Hightower Lowdown

That political bubble that George W's handlers keep him in has sprung a little leak.

Karl Rove, the handler-inchief, orchestrates all of Bush's appearances so only loyal supporters are allowed in, assuring that his boy never personally encounters the unpleasant reality that a growing majority of Americans oppose his elitist, autocratic, militaristic policies. By this criteria, Calvin College seemed the perfect venue for a commencement speech by W. Located in GOP-friendly Grand Rapids, Michigan, this small, theologically conservative school's graduation ceremony would seem to offer a picture-perfect audience of adoring fans from Bush's base, the Christian right wing.

Two months ago, Karl bumped Calvin's scheduled graduation speaker and booked Bush in the slot. Imagine Karl and George's shock, then, to be greeted by a full-page letter in the Grand Rapids Press, signed by some 800 students, faculty, and alumni protesting Bush's appearance. They pulled no punches: "Your deeds, Mr. President—neglecting the needy to coddle the rich, desecrating the environment, and misleading the country into war—do not exemplify the faith we live by." Some graduating seniors in the audience wore buttons declaring that "God is not a Democrat or a Republican." Some sported bumper stickers on their mortarboards asking, "Who would Jesus bomb?"

What Bush saw in Grand Rapids is a reality that Republicans, Democrats, and the media have ignored: Evangelical Christianity is not a monolith in lockstep with the Bushites. There is a deeply progressive, Biblically based, and rapidly growing evangelical movement that separates itself from Bush.

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