Alex Theodoridis reports on a poll that found 54% of Republicans said that “Muslim” best described what President Obama “believes deep down.” Thirty percent of Republicans answered the way Gov. Scott Walker did, by selecting “I don’t know.” Only 9% selected “Christian” to describe what Obama likely believes.

Interestingly, only 45% of Democrats chose “Christian,” while 17% said “spiritual,” 10% said “Muslim,” and 26% said they didn’t know.

“Republican leaders in the North Dakota House of Representatives said they canceled the opening prayer by a Muslim on Ash Wednesday because some members thought it was more appropriate to have a Christian deliver the invocation,” the Fargo Forum reports.

New York Times: “Obama aides say there is a strategic logic to his vocabulary: Labeling noxious beliefs and mass murder as ‘Islamic’ would play right into the hands of terrorists who claim that the United States is at war with Islam itself. The last thing the president should do, they say, is imply that the United States lumps the world’s 1.5 billion Muslims with vicious terrorist groups.”

“But Mr. Obama’s verbal tactics have become a target for a growing chorus of critics who believe the evasive language is a sign that he is failing to look squarely at the threat from militant Islam. The vague phrasing, they say, projects uncertainty and weakness at a time when extremists claiming to fight for Islam threaten America and its interests around the world.”

Los Angeles Times: “Republicans accuse Obama of tiptoeing around the issue out of an apparent reluctance to offend Muslims.”

Tennessee state Rep. Jerry Sexton (R) “has introduced a bill to make the Bible the official state book, after two other Southern states considered similar moves in recent months,” the Huffington Post reports.

“Although Tennessee doesn’t have a state book, it does have a state fruit (the tomato), mineral (agate) and wild animal (raccoon).”

Bloomberg: “In less than two years in office, he’s nudged the conversation away from abusive priests and used the image makeover to wade into conflicts from helping to restore Cuban-U.S. ties to lobbying for a global climate accord. In September, he will become the first religious leader who serves as a head of state to address a joint session of Congress.”

“By sidestepping the debate on abortion, gay marriage and sex, Francis has positioned himself for a role in world affairs.”

A new Bloomberg Politics/Des Moines Register Iowa Poll finds that 39% of Republicans likely to participate in Iowa’s presidential caucuses say they are inclined to view Islam as an inherently violent religion that inspires brutality by its followers.

“Twice as many Democrats—along with a majority of Republicans—say they view the world’s second largest religion as inherently peaceful.”