Rick Perry: ‘Father, our heart breaks for America’

Texas Gov. Rick Perry finally had his day of prayer event in Houston today. Here’s the story from McClatchy:

Thousands of worshipers converged on Houston’s Reliant Stadium on Saturday in a larger-than-expected turnout for Gov. Rick Perry’s day of prayer and fasting, transforming the cavernous sports arena into a mega-revival filled with soaring gospel music, scripture readings and solemn prayers asking for God’s help to confront the nation’s ills.

Perry, who is moving closer to a potential presidential run, drew a cheers and applause as he arrived to proclaim his faith in a “loving God” and call for a divine hand to help “those who suffer.” His eyes closed tight in prayer, Perry asked God to guide the nation’s leaders, including President Barack Obama, as they battle a litany of problems from war to economic turmoil.

“Father, our heart breaks for America,” he said. “We see discord at home. We see fear in the marketplace. We see anger in the halls of government.”

Read the rest here. I’m not sure about the scare quotes in that second paragraph. And Sarah Pulliam Bailey isn’t sure about the coverage of Perry’s prayer event in general.

As I’ve mentioned here a lot, though not much since the last presidential election, I’m terribly skeptical about politicians who proclaim her religious convictions on the campaign trail. Perry, of course, is not yet running for anything. But my suspicions are up.