HOUSTON (AP) _ Texas Governor Rick Perry sent a strong message to the nation’s evangelicals Saturday: that he is one of them. And Perry may soon call upon Christian conservatives to help him secure the GOP presidential nomination.
The state’s longest serving governor hosted what he called a national day of prayer, an event at Houston’s Reliant Stadium that drew roughly 30,000 people and that was broadcast on Christian cable channels and via the Internet, including to at least 1,000 U.S. churches.
“Father, our heart breaks for America,” Perry said in 12 minutes of remarks that included prayer and Bible passages, but no direct mention of politics or his presidential plans.
“We see discord at home. We see fear in the marketplace. We see anger in the halls of government and, as a nation, we have forgotten who
made us, who protects us, who blesses us,” Perry prayed.
He asked the audience to pray for President Barack Obama — though he did not use the Democratic incumbent’s name — as well as for the American troops killed this weekend when their helicopter was shot down in Afghanistan.
Critics and those protesting outside the event — called The Response — say it inappropriately blended politics and religion.
(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)