Also courtesy of Queer Day, the Rocky Mountain News reports that the chief of staff for Rep. Marilyn Musgrave, the originator of the current version of the Federal Marriage Amendment before Congress, claims that President Bush pledged to support the amendment back in November, three months before he made his public announcement in February. The White House disputes this, claiming that Bush only made the decision to push for a constitutional amendment after officials in San Francisco and New Mexico granted marriage licenses to same-sex couples.

Even scarier, though, is what the White House does explicitly confess:

White House press secretary Scott McClellan, speaking to reporters after the president’s announcement, said Bush resolved to support an amendment after a process that involved consulting with constitutional scholars, theologians, religious leaders and others.

Why is the President of the U.S. consulting with theologians and religious leaders on an amendment to the U.S. Constitution, the very document that establishes and enshrines (if you’ll forgive the pun) the separation of church and state? What these religious leaders think about the amendment, at least in their role as religious leaders, is not supposed to matter one whit. But then again, I’ve long believed that George W. was whit-less.