WASHINGTON – In a magazine interview, President Bush (search) said evil people can become good, but as for Al Qaeda mastermind Usama bin Laden (search), "This guy's soul is so corroded, there's just no way."
"As far as I'm concerned, there's nothing redeemable about him," the president told Ladies' Home Journal in an April interview at his Texas ranch and published in the magazine's new issue, with the cover featuring photos of George and Laura Bush and John and Teresa Heinz Kerry.
Bush also agreed with the magazine's interviewer that there are indications America is having a spiritual reawakening. People are "a bit more religious in America," he said, and added he was referring to Jews, Christians and Muslims alike.
In a separate interview with the magazine in May, Massachusetts Sen. Kerry, Bush's presumed opponent for November's election, said that if elected president, he would choose not to insert references to religion as frequently as Bush does in his public remarks.
Doing so "sort of squeezes the diversity that the presidency is supposed to embrace. ... I'm not sure the president always balances it appropriately," said Kerry, a Roman Catholic (search).
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