[Misc.]

White House Greeting: Happy Holidays!

Hysterical: in cards mailed to 1.4 million supporters, President Bush offered wishes for a happy holiday season. Oh mister President, why do you oppress us so with your secularism? This is wholly irrelevant, of course, except that a few idiot fanatics like Bill O'Reilly have declared jihad against secular liberalism for "forcing" people to avoid using the phrase "Merry Christmas." Now it's that demon of anti-Christian hatemongering, George W. Bush, who draws their ire:

Bush "claims to be a born-again, evangelical Christian. But he sure doesn't act like one," said Joseph Farah, editor of the conservative Web site WorldNetDaily.com. "I threw out my White House card as soon as I got it."

This is not satire. Bush, of course, isn't about to send out "Merry Christmas" cards to a list that includes prominent Jewish backers (among probably very few other non-Christians), but this excuse will not appease the lunatic fringe.

"Sometimes it's hard to tell whether this is sinister -- it's the purging of Christ from Christmas -- or whether it's just political correctness run amok," [Tim Wildmon, president of the American Family Association] said. "I think in the case of the White House, it's just political correctness...."

"It bothers me that the White House card leaves off any reference to Jesus, while we've got Ramadan celebrations in the White House," Wildmon said. "What's going on there?"

This clearly puts Bush in Jerry Falwell's "foe" category--which may be a little awkward. Recall that in November, Falwell announced his "friend or foe Christmas campaign." The slogan? "Merry Christmas--it's okay to say it." Falwell sent out an email urging his supporters to

"draw a line in the sand and resist bullying tactics of the ACLU and others who intimidate school and government officials by spreading misinformation about Christmas."

Oh my, Bush is now one of the "others" who intimidates with his misinformation. (As you would expect, the blogosphere's having a field day on this one.)