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Prison Fellowship founder Charles Colson, a longtime close friend of Bennett's, doesn't use the word addict in his response to the controversy. In fact, he doesn't even use the word gambling (The word appears only in the press release's title). "Bill Bennett has acknowledged his failure to set a right example and he has stated he will address the problem. Now let us put this issue to rest," Colson says. "In light of Bill's statement, I support him 100 percent. Bill Bennett is one of the most gifted philosophers and public intellectuals of our age. I hope and pray that this unfortunate incident will not in any way diminish him or his influence. All of us should be reminded that according to the Bible, 'All have fallen short of the glory of God.' He made a mistake, he's correcting it; let's move on."

It's odd that Colson has nothing to say about Bennett's gambling, given that he's commented on the vice so often in the past—including an explicit critique of video poker.

The commentary most ripe for dissection, however, comes from Pat Robertson's CBN News. Here's the full text of the report: "Former Education Secretary and author William Bennett likes to gamble. But his wife told USA Today that Bennett's never going to the casinos again. Recent media reports claimed Bennett is a 'preferred customer' at four different casinos and that he has lost millions of dollars over the last decade. Bennett disputes those claims, but does admit he enjoys gambling. None of the reports accuse him of doing anything illegal. Bennett is a leading conservative voice on moral issues and family values, and some question whether gambling is consistent with those values."

That's awfully objective for a news outlet prone to "directed reporting." Maybe it's because Robertson has been burned on the gambling issue too?

Yesterday, Weblog lamented that the many profamily groups that had pushed for changes in the U.S. House's AIDS bill last week had nothing to say once the amended bill passed.

Since then, Focus on the Family not only issued a story supporting the bill, but it urged supporters to "contact President Bush and thank him for supporting efforts to make the Global AIDS bill the best possible and most effective response to the scourge of AIDS."

Concerned Women for America also issued a statement supporting the changed bill, though it focused overwhelmingly on the amendments, and didn't say much about tripling anti-AIDS expenditures. "Members [of the House of Representatives" had a choice between the Uganda model and the San Francisco model of AIDS prevention," Michael Schwartz, CWA's vice president for government relations. "The House chose to send life, not death, to Africa."

1. A compromised AIDS bill | A bright spot in President Bush's foreign relations agenda grows dimmer with approval of a global AIDS initiative hamstrung by concessions to the most conservative element of his party (Editorial, The Journal Gazette, Ft. Wayne, Ind.)
   
   

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May (Web-only) 2003, Vol. 47