David Kuo came to Washington wanting to use his Christian faith to end abortion, strengthen marriage, and help the poor. He reached the heights of political power, ultimately serving in the White House under George W. Bush, after being policy adviser to John Ashcroft and speech writer for Ralph Reed, Pat Robertson, and Bob Dole. It was a dream come true: the chance to fuse his politics and his faith, and an opportunity for Christians not just to gain a seat at the proverbial table but to plan the entire meal.

Kuo spent nearly three years as second in command at the president's Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives. Yet his experience was deeply troubling. It took both the Bush White House and a severe health crisis to show him how his Christian values, and those of millions of Americans, were being corrupted by politics.

Instead of following the teachings of Jesus to serve the needy, Kuo found himself helping to manipulate religious faith for political gain. Public funds were used in battleground states, for Republican campaign events. The legislative process was used as a football, not to pass laws but to deepen purely symbolic fault lines. Grants were incestuously recycled to political cronies. Both before and after 9/11, despite lofty rhetoric from the president claiming that his faith-based program was one of his most important initiatives, there was no serious attempt to fund valuable charities.

Worst of all was the prevailing attitude in the White House and throughout Washington toward Christian leaders. Key Bush aides and Republican operatives spoke of them with contempt and treated them as useful idiots. It became clear, during regular conference calls arranged from the White House with a key group of Christian leaders, that many of these religious leaders had themselves been utterly seduced by politics.

It is time, Kuo argues, for Christians to take a temporary step back from politics, to turn away from its seductions. Tempting Faith is equal parts headline-making expose, political and spiritual memoir, and heartfelt plea for a Christian reexamination of political involvement.

Having spent three years as second in command at President George W. Bush's Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives, David Kuo came away from the experience deeply disillusioned with the marriage of politics and Christianity, feeling that he and other Christians seduced by politics have been lured away from pursuing true Christian goals and been manipulated by irreligious politicians into supporting issues that have nothing to do with religion (although he maintains his faith in Bush's sincerity). Here, he recounts his experiences in the Bush administration, reflecting on the personal and public issues that caused him to turn away from the politics of religion, and pleads for a Christian "fast" from involvement in politics.
Annotation ©2007 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Having spent three years as second in command at President George W. Bush's Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives, David Kuo came away from the experience deeply disillusioned with the marriage of politics and Christianity, feeling that he and other Christians seduced by politics have been lured away from pursuing true Christian goals and been manipulated by irreligious politicians into supporting issues that have nothing to do with religion (although he maintains his faith in Bush's sincerity). Here, he recounts his experiences in the Bush administration, reflecting on the personal and public issues that caused him to turn away from the politics of religion, and pleads for a Christian "fast" from involvement in politics. Annotation ©2007 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

"This coming-of-age story is intriguing, written as it is by a man who saw the faith of the White House from a unique perspective. The insights of David Kuo...are brutally frank." Hartford Courant

A veteran of the Religious Right and former special assistant to President George Bush tells all, and reveals how the Bush administration has manipulated people of faith.

David Kuo was senior vice president of communications at ValueAmerica.com. He has worked for the CIA, worked for a U.S. Senator as well as a journalist and speechwriter. He lives in Virginia with his wife, Kim.

Prologue

Chapter One: God, Politics, and Fishing

Chapter Two: Odd Fellows

Chapter Three: Buffalo Hunting

Chapter Four: The Last Acceptable Form of Bigotry

Chapter Five: Struggling to Kneel

Chapter Six: Swirling...

Chapter Seven: "Just When I Thought I Was Out..."

Chapter Eight: Looking in All the Wrong Places

Chapter Nine: Breaking Down Gates of Bronze

Chapter Ten: Tripping on Marble

Chapter Eleven: This Is the White House

Chapter Twelve: Sunny Days

Chapter Thirteen: Politics Actually

Chapter Fourteen: That's the Way We Do It, Baby

Chapter Fifteen: Seeing Dimly, Seeing Clearly

Chapter Sixteen: Reel Life

Epilogue: Fast, Let's Fast

Afterword for the Paperback Edition

Acknowledgments

Index