A 'Clear Message'

"MR. SNOW: I'm not going to release it. I'll share it with you tomorrow. It's not like a formal release, it's just me trying to do my homework, and I don't have it done yet."

Breaking the Faith

A rare, critical book from a former White House insider continues to make waves in Washington.

E. J. Dionne Jr. writes in his Washington Post opinion column: "The very fact that it took David Kuo's book, 'Tempting Faith: An Inside Story of Political Seduction,' to put President Bush's faith-based initiative back into the news proves that the author's thesis is right.

"His argument -- Kuo went on the record with it long before this book appeared -- is that the White House never put much money or muscle behind Bush's 'compassionate conservatism.' It used the faith-based agenda for political purposes and always made tax cuts for the wealthy a much higher priority than any assistance to those 'armies of compassion' that Bush evoked so eloquently."

Richard Wolffe interviews Kuo for Newsweek:

Wolffe: "Are Christian leaders being naïve in their dealings with the White House or do they understand the nature of the exchange?"

Kuo: "It's a little bit of both. In some ways White House power is like [J.R.R.] Tolkien's ring of power. When you put it on, it feels good and it's dazzling. But after a while it begins to consume you in ways you don't realize. That's the nature of White House power. I have no doubt that Christian political leaders have gotten involved for all the right reasons. I just think over time it becomes harder and harder to stand up against that ring of power and the White House, to say no and walk away.

"The Christian political leaders have been seduced."

Wolffe: "You don't question the president's faith. So why do you think he didn't deliver on his faith-based agenda? Was he being cynical or didn't he know what was going on?"

Kuo: "I've struggled with this for a long time. George W. Bush is a really good, caring person -- a caring, compassionate man. He's unbelievably empathetic for the people around him who are hurting. But President Bush is the head of the GOP. He's leader of the government. He's either the perpetrator or the victim of the modern presidency."

Alex Koppelman interviews Kuo for Salon.

Says Kuo: "There's been this image perpetuated of President Bush as 'pastor in chief,' and I think Christians have fallen into that. What they need to understand is that President Bush is a politician, a very good politician. He's the head of the GOP, he's the head of government, but he's not a pastor.