http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/05117/494835.stmIn the newsstand outside, The New York Times' lead editorial declared that the White House office headed by Jim Towey "disregards decades of First Amendment law and civil rights protections."
Yet, despite the jab from one of the nation's leading newspapers, Towey looked the picture of serenity yesterday in a Downtown hotel lobby.
"We never expected a fair shake. It's never going to be smooth sailing," he said with a smile and slight shrug. "You're always going to hear the shrill cry of the secular national press."
As director of the Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives, Towey, 48, seems to be standing in the calm center as a political tornado swirls around him.
From the heart-wrenching final days of Terri Schiavo and the debate whether removing her feeding tube was merciful or murder, to the charge that those filibustering judicial appointments are enemies of people of faith, the commingling roles of faith, politics and government have moved to the forefront of public discourse.