FoxNews.com reported yesterday that while President Obama issued a proclamation for the National Day of Prayer, “critics note that Obama, unlike his predecessors, has not held a traditional White House prayer service since he took office”:

President Obama issued a proclamation last Friday as his Justice Department appeals a federal judge's ruling last month that the day of prayer is unconstitutional.

“Prayer has been a sustaining way for many Americans of diverse faiths to express their most cherished beliefs, and thus we have long deemed it fitting and proper to publicly recognize the importance of prayer on this day across the Nation,” Obama said in the proclamation.

But critics note that Obama, unlike his predecessors, has not held a traditional White House prayer service since he took office.

“Every time I hear the president casually end a speech with 'God Bless America,' I wonder if he realizes that phrase is a prayer -- not another edict from Washington,” said Andrea Lafferty, executive director of the Traditional Values Coalition.

“I can't remember a time when America was more in need of God's blessing, but the president doesn't see it,” she said.

By “predecessors,” FoxNews.com means George W. Bush. According to the Christian Post, Obama's decision not to hold a Prayer Day service at the White House marks a return “to the conventional practice of past administrations besides that of George W. Bush's.” Similarly, Dan Gilgoff wrote in a US News & World Report blog post last year:

Historically speaking, the White House's decision to skip a formal event for the National Day of Prayer isn't too big a deal. So far as the National Day of Prayer Task Force can tell, no administration prior to George W. Bush regularly hosted an event to mark the day. But the Obama White House's decision has set many tongues wagging in the media, particularly the conservative and religious press.

During his two terms, Bush celebrated the National Day of Prayer by inviting the National Day of Prayer Task Force, a private evangelical Christian organization that organizes “Judeo Christian” Prayer Day events around the country, to the East Room of the White House for a service. In doing so, Bush broke with the presidential tradition of not hosting an annual Prayer Day service at the White House.

The NDP Task Force is headed by Shirley Dobson, wife of James Dobson, founder of Focus on the Family. During the presidential campaign, Focus on the Family claimed an Obama victory could lead to "[t]errorist strikes on four American cities. Russia rolling into Eastern Europe. Israel hit by a nuclear bomb. Gay marriage in every state. The end of the Boy Scouts," as USA Today reported. Franklin Graham -- who notoriously called Islam “a very evil and wicked religion,” and has recently spent some time proselytizing on Fox News -- is an honorary chair of the Task Force. I can't think of a more pleasant group of folks with which Obama could spend his Prayer Day.

As for the “critics” quoted in the article, FoxNews.com appears to have pulled the attacks on Obama from a press release issued by the Traditional Values Coalition. The press release similarly suggested that Obama has broken with a presidential tradition:

In a week of oil spills and car bombs, the National Day of Prayer will be 'proclaimed' by the Obama White House, but the traditional White House prayer service has been cancelled once again this year. President Obama has not held the annual White House prayer service since he took office.

TVC went on to assert that “Islamic groups and atheists teamed up over at the Pentagon to un-invite the world-renowned evangelist Franklin Graham from praying there simply because he spoke the truth and said Islam is 'evil and wicked.'” Elsewhere, TVC's website provides information about the “Causes and Cures of Homosexuality and Gender Identity Disorders,” claiming, “The good news is that no one is born homosexual or transsexual. These are mental conditions that can be treated through religious-based or psychological therapies.” If these guys are attacking Obama, he must be doing something right.