Christmas Row Hits White House

The White House has blundered into the latest, seasonal dispute in the culture wars: is it appropriate to mention Christmas at this time of year?

George and Laura Bush have sent out more than a million Christmas cards, each with a picture of the presidential pets playing on a snow-covered White House lawn. Inside the greeting offers "best wishes for a holiday season of hope and happiness" - but there is no mention of Christmas.

The omission has enraged some Christian conservative groups. "This clearly demonstrates that the Bush administration has suffered a loss of will and that they have capitulated to the worst elements in our culture," William Donohue, president of the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights, told the Washington Post. Tim Wildmon, of the American Family Association, said: "Sometimes it's hard to tell whether this is sinister ... or whether it's just political correctness run amok. I think in the case of the White House, it's just political correctness."

The fuss comes as Christian groups are pressuring retailers to wish shoppers Happy Christmas rather than Happy Holidays. But evangelist leader Jerry Falwell, who has mobilised his supporters to that cause, said he had no problem with the White House card, which contains a verse from Psalm 28 inside. "There's a verse from scripture in it. I don't mind that at all, as long as we don't try to pretend we're not a nation under God," he said.