From PRI, Public Radio International and KCRW Santa Monica, this is To the Point.

Evangelicals and the harsh realities of political partisanship.

Hello again, I'm Orman Alney, and this is To the Poet from Public Radio International,

the daily look at the issues, Americans care about most.

David Quo, a former Bush White House aide for faith-based initiatives, says evangelicals are supported in public but mocked behind the scenes.

A veteran Texas reporter said he heard the president himself call conservative Christians wackos.

On to the point, those revelations come as Republicans are struggling to get their voters out to the polls, so what's the real message to the religious right? We'll hear from David Quo and get the reactions of evangelical leaders. Are they surprised that politics is a cynical game? Who's using who? We'll also hear how the president couch's religious ideas in secular language. First,

here's the news. Support for To the Point comes from subscribers of KCRW Santa Monica and from the Public

Radio International Program Fund, whose contributors include the Ford Foundation and the John

D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.

Hello again, Juan and I'll only back with To the Point. A former Bush White House aide for faith-based

initiatives says conservative Christians are being used for political reasons. On To the Point,

we'll hear from him and get reactions from evangelical leaders. Are they surprised? Are they using

politicians just as much as politicians are using them?

First this news update, North Korea's atomic test has raised the possibility of a nuclear arms race in Asia.

In Tokyo today, on the first stop of a hastily planned trip to the region, Secretary of State Rice said the U.S.

will use the full range of its military might, if necessary, to defend Japan.

Nicholas Secheney is Assistant Director on Japan at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.

Welcome to our program.

Thank you very much.

Just after the Secretary made that public reassurance, the Foreign Minister of Japan, Tara also said Japan is absolutely not considering a nuclear arsenal.

How important is his statement?

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