Last Friday, I participated in the "on-the-record" conference call with Melissa Rogers, the new head of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships. Like my colleague, Mark Silk who blogged about the call here, I was disappointed that Rogers was kept on such a short leash by the White House Communications team. In the end, however, what matters is that Rogers is allowed to speak up at policy-making decisions within the White House, not what she can say to a gaggle of reporters. The selection of Rogers was universally greeted with enthusiasm, a serious person with serious policy chops in a job that is consequential to the faith-based community and, indeed, to the idea of civil society. Let's hope her influence within the White House is wide and deep.
