The “Religious Right” and “evangelicals” are not synonymous -- The Times quoted the following activists: Sandy Rios (Concerned Women for America), Robert H. Knight (Culture and Family Institute (an affiliate of CWA)), Gary Bauer (American Values), Tony Perkins (Family Research Council), and Don Wildmon (American Family Association). These folks may be great Christians who are doing wonderful work but they are not “evangelical leaders” anymore than Jesse Jackson is a “leader of the black community.”

Follow the Money -- If your organization is dedicated to fighting the "culture wars" then you have to ensure that the troops are stirred up or the money will soon stop flowing. Notice the line about, “Top religious rights activists have been burning up the telephone lines, sharing what one privately called their "apoplexy" over Mr. Bush's failure to act decisively on the issue…” I won’t call this a shakedown of the faithful but they’re not trying to scare the flock for nothing.

Most evangelicals realize how much Bush has pushed our agenda -- Anyone who doubts this is the case simply needs to look at the campaign promises that Bush was able to fulfill (and which were held up because of Congress):

ABORTION
PROMISE: Prohibit federal funds for international family-planning groups that provide abortion-related services. (YES. By a directive issued Jan. 22, 2001.)
PROMISE: Sign legislation banning a late-term procedure opponents call "partial-birth" abortion. (YES. Nov. 5, 2003.)

CHARITY
PROMISE: Establish an Office of Faith-Based Organizations in the White House to make it easier for such organizations to participate in government programs. (YES. By executive order in 2001.)
PROMISE: Limit the civil liability of businesses that donate equipment, facilities, vehicles or aircraft to charitable organizations to protect them from lawsuits if the donated items turn out to be defective. (NO. Stalled in Congress.)

CHILDREN
PROMISE: Provide states with an additional $1 billion over five years to help prevent cases of child abuse or neglect. (NO. Congress cut Bush's request in half.)
PROMISE: Require states to conduct criminal background checks on prospective foster and adoptive parents. (YES. Signed June 25, 2003.)
PROMISE: Provide $300 million over five years for college or vocational-education vouchers of as much as $5,000 for youths who reach college age in foster care. (NO. Congress cut Bush's funding requests.)
PROMISE: Set a goal to return children in foster care to their stable biological family or, with a judge's ruling, to adoption. (NO.)
PROMISE: Help states establish paternity registries. (NO. Still working on legislation.)
PROMISE: Provide $200 million in competitive grants over five years for grants to promote responsible fatherhood. (NO. Stalled in Congress.)
Congress
PROMISE: Adopt two-year budgets. (NO. Blocked in Congress.)
PROMISE: Require a Joint Budget Resolution to promote early agreement on an overall framework, which the president must sign. (NO. Stalled in Congress.)
PROMISE: Enact legislation to prevent government shutdowns if funding is not enacted by the beginning of the fiscal year. (NO.)
PROMISE: Support a bipartisan Commission to Eliminate Pork-Barrel Spending. (NO.)
PROMISE: Seek legislation to amend the Constitution to give the president line-item veto authority. (YES, although Bush has not made it a top priority and Congress has not acted.)
PROMISE: Ask Congress to act on presidential nominees within 60 days of submission of their names. (YES. Bush has repeatedly prodded Congress to act.)

CRIME
PROMISE: Increase prosecutions under federal gun laws. (YES.)
PROMISE: Increase funding for state gun-law enforcement. (YES. New $50 billion program signed into law in 2001.)
PROMISE: Impose a lifetime ban on gun possession for juvenile weapons offenders. (NO.)
PROMISE: Establish Project Sentry, a federal-state program to prosecute juvenile weapons violations. (YES.)
PROMISE: Practice zero tolerance for terrorism. (YES. Launched war on terrorism.)

POVERTY
PROMISE: Establish Individual Development Accounts for low-income Americans. Give banks tax credits for matching up to $300 in deposits by low-income customers. (NO.)
PROMISE: Establish the American Dream Down Payment Fund to give low-income families as much as $1,500 in matching funds toward down payments for homes. (YES. Signed Dec. 16, 2003.)

TEEN PREGNANCY
PROMISE: Provide at least $135 million for abstinence education, equal to the amount for teen contraceptive programs. (NO. Funding reduced by Congress.)
PROMISE: Direct the General Accounting Office to study the effectiveness of pregnancy-prevention programs. (YES. But the study was conducted by Health and Human Services, not GAO.)

Are some evangelicals frustrated by Bush? No doubt. There is never shortage of Americans who are quick to blame the incumbent President for everything from our the country's moral failings to their personal economic hardships. The Presidency, though, is just one part of the equation and Bush only one man. He can do a lot but he can't do everything. George Bush isn't perfect, but he's the best choice we have.

The real question, though, is what are we doing? Unless we are praying for our leaders and doing our part to change the moral tone of our country then we have no reason to criticize someone who is doing what they can.

(Hat tip: Hugh Hewitt)

Update: Nathan from Southern Appeal has an interesting take on the story: "I view the report as something of "reverse psychology," an attempt to try and energize the social conservative base to get active for the campaign. In fact, it's almost as if the Bush/Cheney campaign team had a part in the story getting printed today."