St. Louis, Wednesday (FA wire) - After a week of protests, dissension and national media attention concerning the moving of the Ten Commandments monument in the Alabama Judicial Building, President Bush weighed in on the matter while speaking to the 85th American Legion Convention, saying, “In Afghanistan, we acted against the Taliban regime that harbored al Qaeda and ruled by terror.”

The remarks showed a subtle shift in the President’s position on the controversial church-and-state brouhaha. Only three days earlier, during his weekly radio address, the President had said “From Afghanistan to Iraq, to the Philippines and elsewhere, we are waging a campaign against the terrorists and their allies, wherever they gather, wherever they plan, and wherever they act.” Yet today, when confronted with the deep national divide over Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore’s suspension and the Supreme Court’s decision not to hear the case, the President commented, “We are on the offensive against terror, and we will stay on the offensive against terror.”

According to an administration official, the President had intended to travel to Montgomery on Monday in order to help defuse the situation. “As a born again Christian, a moral leader, and the President of the United States, he is of course uniquely qualified to get in there and offer a positive, unifying solution to the problem,” an aide said. Unfortunately, some “specific and credible” threats of possible terrorist plans resulted in Air Force One being diverted to St. Louis as the crisis reached its climax.

Still, the President got as close as he could to the situation and offered his strong moral leadership on the issue. On Friday, for instance, assessing the matter from the nearby state of Washington, President Bush sternly reminded the nation of the importance of both the rule of law and the sanctity of personal beliefs, saying, “The good news is that salmon runs are up.”

Back in Montgomery, there was deep gratitude for the President’s leadership on the issue. “I’m really grateful,” said Rev. Hank Bickle, a protester from Mobile. “This state was really being torn apart by the controversy. So to know that the President is somewhat nearby and not too afraid or too political to step up and say something, well, it makes a difference.” Bickle pointed to the President’s Tuesday remarks. “When he stepped up and said, ‘America and the new Afghan army are working together in a major operation called Warrior Sweep,’ well, it just made a real difference to folks down here. Now the healing can begin.”