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11.7.03
Lowbrow Lowdown Lookback -- OR -- Oh Lord, Won't Ya Buy Me a…Vote? If a picture is worth a thousand words, it's worth a gazillion when those words are defined by the White House dictionary of spin. Remember President Bush's May 1st photo-op? You know the one: Dubya's reeling from his grandiose tailhook touchdown via Navy jet onto the deck of the USS Abraham Lincoln. His voice is still jittery with adrenalin as he proclaims before an excited crowd of US armed forces, "In the battle of Iraq, The United States and her allies have prevailed." Just in case the overt rhetoric leaves any questions, Bush's supposedly firm message is reinforced by the banner hovering above him which reads, "Mission Accomplished." As it turns out, six months later, the mission in Iraq isn't exactly accomplished. When the press recently grilled Bush about the Iraq situation specifically in contrast with the triumphant banner, the administration's adeptness at double-speech was apparent. It was simple, really. It wasn't the US mission in Iraq that had been accomplished. No, you see, it was the mission of the troops aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln that had been accomplished. Uh duuuuh. Hmmm…maybe it's not such a bad idea to see a project through to the end before promoting its successful completion. Take Project Turnaround, for instance. No, it's not the working title for the new Queer Eye for the Straight Guy Special. It's the mentoring and tutoring program run by Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship, a 7,000-member Dallas, Texas church. And it served as the backdrop of the President's recent faith-based initiative related PR performance.
There's no doubt the Oak Cliff building addition is testament to the success of the church and Project Turnaround, which in turn bolsters Bush's contention that religious institutions do such good work they deserve tax-payer dollars. Oh yeah, and the fact that it's a predominantly black church doesn't hurt when it comes to wooing the minority vote, either. So, using the building dedication as a promotional forum for the faith-based initiative seems like an obvious choice, right? There's just one hitch: The Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship receives no government funds. In fact, as noted in the Star-Telegram.com story, executive director of Project Turnaround La Fayette Holland stresses that "the church would have to carefully examine the effect of accepting such money because faith is a component of the program," adding, "If it will prohibit anything we are doing, we would have to turn that down." In a 10/29 Americans United for Separation of Church and State press release, executive director Rev. Barry W. Lynn contends, "President Bush picked the wrong church for a photo op….This congregation doesn't want government interference in their religious work, so they've chosen not to apply for public funds." It's not entirely clear whether the church has ruled out accepting capitol cash all together. However, it does seem as though The Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship ain't exactly eager to quaff the church-state twist Kool-Aid just yet. So, here we have it. Yet again, the Bush administration has jumped the gun, and made a big brouhaha of it. If anything, this is evidence that, in fact, the Bush administration isn't discriminating…. We'll just see how long the state's open-minded embrace of religion lasts when the Scientologists, Wiccans and Jedis come knockin'....Fed funds for The Light Side of the Force Ministries Methadone Program anyone? 
Don't stop there! Here are a couple more political marketing gems that both Howard Dean and those guys with Confederate flags in their pickup trucks could love. First, check out the Enduring Freedom trading cards that should have made it into the pack: 12.14.01 Trading Card Inculcation -- OR -- 1 Mohammed Atta, Mint full story Want more? Find out how sporting rainbow glasses and whacking President Bush with a cartoon fish can not only bring together left-leaning single-issue activists, it can cause major brain freeze: 1.10.03 Rose Colored Masses -- OR -- Askew Majority full story
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