If atheists believed in God, they might thank Him for creating Michael Newdow to protect their tender sensibilities.

If atheists believed in God, they might thank Him for creating Michael Newdow to protect their tender sensibilities. It was Newdow who persuaded the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals to rule that requiring students to recite the words "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance violates the First Amendment. That ruling was overturned by the Supreme Court on the grounds that Newdow, who is not sole custodian of his school-aged daughter, lacks standing to sue on her behalf. So Newdow found likeminded parents to sue along with him, and a federal judge has ruled in their favor. Now, it is difficult to see what injury the Pledge does to an atheist. He holds that the idea of God is absurd, not offensive--from his perspective, the Pledge may as well invoke the Easter Bunny. Moreover, it requires a leap of faith (oops) to see how those two words--"under God"--amount to an establishment of religion. What those who are so inclined should pray for is a Supreme Court ruling that addresses the merits of Newdow's argument and clarifies our tangled web of church-state jurisprudence. That would be--a miracle.