I neglected to note that the OP specifically sez leave the rest of the article to a different thread. All apologies.
But upon closer examination of the proclamation, the prayer part doesn’t gall me so much as the “all that unites us” does. THAT is self-serving. He’s Mr. LipService. Trying DOING something that promotes unity Dub, I’m sick of HEARING about it while you do your utmost to widen the divide…
stoid
I dunno…with Dubya in the office, I think we need all the prayers we can get!
Bush gave in to Texan religious pressure when he joined the suit concerning school prayer. Since he was on the “let’s force everybody’s kids, regardless of their religion, to pray in MY fashion” side, which was against the Catholic and Mormon families which initiated the suit, he lost when it came before the Supreme Court last year.
For all of the talk about reconciliation that Shrub spouts I’ve yet to see anything to remotely suggest it. What is happening is an atagonistic reviling of the outgoing administration. However big a target Clinton presents, this only serves to confirm my most cynical perceptions of Shrub’s agenda. I forsee little unification ahead as an attorney general who once voted against desegregation is nominated.
As revolting as Shrubs verisimilitude is, it in no way surprises me. So far none of my own predictions have gone awry and I do not anticipate any further disappointments in the course of events.
The smug “God-on-our-side” attitude that was so obvious throughout the campaign, has manifested perfectly in one of his very first proclaimations. For the record, it stunk when Clinton did it, but it really reeks right now amidst all of this transparent “uniting” rhetoric that is being blathered about. I continue to maintain that we face a dangerous blurring of the separation of church and state. Anyone who downplays this possibility is breathing too much of their own exhaust.
Hey, just remember that another “Day of Prayer” eventually turned into Christmas. Bush is just trying to strengthen the economy, is all. 
Zenster said:
I like the way it was portrayed in yesterday’s Doonesbury: He is a uniter. He’s uniting the conservatives and the ultra-conservatives.
Yeah, what a horrible guy. I can’t believe he excercised his authority as president. Clinton never would have canceled any last minute executive orders of the outgoing president.
oooppss…
That’s right, it is a fairly common practice and even Clinton did it in '93. If the laws he signed were so damned important, then why didn’t he enact them 6 months ago?
and about that op thing…
I guess I’m somewhere around where UncleBeer is on that issue. Days of Prayer seems strange, but I never wasted my time on Clinton’s empty proclamations, I don’t really plan on paying attention to Bush’s either.
I imagine that a day of prayer may anger some vocal atheists, just as I imagine that a day to honor Martin Luther King probably angers people that don’t like black people.
As far as I’m concerned Bush can exercise his right of free speech, and proclaim it a day to worship Mumbo-Jumbo, and I’ll support his right to do so as much as I’ll support the right of others to complain about it.
It’s true that many Presidents have declared national days of prayer for this or that reason.
But for W to do so on the very first freaking day of his “administration” doesn’t look like much else than shameless pandering to the Christian right. Same thing with the whole Ashcroft business. Even pretending for a moment that he doesn’t count himself as one of them, he owes the Christian right a tremendous debt. After all, they gave him Super Tuesday.
Look for W to talk about “Jesus this” and “Our Lord and Savior that” and so on, ad nauseum, for his entire one term - or at least until his pollsters tell him that he is making the American public want to vomit with all his God-Squad divisiveness.
Of course, since he is President Homer Simpson, he wanted us to pray to Jebus.
I think that shrub wants to be President and Psychopomp of America. This does not strike me as a wise move as it will disenfranchise many, and reinforce for those who didn’t vote for him exactly why they don’t like him.