CNN contributor Erick Erickson is using President Obama's call for a “moment of silence” to honor the victims of a tragic shooting in Tucson, Arizona, to question the “sincerity of [Obama's] faith.”

In the wake of the violent outbreak at a public event for Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ), Obama called for a moment of silence as “a time for us to come together as a nation in prayer or reflection.” Erickson criticized commenters “on the right” who he said were “bashing the president” for those comments.

He then proceeded to bash Obama for those comments:

But I feel the need to make a political point here about why this President is getting bashed for his “moment of silence” when other Presidents, from Carter to Reagan to Bush to Clinton to Bush, did not.

He recently made people mad by quoting the Declaration of Independence and leaving out the bit about the Creator. During his inaugural address he mentioned atheists and subsequently proclaimed us not a Christian nation.

In yesterday's “moment of silence” he wanted prayer or reflection. Here's the problem -- when conservatives push for school prayer and advocate for a “National Day of Prayer,” they include “or reflection” to get around namby-pamby atheist objectors.

But the left uses it too. The left uses it to accommodate atheists.

President Obama's statement stands out because it is just another verbal telling that he's ideologically of the left. He already has problems with a public perception of him and his faith. That things like this keep coming up suggests the general public is right in their skepticism of the sincerity of his faith.

So Erickson acknowledges that Obama's statement is keeping in line with comments by previous presidents, including Republicans. Yet those very comments somehow justify “skepticism” as to whether Obama is being sincere about his faith.

This is not Erickson's first brush with the fine art of begging the question.

Congratulations, CNN.