Protestant Bush's papal plea is an act of desperation by Josh Marshall.

Forty-five years after John F. Kennedy had to work to convince voters he wasn't the Pope's candidate for president, Bush and conservatives in the Catholic Church are trying to accomplish the opposite. On a recent visit to the Vatican, the president reportedly urged Cardinal Angelo Sodano (the Vatican secretary of state) toward greater "activism" in regards to social and cultural issues. Translation: deny guys like Sen. Kerry communion.

As Marshall points out in his column, what a difference forty-five years have made in the attitude of the Republican Party.