Goldberg on the Congressional Christmas Tree

"Just this week, the Capitol performed its own minor Christmas miracle of transubstantiation. At the beginning of the week, House Speaker Denny Hastert unveiled a "holiday tree." But a few days later, after some entirely predictable bah humbugs, he rechristened it a "Christmas" tree. (Similarly, when the city of Boston tried to unveil its official "Holiday tree," the premier of Nova Scotia, which had provided it as a gift, called it a nifty trick since, "when it left Nova Scotia, it was a Christmas tree.")

These miracles aren’t exactly up there with keeping lamp oil burning for eight days, never mind rising from the dead, but they’re pretty good for government work.

Personally, I take no offense at the government unveiling a Christmas tree on the grounds of the “people’s house.” Besides, a place that in love with pork is hardly kosher to begin with."