Conservative Truth

Charlie Reese, that ornery conservative, has hit the nail squarely on the head again.

The office of the president is a secular office in a secular government. There is not a word in the Constitution that authorizes the president or anyone else in the federal government to make a religious decision ...

... What a person claims to believe and how that person leads his or her life are often quite different...

... Religion has a legitimate role in our society. George Washington said religion is the best way known to instill virtue in masses of people. That is job enough for religion, and religion should stay out of politics as an organization. Religious individuals, of course, have the same rights and duties as any other citizen ...

... If you are trying to find someone actually practicing Christianity, whom would you choose - a preacher with a six-figure salary, a limousine and a private jet or an actor, like Brad Pitt, who has committed $5 million of his own money to build homes for people in New Orleans' 9th Ward?

... In judging human affairs, always look for actions, not words ...

... As for the presidential candidates, people should be asking not what these people claim to believe about God, but what have they actually done? How do their lives measure up to their speeches? Do they demonstrate a belief in and a concern for the Constitution? Do they have a wide knowledge of the world as it truly is? Are they catering to special interests? Are they independent thinkers or followers?

The presidential race is, after all, a search for a secular leader, not for a pope or ayatollah. The United States is in deep trouble politically, financially and economically. It will take a smart, sane and courageous person to get us out ...

Amen, Brother Charlie.