Rick Perry complains about gays serving in military

Rick Perry may be forgetful when it comes to stuff like which cabinet departments he'd like to eliminate, or the legal voting age in the United States, but when it comes to gay-bashing, the Texas governor and Republican presidential hopeful is right on top of his game.

In a new ad, Perry -- outdoorsy in a casual jacket -- says, I'm not ashamed to admit that I'm a Christian. But you don't have to be in the pew every Sunday to know there's something wrong in this country when gays can serve openly in the military -- a pause -- but our kids can't openly celebrate Christmas or pray in school.

As U.S. District Judge Neal Biggers wrote in 1996, as long as there are tests in schools, there will be prayers there also.

But the I'm More Conservative Than My Opponents ad continues, As president, I'll end Obama's war on religion and I'll fight against liberal attacks on our religious heritage. Faith made America strong. It can make her strong again. I'm Rick Perry and I approved this message.

President Obama attends church, although he's not in the pew every Sunday. And, at this year's National Prayer Breakfast, he said: When I wake in the morning, I wait on the Lord, and I ask him to give me the strength to do right by our country and its people. And when I go to bed at night, I wait on the Lord, and I ask him to forgive my sins and look after my family and the American people and make me an instrument of His will.

With Perry's poll numbers tumbling in the runup to the Iowa Caucuses -- he's at 6 percent in Iowa, according to the Des Moines Register -- he's scrambling to burnish his conservative bona fides.