To the editor:

I never thought I would find myself in the position of defending the current president, a man whose combination of piety and aggressive warfare has made the name of the Lord Jesus a stench in the nostrils of many decent people.

Cal Thomas has driven me to this extreme.

Mr. Bush has said on more than one occasion that Muslims and Christians worship the same God. Thomas excoriates him for this, saying that Muslims could not worship the same God, because they do not accept Jesus as Lord and Savior.

I put to any reader the case of the Jews, including such people as those we Christians call St. Elizabeth, St. John the Baptist (or Baptizer) and Jesus of Nazareth himself. All of these were practicing Jews, like our Jewish brothers and sisters now.

Would anyone deny they worship the same God? And is that not the same God worshiped by the followers of the Prophet?

Is it not time to give the space taken by Thomas in the paper to someone who contributes to dialogue, not hatred and obfuscation?

Anne L. Haehl,

Lawrence