I side with the anti-ACLUites in the Christmas Wars, I really do, but they're going to lose if they insist on seeing every generic holiday greeting as a sign of secularism. The phrase "Happy Holidays" isn't always a capituation. In fact, I always thought it referred to the triumverate celebration of Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years, not the triumverate multi-culturalism of Christmas, Hanukkah, and Kwaanza.
This month, as in every December since he took office, President Bush sent out cards with a generic end-of-the-year message, wishing 1.4 million of his close friends and supporters a happy "holiday season."
Many people are thrilled to get a White House Christmas card, no matter what the greeting inside. But some conservative Christians are reacting as if Bush stuck coal in their stockings.
"This clearly demonstrates that the Bush administration has suffered a loss of will and that they have capitulated to the worst elements in our culture," said William A. Donohue, president of the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights.
I don't always agree with Bush, but he's no secularist and efforts to paint him as one will be mocked.
