THE SCRAPBOOK IS full of ecumenical spirit in this season of the Holiday That Dare Not Speak Its Name. This spirit infuses the days surrounding December 25, when politicians try to inject a bit of religion into their speeches, but not so much as to alarm the church/state ideologues at People for the American Way. It's a spirit that entails speaking as vaporously as possible about "the season" in general, while never actually naming Christ.
Both Al Gore and Hillary Rodham Clinton, for example, have agreed this year on the meaning of Christmas it's about homelessness. The first lady's official holiday greeting began, "On this day, when we celebrate the birth of a homeless child who later became the Prince of Peace." The veep, at a Dec. 22 press conference with housing secretary Andrew Cuomo, allowed as how, " speaking from my own religious tradition in this Christmas season, 2,000 years ago a homeless woman gave birth to a homeless child in a manger because the inn was full."
Speaking from Al Gore's own religious tradition, as he styles it, it's certainly true that Mary and Joseph sought refuge in a Bethlehem stable. But that's because they were traveling. By all accounts, Joseph the carpenter provided perfectly well for his household, which was not homeless. The problem being that in those days, verily, you could not dial 1-800-THE-ROOF and ask them to hold your room past 6 p.m. What's more, as outraged readers of the Washington Times pointed out after that paper quoted Gore's statement, the Holy Family was traveling because Caesar Augustus wanted to conduct a census in order to levy taxes! (Now, if only the Romans had conducted their census by sampling instead of enumeration . . .)
The vice president's remarks contained more than his normal quota of unctuousness. He praised Tipper for giving "all the proceeds from her latest book to health care for the homeless. And in our round of Christmas receptions and parties," Gore continued breathlessly, "it's always a great thrill when she will slip up behind me and whisper in my ear that the person I just met used to be a homeless person." He said that he was reaching out to the homeless because "I feel called upon as part of my religious faith." And he quickly added: "Other religious traditions have very similar teachings, of course." It's amazing Gore's P.C. meter didn't lead him to add that other non- religious traditions also have such teachings. And what about various good- hearted anti-religious traditions?
THE SCRAPBOOK is reminded of the immortal effort of a previous vice president, George Bush, describing how he held himself together as he bobbed perilously in the waters of the Pacific following the crash of his bomber in World War II: "I thought about Mother and Dad and the strength I got from them -- and God and faith . . ." And then quickly, lest anyone be offended, Bush added, "and the Separation of Church and State." Of course.