It’s Not All Rosy from the White House While a sitting president has no formal role in the process of amending the U.S. Constitution, his opinion on the matter can carry great influence. In the case of the Marriage Protection Amendment, FPN President Joe Glover is bothered by President Bush’s apparent reluctance to use his bully pulpit to rally support. President Bush is scheduled to deliver a speech in the nation’s capital on Monday, where he is expected to voice his support for the Marriage Protection Amendment. But Joe Glover, president of the Family Policy Network, says the fact that the president has waited until the day before the Senate votes to speak on the issue shows the president does not care. Bush, he says, “hasn’t lifted a finger” to push the MPA. “He hasn’t twisted any arms, he hasn’t made any deals, he hasn’t been pushing senators to support defining marriage as between a man and a woman,” Glover states. “And [yet] he thinks that he can hold one speech … the day before the vote, which is a clear expression of weakness, and appease conservatives as if he’s done something significant.” The pro-family activist notes that the president worked for months on issues such as Social Security and the Medicare prescription drug entitlement, “which conservatives didn’t even like.” Glover adds. “But for marriage he gives us one speech … the day before and expects us all to be pleased with it.” In addition, Glover reports that the venue for Bush’s speech on Monday — originally to take place in the White House Rose Garden — has been moved to a room in the Eisenhower Building. He suggests the change in location as another indication of the administration’s lackluster support for the amendment. “They’ve moved it to the back of the bus,” he says. Glover feels that Bush’s lack of concern for protecting traditional marriage is a slap in the face of conservative Christians who helped elect him. And it is ironic, he adds, that First Lady Laura Bush made the comment recently that protecting marriage should not be a campaign issue, when the issue was a key part of the Republican platform in 2004. Adapted from an AgapePress article written by Allie Martin, Jody Brown and Rusty Pugh. Copyright AgapePress, 2006. All Rights Reserved. MORE INFORMATION: LA Times – Gay Marriage Amendment Getting a Presidential Push: http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-gay3jun03,0,3806086,print.story?coll=la-home-headlines