U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige today released the following statement on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals opinion on the Constitutionality of the Pledge of Allegiance:

"Last year after the vicious attacks on our nation, I joined President Bush and thousands of school children across our great country in a simultaneous nationwide Pledge of Allegiance. It was a chance for all of us to show our patriotism, and reflect upon our proud and rich national history and the foundations of our free society.

"Today the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals issued an opinion that staggers the imagination. According to Judge Goodwin of the court, the Pledge of Allegiance is unconstitutional because of the words Congress chose to insert in the Pledge: "under God." The Court held that this modest expression of faith violates the Constitution's First Amendment.

"The case arose from a parent seeking to stop his child's school from having students recite the pledge. The Judge held the pledge itself to be unconstitutional, not merely the practice of having students recite it.

"While I am confident this opinion will be overturned, it is more than a little disturbing that our nation's Constitution could be read this way. It stretches the First Amendment beyond credulity, and it places the opinion of unelected judges above the plain meaning of the Constitution and the nation's history, let alone common sense.

"This case also points out in dramatic fashion the importance of appointing men and women to the Federal bench who will interpret laws rather than write them, and who understand the nature and limits of judicial power under our Constitution -- the sorts of men and women President Bush is seeking to appoint to the courts."

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