1. Notwithstanding the hat-tip to church-state separation, this is definitely a walk-back from Obama’s campaign promise not to allow faith-based hiring discrimination for federally funded programs.
2. Kicking it over to the lawyers will provide him with some cover–but it won’t solve everything.
3. Using the office to engage the rest of the world in some kind of discussion about religion is a major departure, and suggest that this office is more about religion than service provision.
4. The Advisory Council is very heavy with evangelicals (of various stripes), light with everyone else, including Jews, Catholics, Mainline Protestants, Secular providers. Not a Muslim in sight.
5. There are still 10 open slots, which will presumably be filled with more non-evangelicals.