Today on "Kresta in the Afternoon" for March 13, 2012

Talking about the "things that matter most" on March 13

4:00 – God in the White House: A History: How Faith Shaped the Presidency
Faith and they Presidency. Faith on the campaign trail. Historian Randall Balmer takes us on a tour of presidential religiosity in the last half of the twentieth century—from Kennedy's 1960 speech that proposed an almost absolute wall between American political and religious life to the soft religiosity of Lyndon B. Johnson's Great Society; from Richard Nixon's manipulation of religion to fit his own needs to Gerald Ford's quiet stoicism; from Jimmy Carter's introduction of evangelicalism into the mainstream to Ronald Reagan's co-option of the same group; from Bill Clinton's covert way of turning religion into a non-issue to George W. Bush's overt Christian messages, Balmer reveals the role religion has played in the personal and political lives of these American presidents. He is here with us today.

4:30 – Is America Losing its Demographic Advantage?
In the latest step in her campaign for fitness, Michelle Obama told U.S. soldiers that obesity is a national-security issue. The Pentagon reports that about a quarter of the American youths seeking to don the uniform are too fat to fight, and that a billion dollars a year is spent on medical care related to overweight and obese troops. Overlooked in the narrative is the reason the United States has survived this threat to military readiness so far. The antidote has been hearty U.S. population numbers. In other words, American demographic exceptionalism. Are we losing that demographic exceptionalism? Susan Yoshihara is here to answer that question.

5:00 – Kresta Comments

5:40 – Fri, March 23 - National Day of Protest Against the HHS Mandate
Religious leaders across the country have been speaking out against the HHS Mandate, including every Catholic bishop, and numerous lawsuits have been filed by Catholic institutions. Contributing on the side of grassroots activism is a Rally for Religious Freedom. On March 23 at Noon, concerned citizens in over 100 locations across America will gather outside federal buildings in cities to rally in defense of religious freedom and stand up against the HHS Mandate. One of the organizers, Monica Miller, is here to discuss it.