The Nuts

Speaking about Iraq at a press conference, George Bush said, "The stakes couldn't be any higher. . . There are extreme elements that use religion to achieve objectives."

Truer words were never spoken by the President -- if you look at it in the opposite way it was said (which is the best way to take everything said by Bush).

Keith Olbermann, in his Countdown (video above), parses that phrase used by Bush as it applies to Bush and his Buddies.

Olbermann discusses a new book, "Tempting Faith," by David Kuo, who served as Special Assistant to the President and Deputy Director of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives. Kau also has an article at Beliefnet, Shooting from the Heart, in which he addresses the promises not kept by the Administration.

Olbermann summarizes Kuo's bottom line:

The Bush White House is playing millions of American Christians for suckers.

According to Kuo, Karl Rove's office referred to evangelical leaders as 'the nuts.'

Kuo says, '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.' "

This refrain is not new. As Ron Suskind also reported, John DiIlulio, who also served in the same postion as Kuo in the Bush White House, had this to say about his experience:

"There is no precedent in any modern White House for what is going on in this one: a complete lack of a policy apparatus," says DiIulio. "What you’ve got is everything—and I mean everything—being run by the political arm. It’s the reign of the Mayberry Machiavellis."

See Remembrance of Things Lost.

(See also Crooks & Liars for video & transcript.)

UPDATE: Dick Polman also discusses Kuo's book at his American Debate blog, adding his take on the political fallout:

As the author of Tempting Faith contends, the Bush White House has been “mocking the millions of faithful Christians who put their trust and hope in the president and his administration.” He writes: “National Christian leaders received hugs and smiles in person, and then were dismissed behind their backs as ‘ridiculous,’ ‘out of control,’ and ‘just plain goofy.” He says that, in Karl Rove’s office, evangelical leaders were known as “the nuts.” All told, the author writes that, aside from its interest in mining the religious right’s votes, the Bush team “simply didn’t care.”

* * * *

Thanks to the Mark Foley scandal, and longstanding grievances about a lack of GOP attention to their issues, Christian conservatives already seemed insufficiently enthused about the ’06 elections.

* * * *

And this morning, Gallup is reporting even more startling numbers, in its survey of “white frequent churchgoers” (a group that is probably broader than evangelicals, but nevertheless has been strongly pro-GOP in recent elections). Gallup says that, over the past month, Democrats have registered a 22-point gain among these voters. The result: 47 percent of white frequent churchgoers now favor a Democratic candidate, and 47 percent favor a Republican. Until now, a tie would have been unthinkable.

Which is why David Kuo’s book is probably the last thing that Republicans need right now.

Tags: Olbermann, Commentary, Countdown, Religion, Politics, Video