This is an excerpt from Tempting Faith by David Kuo, quoted in Believe Me by John Fea. Kuo served in George W. Bush's Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships. As a conservative, pro-life Christian, he wanted to serve the poor and believed this political position would help him influence policy towards a more "compassionate conservatism." Kuo quickly learned that power and compassion do not mix very well. His efforts were largely ignored unless there was political gain to be had, and any influence from Christian leaders was token. "Making politically active Christians personally happy meant having to worry far less about the Christian political agenda." This involved inviting them to events as part of the crowd and giving them "little trinkets like cufflinks or pens or pads of paper" to take home and show "just how influential they were." For... the White House staff, evangelical leaders were people to be tolerated, not peo...