Thursday, January 06, 2005

Gerson goes

The President's speechwriter Michael Gerson is being replaced by WSJ writer William McGurn. What a shame, as I have always thought Gerson's speeches were beautiful works built on the language of our forefathers and the Bible, among other sources.

But of course, the media could only fixate on the Biblical references:

"His trademark has been the religious language and Biblical references that populate Bush's speeches. To those who believe the president uses his speeches to send signals to conservative evangelicals, Gerson is the master of the code."

For God's sake. Pun intended. "Those who believe" may be purposefully vague, but it's plain to anyone who watches TV pundits that this is the position of the media. The President might as well be speaking in tongues -- that's how extreme and alien Biblical references seem to these people. Biblical verse is not code. And in this country, Christianity is not a secret society. No matter what your faith, the language of a Gerson speech reflects a heritage every American shares. It should be celebrated as such instead of being treated with suspicion. Or worse.

UPDATE: Ramesh Ponnuru has a brief yet more informative look at McGurn's background here.

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