Barack Obama unveiled his vision for re-tooling George W. Bush's "Office of Faith-Based Initiative." From the AP:

Taking a page from President Bush, Democrat Barack Obama said Tuesday he wants to expand White House efforts to steer social service dollars to religious groups, risking protests in his own party with his latest aggressive reach for voters who usually vote Republican.

The AP originally reported, then corrected, the assertion that Obama's program would "support their ability to hire and fire based on faith."

The move has pundits drawing comparisons, mostly favorable, to George W. Bush, but is being characterized by some as a rightward shift by the candidate. The preferred narrative these days is that, now that the primaries are over, Obama is making a sharp, rightward turn for the general election.

While the merits of the program are debatable, this is unquestionably smart politics by Obama. The move is consistent with everything that people know about him, so the pandering charge won't stick, and his program fixes, and builds on, Bush's flawed program.

For my part, I find myself mostly in agreement with Andrew Sullivan on this one.

President Bush recently hailed the efforts of "America's armies of compassion," celebrating 7 years of service under his Faith-Based and Community Initiative. The program ended years of blatant discrimination against religious groups, which President Clinton had barred from even competing for federal projects.

The occasion raises the question of charitable giving, and the dispersions cast about in political circles regarding concern for the poor. Liberal have a propensity for claiming greater concern for the needy, branding conservatives as corporate misers unconcerned with the lower classes.

The truth is quite the opposite.