President Bush says there is a moral dimension to his policies on Iraq and abortion, and acknowledges he is “seeking redemption” for “moments in my life when I rejected prayer.”
In an interview for the new book “The Evangelical President,” Bush also revealed that his spirituality has deepened as a result of the Iraq war.
“My faith has grown,” he told The Examiner in an Oval Office interview. “When you put kids into combat, it requires a lot of prayerful moments. It is the prayer of protecting them, for starters, and comforting their families.”
He added: “Probably the most powerful events that affected my thinking and my religion are when I meet with families of the fallen. And it’s remarkable to listen to and see firsthand the faith that many of these families exhibit. The witness of these families has affected me deeply.”
Although Bush always begins such encounters intending to console the mourners, he often ends up being the one who is consoled.
“I marvel — I tell them often that the comforter-in-chief is also the comforted,” Bush said. “Many of them want to comfort me, which is a remarkable act of giving. I ascribe that to the influence of God, in many cases.
“There have been times when families have said, you know, ‘It’s caused me to question my faith.’ And I fully understand that. And my prayer to them would be that I would hope that they would be able to find the comfort of faith.”
Although critics have charged that Bush sees himself as a messianic figure anointed by God to avenge the victims of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the president is unapologetic about his deeply held Christian convictions.
“I was taught religion early,” Bush said. “The seed had been planted by dutiful parents.”
But later, as a hard-drinking young man, Bush began to question the importance of faith. “That seed was dormant,” Bush revealed. “There are moments in my life when I rejected prayer and rejected the need to rely upon something greater than myself.”
That began to change in 1984, when Bush underwent something of a spiritual reawakening as a result of an encounter with the Rev. Billy Graham. The preacher appealed to the ascetic in Bush, who gave up alcohol the following year and discovered that he felt empowered by the discipline it required.
“I quit drinking because of faith,” he told The Examiner. “I believe that.” The seed of faith that had lain dormant within him now “began to grow,” he added.
“It was a reinvigoration of a religious belief,” the president explained. “I’ve recognized that prayer is an important part of my life and that there is a God and that I can rely upon that God for comfort and strength.”
Still, Bush shies away from labeling himself “born again” or even “evangelical” because he believes his political opponents would twist those words against him. He said such designations could “obscure what it means to be a religious person.”
“These labels are loaded with all kinds of meanings that tend to undermine the seriousness of one’s personal faith and the discipline and work and time that goes into maintaining as close a relationship with the Lord as you can possibly attain,” Bush said. “The reason I say that is because in politics, people tend to say, ‘Well, you know, he is getting instructions from above.’ ”
Vice President Dick Cheney dismissed the notion that Bush believes that “somehow he has received word from on high as to how much money we ought to put in the highway package this year.”
“He is a man of deep religious faith, and I’m glad of that,” Cheney told The Examiner in his West Wing office. “I like to see my presidents have that kind of conviction. It’s an important part of who he is.”
White House Chief of Staff Josh Bolten agreed. “The misperception is that he is essentially an intolerant bigot, which is the cartoon view that especially many Jews in America have of fundamentalist Christians,” Bolten said in an interview. “I can speak as a Jew on his staff. For many years, this was an enormous shock to many of my Jewish friends, because the cartoon of the president was as a fundamentalist, intolerant, born-again Christian. And he and Mrs. Bush couldn’t be more tolerant.”
He added that the Bushes are “not proselytizing or even faintly sort of condescending in any way, which sometimes people of faith can be. You know, they’re so confident in their faith, and somehow you’ve missed it.”
White House officials said Bush’s faith informs his policies on issues from education to Darfur. The Examiner asked Bush whether, in addition, there is a moral dimension to his positions on hot-button issues like Iraq and abortion.
“Of course there is,” the president replied. “Life is precious,” he said in reference to abortion. “You can ascribe that to a faith, of course.”
Turning from abortion to Iraq, Bush quoted Jesus’ parable of the faithful servant. ” ‘To whom much is given, much is required,’ ” he said in reference to America’s liberation of Iraq. “That is a biblical admonition which should cause individuals to support those in need, and a nation to step forward and help.”
When pressed on the moral ramifications of the Iraq war, Bush demurred. A top aide said the president was wary of roiling Muslims who once took umbrage at his description of the war against terrorism as a “crusade.”
“Look, I have been very careful not to get into the moral arguments of war,” Bush explained. “But I will tell you I think it’s very importantfor this country to face hatred square on. We’ve done it in the past. And we’re facing a group of people that hate and use murder as a tool to achieve political objectives. That’s a practical point of view, but it also can be viewed as a moral point of view. And that is: Good, decent, honorable people who aim for peace have an obligation to free people from tyranny and to confront hatred.”
Bush said he remains in need of continuing religious guidance. “I’m still a person seeking redemption,” he said. “I recognize that of all the people in the world, I need spiritual comfort and guidance and strength gained from prayer.
“But it’s like life itself — life is a journey,” he concluded. “It requires a lot of work and a lot of discipline and a lot of prayer. And therefore I view it as an incomplete journey — to be completed only upon death.”
</td><p> </p><p> </p><p/><p><strong>About ‘The Evangelical President'</strong></p><p><em>The articles in this series are adapted from “<a href=”http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1596985186?ie=UTF8&tag=examinercom-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1596985186″>The Evangelical President</a>,” a book appearing this week from Regnery Publishing. Author </em><a href=”http://www.examiner.com/Topic-by_Bill_Sammon.html”><em>Bill Sammon</em></a><em>, The Examiner’s Senior White House correspondent, reports on how President Bush is evangelical not just about his deeply held Christian beliefs, but also about the liberation of Iraq and the broader war against terrorism. Sammon interviewed Bush, Vice President Cheney and their closest confidantes about the president’s religion and its impact on public policy. Sammon is the author of four previous books on the presidency, all New York Times bestsellers.</em></p><p><em>Read other excerpts: <a href=”http://www.examiner.com/a-951362~President_predicts_GOP_will_keep_control_of_White_House_after__tough_race__in_2008.html”>Part 1</a> | <a href=”http://www.examiner.com/a-953145~Examiner_Exclusive__Bush_quietly_advising_Hillary_Clinton__top_Democrats.html”>Part 2</a> | <a href=”http://www.examiner.com/a-955100~Examiner_Exclusive__White_House_misjudged_how_presidential_campaign_would_radicalize_Dems_against_Iraq_war.html?cid=hptop-sammon_book”>Part 3</a> | <a href=”http://www.examiner.com/a-957420~Pork_projects__scandals_doomed_GOP_s_majority_in_Congress__say_White_House_officials.html?cid=hptop-sammon_book”>Part 4</a> | <a href=”http://www.examiner.com/a-959447~Faith_provides_comfort_on_tough_policy_decisions__says_Bush.html”>Part 5</a></em></p><p>Read other stories by <a href=”http://www.examiner.com/Topic-by_Bill_Sammon.html”>Bill Sammon</a>.</p><p><strong><a href=”http://www.examiner.com/a-960425~examiNation_DC__What_do_you_think_about_President_Bush_s_spiritual_quest_.html”>dc examiNation and poll: What do you think about President Bush’s spiritual quest?</a></strong> </p><p><strong/></p>
