KANANASKIS, Alberta -- President Bush on Thursday called a
federal appeals court ruling that challenged the constitutionality of the
Pledge of Allegiance "out of step with the traditions and history of
America" and promised to appoint judges who affirm God's role in the
public square.
"America is a nation ... that values our relationship with an
Almighty," Bush told reporters as he began a meeting with Russian
President Vladimir Putin at a summit of world industrial powers.
"The declaration of God in the Pledge of Allegiance doesn't violate
rights. As a matter of fact, it's a confirmation of the fact that we received
our rights from God, as proclaimed in our Declaration of Independence."
The president said the country needs "commonsense judges who understand
that our rights were derived from God."
"Those are the kind of judges I intend to put on the bench," he said.
Bush has accused Democrats in the Senate of stalling his judicial nominees.
A 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel ruled Wednesday that the use of the
words "under God" in the pledge violates the Constitution's clause
barring establishment of religion. The ruling, if allowed to stand, would bar
schoolchildren from reciting the pledge in the nine Western states covered by
the court.
Bush, who attends church on a semi-regular basis and whose political base is
rooted deeply the Christian conservative movement, said God "is obviously
a very important part of my life" and of life in America.
"That's why the ruling of the courts was out of step with the traditions
and history of America," Bush said.
The president said his first conversation with Putin concerned their faiths,
suggesting it was a bonding experience.
"There is a universal God in my opinion and the first conversation I ever
had with Vladimir Putin was about God," Bush said. "It was a way --
we'd never met each other -- and the first discussion we had was about our
personal beliefs."
Putin did not comment on the ruling.