"[5] Beck's and Palin's speeches praised George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, and Martin Luther King Jr., as well as American war veterans.

Beck called for Americans to unite despite political or religious disagreements, with 240 clergy from different races and religions – belonging to the ecumenical ministerial group, the Black Robe Regiment – joining the events' speakers on stage before its closing statements.

The event was held at the Lincoln Memorial, the same location, and the 47th anniversary of the 1963 March on Washington and Martin Luther King Jr.'s historic "I Have a Dream" speech, drawing criticism from African American leaders who believed the rally was clouding the legacy of the Civil Rights Movement.

Expected attendees included Major League Baseball player Albert Pujols and MLB manager Tony La Russa, both of whom decided to attend after being assured by Beck that the rally would not be political.

Carlton W. Veazey, minister of the National Baptist Convention and president of Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice, held a press conference to announce his opposition to Beck's rally.

"[24] However, King reminded Beck that his father's dream "rejected hateful rhetoric and all forms of bigotry or discrimination, whether directed at race, faith, nationality, sexual orientation or political beliefs.

I have a nightmare that one day a right wing talk show host will come to this spot, his people's lips dripping with the words interposition and nullification.

[27]Political satirists such as Comedy Central's Jon Stewart dubbed the rally "Beckapalooza" and "I Have A Scheme",[28] while Stephen Colbert facetiously announced that he was ready to follow Beck in his "silver freedom spaceship that runs on human tears.

"[32] Eugene Robinson of The Washington Post described Beck as an "egomaniacal talk-show host who profit(s) handsomely from stoking fear, resentment and anger", while calling his "absurdly titled" rally "an exercise in self-aggrandizement on a Napoleonic scale.

"[33] Robinson, continued his Napoleon analogy by ending his column with a quip that he half-expected Beck to "appear before the crowd in a bicorne hat, with one hand tucked into the front of his jacket.

[1] In elaborating on his "cynical" hypothesis, Zaitchik stated "I view this through a prism of his business – he's in a very competitive media world with many distractions and this will enable him to be the topic of conversation.

Beck was introduced by Pat Gray, his radio show co-host and close friend who baptized him in 1999 into Mormonism, and spoke briefly, remarking: This building was [filled] by invitation [to] some of the best and bravest pastors, priests, rabbis, clerics in the country.

[37]Other speakers included Barton, televangelist Gloria Copeland, Rabbi Daniel Lapin, Dr. Patrick Lee of the Franciscan University of Steubenville, the Rev.

"[41] However, the speeches themselves were restricted from overt partisanship as the tax-exempt co-sponsor of the event, the Special Operations Warrior Foundation, required all speakers to sign an agreement promising not to talk politics.

The answer is spiritual renewal and rebuilding a civil society one person, one family, one church, mosque, synagogue, temple, and one community at a time.

[50] Additional features of the event included: the songs "Heaven Was Needing A Hero" and "America, the Beautiful," sung by Jo Dee Messina; the Pledge of Allegiance, led by a Boy Scout; the National Anthem, sung a cappella; the gathered masses' singing of "Amazing Grace," as accompanied by bagpipers;[51] and pastors' offerings of invocation (D. Paul Jehle,[52] The New Testament Church, Plymouth, Massachusetts) and benediction (the Reverend Dave Roever).

At the event, Beck introduced a group of 240 religious leaders from among the "Black Robe Regiment," that includes clergy of various denominations, ranging from evangelical pastors to Roman Catholic priests to Jewish rabbis to Muslim imams, among others.

There was patriotism: fund- raising for children of slain Special Forces vets, paeans to military heroism (delivered by Sarah Palin, among others), encomiums to the founding fathers ...

A Beck admirer could spin 'Restoring Honor' as proof that left-wing fears about the Tea Partiers are overblown: free of rancor, racism or populist resentment, the atmosphere at the rally resembled that of a church picnic or a high school football game.

But a suspicious liberal could retort that all the God-and-Christ talk and military tributes were proof enough that a sinister Christian nationalism lurked beneath the surface.I believe we're approaching a last call, all aboard.

"[50] Beck commented on media coverage of the rally, such as the New York Times calling him "the anti-King" and a quote (misattributed to NPR) by The Root worrying that the event could spiral into a "pit of hatred.

[90] Jones, a visiting professor at Stanford University, said the Beck rally seemed to be tasteful and did not appear to distort King's message, which included a recommitment to religious values.

[90] James Freeman, in an op-ed for The Wall Street Journal, wrote positively about the rally, remarking that "the day was largely devoted to expressions of gratitude for the sacrifices of U.S. soldiers, for great men of American history like the Rev.

"[91] Fox News host Bill O'Reilly described it as an "appeal for a return to Judeo-Christian values" and called it "a huge victory for Glenn Beck and Americans who believe that his message of honor and dignity is worthwhile.

"[54] Conversely, liberal radio host Bill Press, who attended the rally personally, criticized the "Christian religious fervor" of the event, remarking that at one point he expected Beck "to part the Reflecting Pool and walk across it.

"[92] In discussing the setting among the crowd, Press stated that it was "a strange combination of political rally and religious revival", which left him surrounded by the "old, white, and angry.

[93] In Hitchens' view, the expressions of "pathos and insecurity", were voiced in a "sickly", "pious" and "persecuted" tone, while the speeches "denied racial feeling so monotonously and vehemently as to draw attention.

"[102] In response to the rally, Warren Cole Smith, associate publisher of the Christian-themed World magazine, said: I will say that there is a significant minority of evangelicals who have deep concerns about Beck's true motives.

Beck depended heavily on historian and committed evangelical David Barton for assistance in picking speakers and selecting those who would lead in prayer and worship.

"[105] Various other media outlets, including the Associated Press,[106] Politico,[107] the Washington Post,[108] and ABC News,[109] all agreed there were significantly fewer people than at Restoring Honor.