AT LEAST ONE prominent atheist wanted even more “change” than Barack Obama promised on the campaign trail. Michael Newdow, most famous for his efforts to have “Under God” removed from the Pledge of Allegiance, recently asked a federal court to prohibit certain religious references in Obama’s inauguration ceremony on January 20.

Newdow needed a small miracle to succeed. He did not get it. His claims were rejected this past Thursday, just as they were the last time he tried this stunt — when George W. Bush took his second oath of office in 2005. Obama’s inauguration ceremony will include an invocation, a benediction, and a request that he conclude his oath with the familiar phrase, “so help me God.”