(video by Lynn Sweet)
BACKGROUND:
UPDATED
AP Source: Obama personally intervened to change Dem platform language on Jerusalem, God.
4:12 PM9/5/2012
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Democrats restore references to God and Jerusalem to platform.
EARLIER
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The Democratic Party’s platform makes no reference to God, drawing criticism from Republican vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan.
Ryan tells Fox News’ “Fox & Friends” the change is not in keeping with the country’s founding documents and principles and suggests the Obama administration is behind the decision. The Republican platform mentions God 12 times.
The 2008 Democratic Party platform made a single reference to God, referring to the “God-given potential” of working people.
The new platform does contain a plank on faith, saying it “has always been a central part of the American story.” The platform says the nation was founded on the principle of religious freedom and the ability of people to worship as they please. It also praises the work of faith-based organizations.
