Politico's Ben Smith contrasted President-elect Barack Obama and President George W. Bush's church attendance in the weeks after their elections, but Smith failed to note numerous reports of Bush's infrequent church attendance over the past eight years, as well as Bush's reported lack of membership in a Washington, D.C., congregation. Smith cited another Politico article that also ignored reports about Bush's church attendance.
Politico still focused on Obama's -- but not Bush's -- church attendance
Published
On December 7, Politico senior political writer Ben Smith contrasted President-elect Barack Obama and President George W. Bush's church attendance in the weeks after their elections, but ignored numerous reports of Bush's infrequent church attendance over the past eight years, as well as Bush's reported lack of membership in a Washington, D.C., congregation. Smith cited a November 23 article by Politico senior political writer Jonathan Martin and White House reporter Carol E. Lee, which also ignored the reports about Bush's church attendance.
Senior political writer Ben Smith wrote in a December 7 blog post: “As my colleagues Jonathan Martin and Carol Lee noted last week, Barack Obama -- despite undergoing a campaign maelstrom over his pastor -- isn't a regular churchgoer. He didn't often attend Sunday services on the trail, and -- unlike Presidents-elect Bush and Clinton -- hadn't been since his election. He extended that streak this morning.” By contrast, in articles discussing where the Obamas might attend church, the Associated Press, Time and The Hill reported that Bush has attended church infrequently over the past eight years, as Media Matters for America previously noted. The Time article also reported that “George W. Bush never became a regular member of any local church, preferring to worship most often at the chapel at Camp David.”
Smith's December 7 Politico.com post titled “Another Sunday without church” in its entirety:
As my colleagues Jonathan Martin and Carol Lee noted last week, Barack Obama -- despite undergoing a campaign maelstrom over his pastor -- isn't a regular churchgoer. He didn't often attend Sunday services on the trail, and -- unlike Presidents-elect Bush and Clinton -- hadn't been since his election.
He extended that streak this morning, with the pool report saying only that he'd been a bit late for his regular workout this morning.
He is reportedly shopping for a Washington, D.C., church, and his aides have said he's concerned about drawing “unwelcome or inappropriate” attention to another Chicago congregation.