I’m not Christian, religious, or even very spiritual. It’s not that I disagree with what I think I understand of Christian teaching, I don’t. It’s not that I don’t see that being open to something bigger than ones self can be a source of strength and comfort. It’s just that I’m no quite as forgiving of human frailty as I need to be to accept the hypocrisy that seems to swirl around any congregation.

With this background, I may not have the credibility to say what I’m about to say, but I’m going to say it anyway.

If George Bush were a Christian leader, as he seems to fashion himself, he’d be down on his knees, in front of God and man, begging for forgiveness for himself and his nation for abandoning its poor and sick to the devastation that hit New Orleans.

Instead, he’s up there, smug and proud, trying to act like he’s on top of something that is so much bigger than himself.