Obama Invokes Jesus More Than George W. Bush

I'll bet this is a development the Democrats didn't plan on:

He’s done it while talking about abortion and the Middle East, even the economy. The references serve at once as an affirmation of his faith and a rebuke against a rumor that persists for some to this day.

As president, Barack Obama has mentioned Jesus Christ in a number of high-profile public speeches — something his predecessor George W. Bush rarely did in such settings, even though Bush’s Christian faith was at the core of his political identity.

Some are okay with it but suspicious of his motives:

“I don’t recall a single example of Bush as president ever saying, ‘Jesus’ or ‘Christ,’” said Tony Perkins, president of the conservative Christian group Family Research Council. “This is different.”

To Perkins, Obama’s overtly Christian rhetoric is a welcome development from an administration that he largely disagrees with on the issues, though Perkins sees a political motive behind it, as well.

“I applaud that. It gives people a sense of comfort,” Perkins said. “But I think it’s a veneer, a facade that covers over a lot of policies that are anti-Christian.” That includes, in his view, Obama’s stance in favor of abortion rights.

And the usual suspects don't like it at all:

The Rev. Barry Lynn, the executive director of the group Americans United for Separation of Church and State, doesn’t like the trend with Obama: “I don’t need to hear politicians tell me how religious they are,” Lynn said. “Obama in a very overt way does what Bush tended to do in a more covert way.”

His multiple mentions of Jesus seem to be somewhat at odds with this:

Obama’s public embrace of his Christianity so far has not included choosing a church in the capital, and he has attended Sunday services only once since his election, on Easter Sunday. The White House said at the time the family was still looking for a spiritual home in Washington.

I don't know what is motivating Obama's mentions of religion while not overtly practicing it himself. While I have no way of determining the depth of his real commitment, his relationship with Trinity Church of Christ in Chicago, and its nutty pastor Rev. Jeremiah Wright, always seemed more like a marriage of political convenience than anything else.

If Obama wasn't so ardent in his support of abortion anytime, anywhere, I'd almost be willing to believe he was sincere in all of this. But the abortion thing is a deal killer.