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Christian political and cultural groups easily fall prey to putting symbol and rhetoric above actual change: witness recent fights over Ten Commandments displays, government-sponsored invocations, the Pledge of Allegiance, and wishes of "Happy Holidays." Such debates rally donors, but they don't make much lasting societal difference.

Ayotte reminds us that we don't have to play that game. We don't have to assume that meaningful legislation will be entirely shot down by "liberal activist judges." If Bismarck was right in calling politics "the art of the possible," then the canvas just got bigger.

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Weblog also commented on the decision after its release.

This column appeared in the magazine's March 2006 print issue as the eleventh entry of "Weblog in Print," CT's effort to duplicate on paper our popular online Weblog feature. Earlier entries include:

Time to Get Judicially Serious | Evangelicals and the possible Supreme Court Catholic majority. (Dec. 28, 2005)

The Katrina Quandary | America questions the role of Christian charity. (Oct. 20, 2005)

Abolishing Abstinence | Telling underage kids not to have sex is surprisingly controversial (Aug. 24, 2005)

Dirty Qur'ans, Dusty Bibles | If Leviticus or Jude suddenly disappeared from Scripture, would we notice? (June 20, 2005)

Who's Driving This Thing? | Everyone is asking who leads the evangelical movement. (Feb. 21, 2005)

Bad Believers, Non-Believers | Do religious labels really mean anything? (Oct. 19, 2004)

Pro-Abortion Madness | The abortion lobby has abandoned its rationales amid pro-life gains. (Aug. 17, 2004)

Grave Images | The photos from Abu Ghraib have reopened debate on the power of pictures.

Misfires in the Tolerance Wars | Separating church and state now means separating belief and action (Feb. 24, 2004)

A Theoblogical Revolution | Billy Graham's vision goes from print to online, then back again. (Jan. 16, 2004; Weblog update: "New Kids on the Blog," Feb. 13, 2004)

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March 2006, Vol. 50, No. 3