The boss has been writing about the left’s use of kids as sympathetic “human shields” for their policies for years and years, but even so, I’m amazed. I thought the moral authority of the religious setting would create enough cover for Obama or whoever to toss a few bones to health care in their eulogies; I guess, like Karl says, they were skittish after the Wellstone memorial fiasco and figured they couldn’t take any chances. Enter this poor little boy, charged with politicizing a prayer because the gutless pols around him didn’t have the balls to do it themselves.

Incidentally, after linking this on Twitter, I’ve been informed by liberal amateur theologians that it’s perfectly kosher to pray for universal health care — on TV, in the middle of a national debate, at a funeral service ostensibly devoted to grieving over someone, by exploiting an innocent child — because, um, Jesus would have supported it. I’m happy to discover that the left’s decades of righteous outrage at Christian conservatives for mixing religion with politics was, as so much else is, simple partisan posturing, but I’m unfamiliar with the sermon where Jesus called for Caesar to create a public fund to heal the sick. Can any Bible aficionados help? Exit question: Anyone have any young’uns at home they’d be willing to volunteer to lead prayers at the next big GOP funeral? We might as well make use of the camera time while we have it. “Dear god, please grant us the strength to privatize social security and construct a robust missile defense shield. We pray to the Lord.” Click the image to watch.