A Loss Of Faith

(CBS)  David Kuo is an evangelical Christian and card-carrying member of the religious right, who got a job in the White House in the president's Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives. He thought it was a dream-come-true: a chance to work for a president whose vision about compassionate conservatism would be matched with sweeping legislation to help the poor.

But Kuo says the so-called compassion agenda has fallen short of its promise and he blames President Bush for that in his new book.

As correspondent Lesley Stahl reports, he also says the White House was a place that cynically used religion for political ends and that White House aides ridiculed the very Christian leaders who helped bring Mr. Bush to office.

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In his book, Kuo wrote that White House staffers would roll their eyes at evangelicals, calling them "nuts" and "goofy."

Asked if that was really the attitude, Kuo tells Stahl, "Oh, absolutely. You name the important Christian leader and I have heard them mocked by serious people in serious places."

Specifically, Kuo says people in the White House political affairs office referred to Pat Robertson as "insane," Jerry Falwell as "ridiculous," and that James Dobson "had to be controlled." And President Bush, he writes, talked about his compassion agenda, but never really fought for it.

"The President of the United States promised he would be the leading lobbying on behalf of the poor. What better lobbyist could anybody get?" Kuo wonders.

What happened?

"The lobbyist didn't follow through," he claims.

"What about 9/11?" Stahl asks. "All the priorities got turned about."

"I was there before 9/11. I know what happened before 9/11 … The trend before 9/11 was…president makes a big announcement and nothing happens," Kuo replies.

Kuo speaks as an insider. Even before he became the number two guy in the White House faith-based office, he had a long resume in the world of Christian conservatives.

Kuo says he took candidate Bush at his word during the 2000 campaign.

At the time, Bush proposed for the first time that he would spend $8 billion dollars on programs for the poor.

"I think it's one of the most important political speeches given in the last generation. I really do," says Kuo. "It laid out a whole new philosophy for Republicans."

After the election, to much fanfare, President Bush created the office of faith-based initiatives to increase funds to religious charities.

But Kuo says there were problems right off the bat. For one, he says the office dropped very quickly down the list of priorities.

Asked how much money finally went to them, Kuo says laughing, "Oh, in the first two years, first two years I think $60 million."

"When you hold it up to a promise of $8 billion, I don't know how good I am at math, but I know that's less than one percent of a promise," says Kuo.

Part of the problem, he says, was indifference from "the base," the religious right. He took 60 Minutes to a convention of evangelical groups – his old stomping ground - and walked around the display booths, looking for any reference to the poor.

"You've got homosexuality in your kid's school, and you've got human cloning, and partial birth abortion and divorce and stem cell," Kuo remarked. "Not a mention of the poor."

"This message that has been sent out to Christians for a long time now: that Jesus came primarily for a political agenda, and recently primarily a right-wing political agenda - as if this culture war is a war for God. And it's not a war for God, it's a war for politics. And that's a huge difference," says Kuo.

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[jimlaregina]

nikosk1, you asked, "Remember how Kerry lost in 2004?" John Kerry won the election but Bush Republicans in Ohio and other states rigged voting machines to award the vote to Bush. Read Mark Crispin Miller's book FOOLED AGAIN. Also, read RFK Jr.'s ROLLING STONE article:

http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/10432334/was_the_2004_election_stolen

[sanfelz]

In the Bush Administration, only Christian conservative supporters have acceptable faith-based charities. No other religious group can get funds from this ostensibly compassionate conservative office.
Bush skirts legality by violating the separation of church and state and the churches violate their unacceptable tax exempt status by electioneering for their supposed benefactor.

[norcalruss]

I saw 60 minutes and what David Kuo said didn%u2019t surprise me a bit. The Bush Whitehouse and Karl Rove will stoop to any level to hold onto power. They will lie, cheat, and steal. In 2000 Rove spread lies about John McCain to ensure a Bush victory in South Carolina. In the 2002 elections Rove told Republicans to %u2018run on the war against WMD%u2019 meaning the upcoming war with Iraq even though, to this day, there has been not a single WMD found. In 2004 Rove was behind the Swift Boat lies that torpedoed the John Kerry campaign. This is one the most arrogant, manipulative, hypocritical, and corrupt administrations in recent history. Karl Rove and company see the Christians as being little more than useful idiots to take advantage of for holding onto power. I hope the Christians boycott the election in droves this year.

[pakaal]

Keep marching who out, janem4? David Kuo has been a self-proclaimed "compassionate conservative" since the phrase was coined in the early '90s. And he's certainly been a conservative far longer. And this is a Democrat plot?

It's amazing how you can spin this to try and make people believe that more than two years ago when he started writing his book, David Kuo anticipated all the OTHER scandals in US politics would lead to the POSSIBILITY of Democrats taking over the House and MAYBE the Senate so he timed it so his book would come out now. That theory is just ludicrous!

Republicans are scared because they've made a whole bunch of big mistakes that are now coming up to bite them on their butts. Who's fault is it? Democrats, who haven't held power since '94? Please, get real.

[frankly6]

They've simply thrown a bone to the religious right on a few issues and used the power they gained to enrich themselves and their friends. Since when did money, power and curruption become Christian values?
Wake up Church you've made a deal with the devil.

[frankly6]

The money changer have overun the temple and the pharisies let them in once again.

[frankly6]

The union of church and state corrupts both. Always has. Always will.

[luvny-2009]

I listen to the guy on 60 Min last night and I believed what he was saying. Sadly I think Bush & Co used the Bible to get the votes from those that hold the Bible close at heart, then kept them on a string. He'll cut them loose as soon as he's done with them. Pretty sad but they were fooled not once but twice. Bush & Co pulled religion into politics for their benefit. They will have to explain to the big guy some day. When you mix religion and Politics you get the Middle East.

[bluestardad]

Next time you are in the shower with Rove and Foley are you going to be the one who picks up the dropped soap?

[taoset]

With Carl Rove at the helm, why is anyone surprised at the slick use and manipulation of good people, causes, and organizations. The strength of the current maninpulation shows the dangers of mixing faith with politics. Reasoned judgement need not be, but is too often a poor second cousin to preached faith, whether it comes for the pulpit or from the oval office.

To then respond that Christians would do no better under Democrats, shows how much some have bought the "faith," and turned they're backs on a genuine spiritual vision. To circumscribe God within the confines of a human agenda may be comforting, especially when its one's own agenda, but any sense of an Almighty and transcendent is lost.