And was it a well-deserved spanking?

Judge for yourself:

Hannity Falsely Claims Obama Administration Gives Special Treatment To Atheists (MediaMatters.org; Feb 27)

Commenting on a White House staff-level meeting with leaders of atheist groups, Sean Hannity claimed that religious groups “have not received this treatment from the Obama White House.” In fact, President Obama himself has met with numerous religious leaders, and the administration’s contacts with religious groups include two days of meetings between administration staffers and more than 60 religious leaders.

From the February 26 edition of Fox News’ Hannity:

HANNITY: The Obama administration earlier today rolled out the red carpet for a coalition of atheist groups. Now, among the individuals in attendance was Michael Newdow. That’s the California man who sued unsuccessfully to have the words “under God” removed from the Pledge of Allegiance. Now, religious groups, however, have not received this kind of treatment from the Obama White House. Now, last year, the President distanced himself from the National Day of Prayer, cancelling the formal service traditionally held in honor of the day and refusing to attend a Catholic prayer breakfast. So what’s going on? Has the administration demonstrated a pattern of hostility towards religion, or is this merely a coincidence?

…. On February 26, McClatchy Newspapers reported that leaders from the Secular Coalition for America met “with Obama administration officials from the public engagement office of the White House and from the departments of Justice, Health and Human Services and Defense” and that “President Obama — as expected — did not make an appearance.”…

On July 10, 2009, Obama met with Pope Benedict XVI at the Vatican. Obama similarly hosted separate White House meeting with a group of more than 16 Jewish leaders, including two rabbis; Mormon leaders, including Thomas S. Monson, president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; and the Dalai Lama….

Obama spoke during an August 19, 2009 conference call organized by a “coalition of more than 30 faith-based groups” to discuss health care reform. The conference call reportedly included “at least 25 faith leaders — from evangelical Christian, Jewish, Muslim and other religious traditions.”…

At the February 4 National Prayer Breakfast, Obama spoke in front of “an array of religious leaders.”…

An April 9, 2009, Time article reported: “Over the course of two days, the Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships gathered more than 60 religious leaders (and a handful of secular non-profits) at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building for the first in what director Joshua Dubois says will be a series of briefings…. Throughout the two days, council members — as well as approximately 40 additional religious leaders who were invited to attend the sessions — sat through briefings by Administration officials on topics ranging from education reform and childhood hunger to energy policy. In a town where ‘religious issues’ are often thought to be limited to hot-button social concerns like abortion and gay marriage, the wide array of information was welcomed by many of those gathered. ‘This shows us that none of our faiths disqualify us from being concerned about the issues facing our country,’ said Vashti McKenzie, a bishop in the African Methodist Episcopal church. She added, ‘We’ve heard from candidates before elections — thank you for coming to us after the election is over.’”…

On June 9, 2009, Politico reported: “Also, religious leaders meet with White House policymakers on a regular basis – and help to shape decisions on matters large and small. A White House speechwriter working on Obama’s Egypt speech called several faith leaders to get their thoughts. After the White House unveiled its budget in April, officials convened a two-hour conference call with religious leaders to discuss how the spending plan would help the poor.”…

On June 11, 2009, 33 religious leaders belonging to the National Religious Campaign Against Torture met with “senior Obama administration officials” to discuss the group’s call for the “establishment of an independent, non-partisan Commission of Inquiry to investigate the development and implementation of a program of torture by the United States in the years after 9/11.”…

There’s more, but I think that’s sufficient to blow Hannity’s claim out of the water several times over.

If you know of any theists who think *atheists* are the ones who are being accorded special consideration by the Obama administration, you might want to direct them to this Media Matters post.

And if you want to rub their noses in it, well… I don’t think there’s anything in the Bible that forbids that.

In fact, doesn’t it say something about the truth setting people free?

Here’s an opportunity to put that claim to the test!