Mr. Gorbachev, Tear Down This Cross!

John Gorenfeld reports:

This wintry season, as the faithful continue to receive alarming reports from the news that Republicans are all that stand between them and the outlawing of Christmas itself by hordes of secular humanists, the two presidents Bush have endorsed a powerful conservative interest group specializing in removing the cross—not from schools or courthouses, but from churches.

Rather than the traditional egg hunt, this group, calling itself the American Clergy Leadership Conference, sponsored a nationwide "Tear Down The Cross" day for Easter, 2003. Last week, leaders in this radical cause presided over a Washington prayer breakfast featuring messages of thanks from the presidents. Former Senator Bob Dole came in person.

Surprise: the American Clergy Leadership Conference is an arm of the Moonies, the faith-based group that just can't get no respect—except, apparently, in DC. George W. Bush's message to the gathering: "Your theme is right on target—faith, family, freedom and peace centered on God."