With God on Our Side - George W. Bush and the Rise of the Religious Right in America

by Calvin Skaggs

I think this is meant to be for George Bush what Birth of a Nation was for the Ku Klux Klan or Triumph of the Will was for Hitler set in a tone Americans of the 2000s can accept. Bush is a sincere agent of the Lord – the real deal – what the deserving evangelicals have been waiting for. According to the film – 36% of Americans have been born again so a lot of people have been waiting for this hero.

It promised a balanced account (“scrupulously balanced” it says on the back of the case) – but I kept waiting for the balance and it never came. I’m not sure what they felt they were balancing – maybe Michael Moore?

It made my stomach hurt. Almost everyone interviewed had a southern accent, was lily white, well-fed, male and confident that God is indeed on their side. Same old song and dance that has been sung throughout history in different forms.

Thing is, there are an awful lot of evangelicals that aren’t pro-Bush. And, with Bush’s falling ratings, the “decisive” anti-postmodern hero isn’t quite so heroic anymore, is he?