It is extremely difficult for me to understand the double standard of today's conservative Christian pastors and televangelists. Their willingness to overlook, and even condone, the improper conduct of President Bush, or in this case, First Lady Laura Bush is appalling. Preachers are called to be prophets of God, not political lackeys. However, it is painfully obvious that political lackeys are exactly what most of them have become.
A classic case in point is the incredible indifference of conservative Christian ministers regarding the vulgar and profane words recently uttered by Laura Bush. Without a doubt, if Teresa Heinz Kerry had said what Laura Bush said, the outcry among evangelicals would have been deafening! As it is, there has not been so much as a whimper of protest or rebuke!
The occasion was the annual White House Correspondents' Association dinner in Washington, D.C. In a scripted "interruption" of the President's remarks, Laura began by comparing herself to the sleazy characters of the television sitcom, Desperate Housewives. She said, "Ladies and gentlemen, I am a desperate housewife. I mean, if those women on that show think they are desperate, they ought to be with George." Her remarks only went downhill from there.
Mrs. Bush continued by saying, "One night, after George went to bed, [Vice President Dick Cheney's wife] Lynne Cheney, [Secretary of State] Condi Rice, [Bush adviser] Karen Hughes and I went to Chippendales [a strip club where women tuck cash into male dancer's skimpy thongs]. I wouldn't even mention it except [Supreme Court Justices] Ruth Ginsberg and Sandra Day O'Connor saw us there. I won't tell you what happened, but Lynne's Secretary Service code name is now 'Dollar Bill.'"
Now, ask yourself, "Does anyone really believe that the spokesmen for the Religious Right would sit back and say nothing if a Democrat president's wife would say such things?" Of course not. They would immediately lead a letter-writing (and fund- raising) campaign aimed at exposing the gaffe and calling for a public apology from the White House. That this didn't happen reveals the extent of the Religious Right's marriage to the Republican Party in general and to the Bush administration in particular. But it gets worse.
Mrs. Bush then referenced President Bush's lack of ranching skills by saying, "He's learned a lot about ranching since that first year when he tried to milk the horse. What's worse, it was a male horse." Regarding these remarks, Michelle Malkin (a long time Bush supporter) wrote in the New York Post, "Her off-color stripper and horse jokes crossed the line. Can you blame Howard Stern for feeling peeved and perplexed? And let's face it: If Teresa ('I'm cheeky!') Heinz Kerry had delivered Mrs. Bush's First Lady Gone Mildly Wild routine, social conservative pundits would be up in arms over her bad taste and lack of dignity."
Malkin continued saying, "The First Lady resorting to horse masturbation jokes is not much better than Whoopi Goldberg trafficking in dumb puns on the Bush family name. It was wholly unnecessary." Amen.
Many people are calling the President's wife's remarks an aberration, but is it really? Remember that it was only about a month previous to Laura's male stripper and "horse masturbation" jokes that the First Lady "rose with the rest of the National Theatre audience in a standing ovation for Jefferson Mays's performance in the one-man play 'I am My Own Wife,' which tells the story of an East German transvestite." (Source: The Washington Post, 4/7/05)
Conservative Christians should also be aware that Laura Bush supports (and has said so publicly) the Roe v Wade Supreme Court decision which legalized abortion on demand. In this regard, Laura joins former First Ladies Hillary Clinton, Barbara Bush, and Nancy Reagan in supporting a woman's "right" to kill her unborn baby.
Perhaps these glimpses into the Bush family's personal propensities help explain why their twin girls, Jenna and Barbara, when only in their teens, were already noted as being hardcore binge drinkers and party animals. On more than one occasion, President Bush has had to dispatch Secret Service agents to bail his girls out of trouble with local law enforcement officials for various alcohol infractions including underage drinking and other types of misconduct. One or both of the girls have received fines, been sentenced to hours of community service, been told to attend alcohol awareness courses and had their driver's license suspended. And that's just what the press has divulged.
To be sure, I sympathize with those parents (including George and Laura) who struggle with sinful, wayward children. But for God's grace, those could be my children.
However, as our President and First Lady, Mr. and Mrs. Bush have a duty to hold high the moral standard of our nation. That they are willing to publicly use vulgar and profane innuendos, even in jest, reveals a serious lack of character and discernment.
The real point of this story, again, is not the misjudgments and misconduct of the Bush family, but the unwillingness of the Religious Right to hold this President to the same standards that they would hold Al Gore, John Kerry, or any other Democratic president to.
This is simply another glaring lesson on the dangers of Christians putting partisan politics above commitment to bedrock principle. Unfortunately, it's been going on since President Bush was first elected in 2000 and there is no sign that it will stop anytime soon.
© Chuck Baldwin
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