more important than Texas?!?

By Diogenes ( articles ) | Jun 13, 2008

What do you call a Texan who thinks that the Vatican is more important than Texas?

Ordinarily, you call him a Texan Catholic.

That's what is striking about this passage from a Reuters account of today's meeting between Pope Benedict and President Bush. Marveling at the beauty of the Vatican gardens, the leader of the world's sole superpower asked about the tiny city-state:

Bush asked: "How big is it?" A Vatican aide responded: "Not quite as big as Texas." Bush then said: "Yes but more important ... this is spectacular."

OK, that got my attention.

Some reporters seem to be carried away by the prospect of a presidential conversion. If they really understood what it means to be an American Evangelical Protestant, they wouldn't have expected Bush to kneel down, on an impulsive, at a Marian shrine.

But then again, reporters in Rome might not appreciate how much it takes for a red-blooded Texan to admit that anything is bigger, better, or more important than Texas.