This Wed., 1 pm EST, WaPo's Jim VendeHei takes questions on-line re Bush

[DesEtoiles]

1 p.m.: White House Insider

Washington Post staff writer Jim VandeHei takes your questions on all the latest happenings in the Bush White House.

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Let's make sure we get some good ones in.

[napi21]

1. Ohhhh, you're going to have to remind me closer to Wed!

I did write it donw, but I know I won't remember anyway.

BTW, do you have a link?

[CBHagman]

2. Thanks for the heads-up.

One of my pet peeves about VandeHei's coverage has been his tendency to try to link George W. Bush to the Catholic Church and specifically the legacy of John Paul II. VandeHei's articles ran under headlines on the order of "Culture of life united Bush, pope." I kid you not.

Why do I find this inappropriate? Well, for starters, no politician owns a particular church or faith. Second, the whole business smacked of trying to exploit the outpouring of affection for John Paul II. Third, the Catholic vote in the U.S. was split in the 2004 election, not the exclusive property of the Bush ticket. Fourth, Bush's invoking of the expression "culture of life" doesn't undo the policies he pursues which are highly out of step with the Catholic Church. For example, Bush's emphasis on unfettered free-market capitalism and his tendency to favor those in the top 1 percent of income, as well as his rush to war in Iraq, all flew in the face of Catholic teaching.

That said, I found VandeHei pretty balanced when he was a commentator on MSNBC's Countdown the other week. Maybe he will grow in his position covering the White House, but for now I have my concerns.

[DesEtoiles]

3. "Is Bush's recess appointment of Bolton akin to giving the finger to U.S.?