President Bush: God's Choice

Evangelicals have been claiming since day one of our current commander in chief’s presidency—and even before—that President George W. Bush is God’s choice for the U.S. Are they right? Let’s look at the evidence.

Evangelicals spoke up loudly when the vote recount went on for week after week in 2000, praying and saying that Bush would sit in the White House come Jan. 20, 2001. They cheered just as loudly when the Supreme Court, in a landmark decision—especially significant because the ability to make it was apparently self-bestowed—declared George W. Bush the winner. Surely, God was listening.

Finally, a president for us, they thought. Now we can stop being persecuted and get on with living godly lives. And they went home and dusted off their fetus-picture placards and “God Hates Fags” signs, ready to go back to work.

It seemed, then, that the evangelicals and fundamentalists left the presiding to the president, content to let him, and those fat cats down in Washington, worry about the running of the country and the world. President Bush took vacations. (But that made sense, because who didn’t love Texas?)

Then Sept. 11 arrived, freaking everyone out, not least of all the evangelicals. Jerry Falwell commented on the legacy of feminism, among other factors, that led to the fall of the towers. Evangelical leaders decried the immorality of the country and the evil religion of Islam. Suddenly there was a lot more shouting to be done, and a lot more finger-pointing. When they weren’t busy consuming, consuming, consuming (because otherwise, the terrorists would win), evangelicals took on many of the responsibilities of assigning blame. The rest of the country huddled together in fear and shock.

Through it all, President Bush was the man of the hour. Even Democrats had to agree that in a time of crisis, President Bush gave a pretty good speech.

And from a pulpit, no less, thought the evangelicals.

This was sweet, sweet vindication. President Bush, faced with a terrorist attack on U.S. soil, had risen to the occasion and proven God right. Surely everyone would see that.

Time passed, and Al Qaeda operatives were still at large. The war in Afghanistan began and ended. President Bush, God’s choice, told the U.S. that war with Iraq was necessary, and evangelicals backed him. Saddam Hussein was found and executed. Still, the war went on.

President Bush continued to prove God right. Surely, surely everyone was seeing that.

In the meantime, Democrats complained about the environment (Bush refused to adhere to the Kyoto Protocol and wanted to drill in ANWR), the reliance on oil (cars run less efficiently in the U.S. than in China, and Republicans resist legislation requiring minimum mpg for even the largest SUVs), the economy (a record deficit replaced the surplus from the end of the Clinton era), taxes (decreased for the rich), education (No Child Left Behind creating only paperwork, not progress), the erosion of freedoms (the Patriot Act apparently allowing phone-tapping of citizens, gag-ordering of presidential aids, and waterboarding of prisoners) and the United States’ global image (international goodwill destroyed by unilateral action in Iraq on the basis of bad intelligence contradicted by that of the UN). They just couldn’t stop complaining, it seemed. What was their problem?

Americans re-elected Bush, anyway.

Then economists began to use the “R” word. Consuming was no longer the answer it had seemed to be—it wasn’t helping. And there was other evidence that the terrorists were winning. Americans were still getting killed in Iraq, being underinsured, and worrying about what to do in their old age. Maybe the Democrats had a point.

The evangelicals thought back to the time they had asked God for a leader, and remembered how they had received Bush.

Surely, they thought, concern beginning to furrow their brows, surely Bush was God’s choice?


Judge for yourself:

I Samuel 8:4-5, 10-19, 22

“So all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel [the prophet] at Ramah. They said to him… ‘now appoint us a king to lead us, such as all the other nations have.’”

“Samuel told all the words of the Lord to the people who were asking him for a king. He said, ‘This is what the king who will reign over you will do: He will take your sons and make them serve with his chariots and horses, and they will run in front of his chariots. Some he will assign to be commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties, and others to plow his ground and reap his harvest, and still others to make weapons of war and equipment for his chariots. He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers. He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive groves and give them to his attendants. He will take a tenth of your grain and of your vintage and give it to his officials and attendants. Your menservants and maidservants and the best of your cattle and donkeys he will take for his own use. He will take a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves will become his slaves. When that day comes, you will cry out for relief from the king you have chosen, and the Lord will not answer you in that day.’
But the people refused to listen to Samuel.”

“The Lord answered, ‘Listen to them and give them a king.’”