas and on News Year-s Day that any other days of the year, and the number increases every year. Professor David Phillips at the University of California at San Diego is author of a study published in the American Hear Association-s journal, Circulation." Phillips offers some of the reasons for the spike and some suggestions for insuring a healthy holiday season. Reporter's Notebook: National Guardsmen Feel Ill-Prepared to Go to Iraq In the desert near Las Cruces, New Mexico, members of the California National Guard are preparing to go to Iraq early next year. But they say that their training is so bad and they're so short of equipment that their casualty rate maybe needlessly high. One guardsman told Scott Gold of the Los Angeles Times, "We're going to pay for this in blood." (This segment originally aired on Which Way, LA? on November 30.)
President Bush wears his religion on his sleeve, but just what is the role of "faith" in his conduct of American government? Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter Ron Suskind 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? Has the influence of faith on policy been exaggerated? Is faith what many supporters like best about George W. Bush? In this archived edition of To the Point, Warren Olney discusss the role of faith in the Bush presidency and about Bush's faith-based constituency. (This segment was originally broadcast on October 29.)
  • Making News: Natural Deaths Spike at Christmas and New Year
    More Americans die from natural causes on the day after Christmas and on News Year-s Day that any other days of the year, and the number increases every year. Professor David Phillips at the University of California at San Diego is author of a study published in the American Hear Association-s journal, Circulation." Phillips offers some of the reasons for the spike and some suggestions for insuring a healthy holiday season.
  • Reporter's Notebook: National Guardsmen Feel Ill-Prepared to Go to Iraq
    In the desert near Las Cruces, New Mexico, members of the California National Guard are preparing to go to Iraq early next year. But they say that their training is so bad and they're so short of equipment that their casualty rate maybe needlessly high. One guardsman told Scott Gold of the Los Angeles Times, "We're going to pay for this in blood." (This segment originally aired on Which Way, LA? on November 30.)

Phillips study on increased cardiac mortality around Christmas/New Year

Republican National Committee (formerly the Bush campaign)

Kerry campaign

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

New York 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