Bush and his colleagues departed the speech area, not to return, leaving spectators bewildered and religious. Two things critics argue they were to begin with.
President Bush left a crowd of evangelist Christians standing in the rain for nearly two hours today after forgetting to end a campaign speech with the phrase 'God Bless America'.
Bush was speaking on the issue of gay marriage to a right-wing organization called National Union for Traditional Standards, which is strongly opposed to the prospect of gay marriage. According to audience members, the president delivered an exceptional speech that had the crowd on its feet, but when he said "thank you for your time" and left the stage, the audience assumed he would return.
"Of course we thought he would come back and say 'God bless America' or 'may God continue to bless America' or at least something along those lines," said Mike Upchurch, a member of NUTS. "I mean, he does love America and want God to bless it, doesn't he?"
While the president refused to comment on the incident, a spokesman for the White House said the president regrets the incident and plans to pray extra hard for God to bless America tonight before bedtime.
However, some analysts predict Bush's slip could cause a fallout with many conservative Christians, his strongest supporters.
Other candidates have made haste to capitalize on Bush's error, hoping to attract NUTS and other right-wingers who are disenchanted with Bush.
John Kerry delivered a speech which some attendees described as "sermon like" and has begun ending his addresses with "can I get an amen?"
"You need a president that accurately represents you, a president of deep faith," Kerry said at a church in Kerrville, Indiana. "A vote for John Kerry is a vote for God. Thank you and God bless you, and may god continue to bless America ... and only America. And may God strike down upon those with great vengeance and furious anger, those who poison and destroy America."
