Why isn't this Obama/religion poll result getting more attention?
Written by Jamison Foser
Published
Overlooked in the is-Obama-a-Muslim (no, he isn't) hysteria (again) sweeping through the media: Pew's finding that the public's satisfaction with President Obama's approach to religion is similar to their satisfaction with George W. Bush's approach to religion:
While Obama is seen as less reliant on his religious beliefs than Bush, the public expresses roughly similar levels of satisfaction with Obama's approach to religion as compared with his predecessor. Nearly half (48%) say Obama relies on his religious beliefs about the right amount when making policy decisions, and 53% say that Obama mentions his faith and prayer about the right amount. Roughly similar numbers said the same thing when asked in 2006 about Bush's mentions of faith and prayer and in 2004 when asked about Bush's reliance on religion in making policy decisions.
Here's another interesting nugget from that Pew poll:
In addition, about as many say Obama (53%) mentions his religious faith and prayer the right amount as said that about Bush (52%) in 2006, though far fewer say Obama mentions his faith too much (10% vs. 24% for Bush).
So, maybe the story should't be that Obama doesn't talk about his faith enough -- it should have been that Bush talked about his too much?