Bush, Anticipating July 4th, Recalls McKinley's Prayer

In the run-up to the big July Fourth celebration this year, I'm sure George W. Bush is thinking about the other grand patriotic wars from America's past.

He studied history at Yale, you know, so he knows all about history and about how not knowing about it condemns you to repeat it.

Anyway, I'm sure that this is one of George W.'s favorite war stories -- I know it's one of mine -- where President McKinley prays for guidance on what to do with all those Catholics in the Phillipines after Admiral Dewey and General Smith conquered them. Here's the story:

The acquisition of the Philippines--with its 7 million inhabitants, 85% of whom were Roman Catholics--placed or threatened to place the U.S. in the
invidious position of running a colonial empire. President William McKinley, who on the whole favored keeping the Philippines...resolved his dilemma by putting it into a religious context:

"I am not ashamed to tell you, Gentlemen, [of the Senate] that I went down on my knees and prayed Almighty God for light and guidance that one night. And one night later it came to me this way. ... There was nothing left for us to do but to take them all and to educate the Filipinos and uplift and civilize ... them, and by God's grace do the very best we could by them, as our fellow men for whom Christ also died." (Quoted from Forbes Magazine, 11.28.05

I just can't help but think how fortunate we Americans are to have another good Christian in the White House nowadays as we uplift and civilize our fellow men and women in Iraq!

May God bless George W. Bush and William McKinley for standing up for praying for American freedom!

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