NRB Responds to Release of Tempting Faith">NRB Responds to Release of Tempting Faith

The following information appeared in the Friday the 13th edition of Inside NRB an email that goes to NRB members.

“Tempting Faith” Tempts Faithful

A politically timed book to release October 16, less than one month before mid-term elections, Tempting Faith by David Kuo may tempt people of faith to not participate in the election process or to jump the Republican ship. Click here to read an MSNBC article about the book. Kuo, a former staffer in the White House Office for Faith-based Initiatives, has concluded that President Bush’s commitment to those issues did not measure up to his expectations. It what could be styled another "tell all" book by a dissatisfied former Executive Branch employee, Tempting Faith, not scheduled for release until October 16, was previewed on MSNBC last night. Kuo was interviewed by MSNBC’s Keith Olbermann. Mr. Olbermann (Countdown with Keith Olbermann) is a long time critic of the Bush Administration, and has posted on the MSNBC website his critique of the President as being "unconnected to reality."

The timing, as well as the handling of the advanced publicity of Mr. Kuo’s book, has raised suspicions with NRB President/CEO Dr. Frank Wright and other NRB members.

Dr. Frank Wright, speaking on the release of the book Tempting Faith, notes:

“In my view, David Kuo’s book, Tempting Faith, should be greeted with a healthy dose of skepticism. Brought to market less than 30 days before a national election, with advance copies only provided to political partisans, the timing exudes a surplus of partisan zeal and a deficit of credibility.”

Chuck Colson, Founder of Prison Fellowship Ministries, and Mark Early, President & CEO of Prison Fellowship, both of whom have exhaustive experience with the Bush White House, have considered Mr. Kuo’s conclusions and have found them wanting. In a comment to Inside NRB, they point out:

"While we haven’t read David Kuo’s book, we know its central thesis. We’ve worked with President Bush since his first faith-based meeting in the White House only days after his inauguration. He has done everything humanly possible to advance the faith-based agenda. We have had many discussions with the President and his staff on this subject and have never sensed the slightest attempt to do other than advance the full faith-based agenda. Aside from the faith-based agenda, the President has supported a culture of life, cut taxes for working families, appointed excellent judges, and defended traditional marriage, all in the midst of leading the world in a fight against global terror.

We are shocked and disappointed by what appears to be political timing to sell a book, and a very unfair characterization of the parties involved."