In the Rose Garden on Monday, President Bush spoke to a group of Muslim students from the Middle East who have been in the U.S. for 10 months in the Partnership for Learning Youth Exchange and Study Program. (transcript of remarks).
An article by Bill Wilson, Montana News Association Senior Analyst surprisingly takes the President to task for some of his remarks, including the following seemingly innocuous sentences: "You found out one of the great strengths of this country is the fact that people volunteer to make somebody else's life better. We all got hearts and care deeply about a neighbor in need, and there's a universal call in the Good Books throughout the world that says, love a neighbor like you'd like to be loved yourself."
Wilson says this is an example of Bush's toning down of "faith rhetoric" which leaves many "puzzled about what he actually does believe". Wilson complains, "The President omitted the source of a Biblical quote and degraded the Bible by including it with other 'good books'." He says, "The toning down of faith rhetoric, omitting Jesus Christ from Biblical quotes, and referencing God generically are not the fruits of a Christian walk."
