It’ll surprise nobody who visits here that I’m not a fan of BeliefNet’s Steven Waldman, but his Slate piece Heaven Sent: Does God endorse George Bush? is worth a read just for the reminders of all the “God chose W” crap the ‘Publicans spout. (But fuck Waldman for his God-luvin shit like “Democrats tend to overreact to Bush’s use of religious rhetoric, which has usually been responsible, inspiring, and poetic.”)

…while Bush’s public comments about faith have been mostly within the mainstream tradition of presidential rhetoric, his supporters lately have gone in a less-familiar direction: conveying the idea that God is responsible for Bush being in the White House. “He is one of those men God and fate somehow lead to the fore in times of challenge,” said George Pataki in the high-profile introduction of Bush at the Republican National Convention… lines from Rudy Giuliani’s speech two nights earlier: “Spontaneously, I grabbed the arm of then Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik and said to Bernie, ‘Thank God, George Bush is our president.’ ” And, to reinforce the point, Giuliani added, “And I say it again tonight: Thank God, George Bush is our president”… Richard Land of the Southern Baptist Convention heard Bush say ‘I believe that God wants me to be president’ … “I think that God picked the right man at the right time for the right purpose,” said popular Christian broadcaster Janet Parshall. Gen. William “Jerry” Boykin, who got in trouble for derogatory comments about Islam, argued that it must have been God who selected Bush, since a plurality of voters hadn’t. “Why is this man in the White House? The majority of America did not vote for him. He’s in the White House because God put him there for a time such as this.” (Boykin still has his job.) Time magazine reported, “Privately, Bush talked of being chosen by the grace of God to lead at that moment.” World Magazine, a conservative Christian publication, quoted White House official Tim Goeglein as saying, “I think President Bush is God’s man at this hour, and I say this with a great sense of humility.”

And there are more.

Hey God, if you did choose W: What are you, a fucking moron? A retarded, spoiled, silver-spoon drunk who has been called “the worst president of the 20th century” by more non-partisan centrists than you can shake a stick at? You pathetic fuck-up.