Reagan staffer named president of Focus
Focus on the Family announced on Friday the appointment of Don Hodel to an unpaid position as president and CEO. A former Christian Coalition president and CEO, Hodel has been a Focus board member since 1995 and served as interim executive vice president in 1996. In the '80s, he was a member of President Reagan's administration as U.S. Undersecretary of the Interior, U.S. Secretary of the Interior, and U.S. Secretary of Energy.

Much of Hodel's background is in energy and natural resources. He is the founder and managing director of the Summit Energy Group, a consortium of consulting companies. He has served on the boards of the Electrical Power Research Institute, American Electrical Power, Columbia Gas, MAPCO, Taylor Energy Company, and Texon Corporation. He was also administrator of the Bonneville Power Administration and president of the National Electric Reliability Council.

Hodel joined the Christian Coalition as president and CEO without salary in 1997 and resigned in 1999 to return to retirement. He is a current board member of Salem Communications. His appointment at Focus is effective May 15. According to a press release, James Dobson will continue to lead Focus as chairman of the board but not deal in day-to-day management.

Was Rod Paige clear in his Baptist Press comments?
Washington Post columnist Richard Cohen writes today that the biggest problem with Secretary of Education Rod Paige's much-debated statements about Christian values is that his point wasn't clear.

Cohen writes that Paige has a history of making confusing and ambiguous statements. He even says that Paige "has been asked at congressional hearings to repeat himself just so his questioners could understand what he ...