Hard to be president without relationship to God, says Bush

Published: 2005-01-14

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- President George W. Bush said he could not envision being president without a relationship to God and that he is sustained by the prayers of millions of people "I will never see." In an interview with The Washington Times, he also said religious faith is not under attack in the United States. "I think more and more people ... understand the importance of faith in their life," said Bush in a lengthy interview with editors and reporters of the daily newspaper. Excerpts from the interview were published in the paper Jan. 12. "I don't see how you can be president, at least from my perspective, how you can be president ... without a relationship with the Lord," he said. Bush noted that some people are critical of his open references to the importance of faith in his life; he referred to an article which questioned whether he should take the oath of office Jan. 20 with his hand on the Bible. "I will have my hand on the Bible," he said.

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