The controversy surrounding the Pledge of Allegiance is simply another example of how disgustingly opportunistic and dramatic politicians are when their office is at stake. The words "under God" will be sucked dry by every politician's campaign manager as a measure of just how patriotic his man is. It's not patriotism, just a publicity stunt.

The words in question were added in 1954 to counter atheistic Communism. Then on June 26 this year, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in California deemed them an unconstitutional breech of the separation of church and state. The next day, a flurry of supposedly outraged legislators denounced the ruling, calling it "just nuts" and "stupid."

What's really stupid is the length to which some government officials went to display their undying faith in those two words. About 150 of them were so enthusiastic that they gathered outside the Capitol to show their support by publicly reciting the Pledge—an obvious, pathetic, desperate attempt to mimic the televised singing of "God Bless America" on Sept. 11.

Congress has bigger fish to fry. With a faltering economy, an impending invasion of Iraq, and a volatile terrorism situation, we really don't have time to waste on the Pledge of Allegiance.

What it all comes down to is the politicians' undying hunger for reëlection, which will be fed with anything the press can shovel into its drooling, ever-open mouth, unless of course the hole is blocked by the individual's foot.