Roberta Combs, President of Christian Coalition of America, stated, "President Bush rightly showed respect for the right to life, born and unborn, in a country which is increasingly becoming more pro-life."
Christian Coalition of America also supports the president’s statement that "our men and women in uniform are fighting terrorists in Iraq so we don't have to fight them at home."
Jay Sekulow, Chief Counsel of the ACLJ and one of Time Magazine’s top 25 evangelicals, also applauded Bush for "working on issues that are of great concern to the American family."
"This is a President who understands that the American people are very concerned about the values issues shaping our nation," said Sekulow, on Thursday. "We're delighted the President included remarks reaffirming his support for marriage between one man and one woman, continuing his commitment to build a culture of life, and renewing a call for the Senate to end judicial filibusters and give his nominees an up-or-down vote on the Senate floor. This is a President who is committed to working on issues that are of great concern to the American family - issues that make-up the cultural fabric of our society."
Rev. Rob Schenck, president of the National Clergy Council, commended the President for "emphasising the need to advance the three core principles: The Sanctity of Human Life, the Sanctity of Marriage and the Family and the Public Acknowledgement of God.:"
"In his State of the Union address, President Bush plainly put our three most important principles on the national agenda and announced that they would guide his polices over the next four years. Our thousands of members in all 50 states look forward to supporting and encouraging the President in this direction for the betterment of our country and our world," said Rev. Schenck, whose group represents millions of Protestant evangelical, Catholic and Orthodox Christians.
Meanwhile, pro-gay groups "reacted with anger" to Bush's speech, saying he "contradicted his recent remarks that a proposed amendment may not be necessary this year," according to "Planet Out," a LGBT newspaper outlet.
"Once again, President Bush contradicts himself," said Steven Fisher, communications director of the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) to Planet Out. "Sadly, once again he valued the extremism of a few over the greater good of protecting all Americans, including LGBT families whose well-being are jeopardised by this proposal."
However, Dobson said the speech showed otherwise.
"He [President Bush] was bold in his assertion that Congress must pass the Federal Marriage Amendment. In fact, he endorsed it more strongly than during his recent re-election campaign, proving wrong liberal pundits who suggested his support for protecting marriage had cooled," said Dobson.
The full text of President Bush’s State of the Union address, delivered on Wednesday, February 2, 2005, can be viewed at: www.whitehouse.gov.
Pauline J. Chang
Ecumenical Press
