CAPSULE COMMENTARY: “Bush Misses Opportunities”

“Embroiled in the Bob Jones University controversy, Republican presidential candidate George W. Bush could have turned lemons into lemonade. Bush could have explained that the hallmark of a free society is the right to engage in conduct that others disapprove of, as long as the conduct is peaceful. People have a right to associate (or not associate) with whomever they want and to live their lives the way they want. In other words, a bigot has a right to be a bigot even if everyone else thinks differently. Bush missed another golden opportunity in his letter of apology to Catholic Cardinal John O’Connor of New York. He could have used the occasion to condemn Catholic Charities’ acceptance of government grants-that is, money that the IRS has extracted from people through force and terror. Bush could have reminded Catholics (and Protestants and others) that when morality and compassion are rendered unto Caesar, the results mean nothing in the eyes of God.”