Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright agrees. She told CNN that Bush administration “rhetoric has come close to justifying U.S. policy in explicitly religious terms, and that this is like waving a red flag in front of a bull.”

Really? Let’s consider some of Bush’s rhetoric.

In his second inaugural address, Bush noted that “it is the policy of the United States to seek and support the growth of democratic movements and institutions in every nation and culture, with the ultimate goal of ending tyranny in our world.” But, he added, “America will not impose our own style of government on the unwilling. Our goal instead is to help others find their own voice, attain their own freedom, and make their own way.”

That might be a red flag to dictators in places including Iran and Syria, but it’s been a checkered flag for democrats in places such as Ukraine and Lebanon. Bush’s position is decidedly nonreligious. Bush wants to spread freedom and self-determination to Christian countries, Muslim countries and, presumably, atheist countries.

Albright adds “that President Bush is so certain about what God is telling him, and also making it clear that God is on America’s side.” But of course she has no way of knowing whether what she says is true. She just assumes that, since Bush is a conservative, his religion must be driving his foreign policy.

Of course, every once in a while it is possible to generalize about conservatives. “Those people sure seem happy,” The Post story about Dreher and his family concludes. Happiness is one trait most conservatives do share -- even if some are simply happy because we’re not liberals. But there’s no litmus test. Even if you’re unhappy, we’ll take you too.