Obama pledges to expand Bush's faith-based works: "A real partnership, not a photo op"
Adopting a federal program criticized strongly by some liberals, Senator Barack Obama says he would expand and improve President Bush’s initiative to fund religious charities and community ministries and make it central to his administration should he reach the White House.
Speaking July 1 at East Side Community Ministry in Zanesville, Ohio, Obama said such groups are well placed to solve the country’s most pressing problems, from poverty to the environment.