Bush describes presidency as cultural ‘change agent’
June 2, 2004
Photo courtesy of WhiteHouse.gov
President George W. Bush
President
George W. Bush makes a point in this undated White House file photo. A
UMNS photo courtesy of WhiteHouse.gov. Photo number W04086. Accompanies
UMNS story #228, 6/2/04 Bush tells conservative editors he�s cultural �change agent� http://www.umc.org/interior.asp?ptid=2&mid=4915
By Adelle M. Banks
Religion News Service
WASHINGTON
— President Bush described himself as a cultural change agent in a
group interview with editors and writers of conservative Christian
publications.
“...
The job of a president is to help cultures change,” Bush told the nine
writers and executives, according to an edited transcript posted May 28
on ChristianityToday.com. “Governments cannot change culture alone. I
want you to know I understand that. But I can be a voice of cultural
change.”
The
discussion, held May 28 in the Roosevelt Room of the White House, was
wide-ranging, with Bush addressing domestic and foreign policy, his
personal prayer life and his defense of a “culture of life” and
traditional marriage.
Bush said he doesn’t want to be confused with a preacher, so he instead works to “let the light shine” as a secular politician.
“...
One of the prayers I ask is that God’s light shines through me as best
as possible, no matter how opaque the window,” said Bush, a United
Methodist.
The president said more than once that Americans have the right to worship how they wish or not at all.
“My
job is to make sure that, as president, people understand that in this
country you can worship any way you choose,” he said. “You can be a
patriot if you don’t believe in the Almighty.”
He said he views Israel “a little differently” than conservative Christian leaders such as religious broadcaster Pat Robertson.“I
view Israel as a friend and ally in democracy who is in a rough
neighborhood and ... we will stand side by side with Israel if anybody
tries to annihilate her,” he said.
“I
see ... development of a Palestinian state as a major change agent —
along with a free Iraq — in the part of the world that desperately needs
free societies, out of which will come the ability for people to
worship as they see fit, ... the ability for people to realize their
hopes.”
One
questioner asked the president to respond to a concern that his
interview on Arab television following the Abu Ghraib prison abuse
scandal might have been “a mistake for appearing to be apologizing in a
way that reinforces pan-Arabism.”
Bush
said he expressed his regret for the humiliation of Iraqi detainees by
U.S. soldiers. He also said, “I never apologized to the Arab world.”
Asked
if he saw evil in the way some people practice Islam, the president
responded: “I think what we’re dealing with are people — extreme,
radical people — who’ve got a deep desire to spread an ideology that is
anti-women, anti-free thought, anti-art and science, you know, that
couch their language in religious terms. But that doesn’t make them
religious people.”
On
the domestic scene, he considers his work on faith-based initiatives to
be one of his most important efforts and thinks a change in the
definition of marriage “will weaken civilization.”
Among the interviewers were Christianity Today senior news writer Sheryl Henderson Blunt; Deal Hudson, editor of Crisis
magazine; and Stephen Strang, founder of Strang Communications. Two of
the people in the session have acted as Bush advisers, and he took time
to credit them.
“Father
Richard helped me craft what is still the integral part of my position
on abortion, which is: Every child welcomed to life and protected by
law,” Bush said of the Rev. Richard John Neuhaus, editor-in-chief of First Things. “That is the goal of this administration.”
Also present was Connecting World
magazine editor in chief Marvin Olasky, with the faith-based initiative
the president first promoted in Texas. Bush called him “the
intellectual inspiration for that, unless you want to call me that,
which would be somewhat of a stretch.”
Prayer, Bush told his interviewers, is a constant in his life.
“I
pray all the time. All the time,” he said. “You don’t need a chapel to
pray, I don’t think. Whether it be in the Oval Office, I mean, you just
do it. That’s just me.”
News media contact: Linda Green, Nashville, Tenn., (615) 742-5470 or newsdesk@umcom.org