As fight continues, so will media commentary
It may appear that the church vs. state battle in Alabama is over. Roy Moore's Ten Commandments monument, moved yesterday from the state judicial building's rotunda, sits in a locked storage room. Alabama's attorney general says it will be removed from the grounds by the end of the week. In addition, a federal judge in Mobile has dismissed the lawsuit filed by the Christian Defense Coalition in Washington.

But Moore says the fight isn't over. Protesters are still holding prayer vigils. Supporters wearing Ten Commandment shirts plan to stand where the monument was. James Dobson and Alan Keyes are expected to speak today at a noon rally on the building's steps. And the Christian Defense Coalition plans to refile its suit today, saying that the monument's removal violated freedom of religion.

There's also no indication that this issue is going to go away in the media anytime soon. It's hard to count all the headlines on the monument's removal yesterday. (But one thing you can count is the number of major articles quoting media darling Barry Lynn: Four.) Opinion pieces on Roy Moore's church and state battle may outnumber the news stories. And look for commentary on church/state matters to continue now that it is at the forefront of media attention.

Most editorials decry Moore's defiance and congratulate Alabama's stand against blurring church and state lines. Alabama papers Mobile Register and The Birmingham News seem relieved that the monument is gone and Moore is no longer standing in defiance. The News says, "The pivotal question in this dispute wasn't whether the monument was wrong or right, but whether Moore would obey a court's command. Moore failed the test."

The Misguided Editorial ...