A Prayer Book from Bush's Cabinet

It has been a standard at every Bush cabinet meeting: One of the president's cabinet heads offers a prayer to begin the session. But something that Attorney General Michael Mukasey said at the last meeting wowed President Bush. So much so, say aides, that they have a new project—pull together a book of cabinet prayers. "Attorney General Mukasey gave a wonderful opening prayer that really struck the president, and [Bush] noted that a number of cabinet members over the years have opened these meetings with strong words of faith," says Bush spokesman Tony Fratto. "He thought it would be a nice idea to try to collect them in some sort of book for everyone to have," Fratto tells us. Now, public affairs aides in the 19 cabinet-level agencies are on the hunt for those special words. But it may be easier said than done. It's unclear if cabinet secretaries spoke off the cuff or wrote their prayers down—and saved them if they did. "That's typical Bush," says a former Bushie who worked on the faith-based initiative. "If something inspires him, he wants to share that." Adds Fratto: "It was a nice idea by the president."

Reader Comments Read all comments (21)

Add Your Thoughts

Comment Name State Select One AL AK AZ AR CA CO CT DE DC FL GA HI ID IL IN IA KS KY LA ME MD MA MI MN MS MO MT NE NV NH NJ NM NY NC ND OH OK OR PA RI SC SD TN TX UT VT VA WA WV WI WY International Email

Please enter the two words below into the text field underneath the image.

Incorrect please try again

Enter the words above: Enter the numbers you hear:

Your comment will be posted immediately, unless it is spam or contains profanity. For more information, please see our Comments FAQ.