Just did a Lexis-Nexis search. One early reference is a Washington Times article on July 27, 1989: "I don't know that atheists should be considered citizens, nor should they be considered patriots. This is one nation under God," said Mr. Bush, as reported in the November issue of American Atheist magazine. A LA Times letter to the editor in July 1990: And what the head of his party, then-Vice President George Bush, told a Chicago airport press conference in August, 1987: "I don't know that atheists should be considered as citizens, nor should they be considered as patriots. This is one nation under God." A letter to the editor to the Post-Standard (Syracuse) in March 1989: To President Bush:I understand that you are on tape saying, "I don't know that atheists should be considered as citizens, nor should they be considered as patriots. This is one nation under God." UPI April 1990: While campaigning in 1987, President Bush was quoted by a reporter for an Atheist publication as saying, '''I guess I'm pretty weak in the Atheist community. My belief in God is important to me,''' O'Hair said. ''He said, and again this is verbatim, 'I don't know if atheists should be considered citizens. ... This is one nation under God.''' So there's no definitive reference in the database. -Declan On Mon, Jul 26, 2004 at 07:16:11AM +0000, Justin wrote:
On 2004-07-25T13:44:39-0500, Declan McCullagh wrote:
On Tue, Jul 13, 2004 at 10:20:44PM -0700, Major Variola (ret) wrote:
"No, I don't know that Atheists should be considered as citizens, nor should they be considered patriots. This is one nation under God." -GW Bush
Do you have a good cite for that? One source attributes it to George Bush I, not Bush II.
I've seen it more than once identified as a quote by Bush I (GHWB, #41).
http://www.positiveatheism.org/writ/ghwbush.htm
The quote was (allegedly) reported by Robert I. Sherman of the American Atheist News Journal, at an informal outdoor news conference at O'Hare on August 27, 1987.
-- "When in our age we hear these words: It will be judged by the result--then we know at once with whom we have the honor of speaking. Those who talk this way are a numerous type whom I shall designate under the common name of assistant professors." -- Kierkegaard, Fear and Trembling (Wong tr.), III, 112