The telecast was organized by some of the most influential conservative Christian supporters of the Bush administration after Justice Sandra Day O'Connor announced her retirement. But its organizers are evidently disregarding White House requests not to inject talk of a culture war into the debate over a Supreme Court nominee.

In other words, administration officials are whispering, "Hey, we'll take care of you, just try not to make it so obvious that we support your desire to violate the Constitution by imposing a religious test for Supreme Court membership." But religious extremists, having delivered a second term to their man Bush, expect payback, and they aren't keeping quiet about their desires.

The usual suspects (this time without Bill Frist) will participate:

Scheduled speakers in the telecast include James C. Dobson, the influential founder of Focus on the Family; former Senator Zell Miller, Democrat of Georgia; Charles W. Colson, the former Watergate figure and the founder of an evangelical group, Prison Fellowship; the veteran Christian conservative organizer Phyllis Schlafly; and William Donohue, president of the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights. Mr. Perkins said the organizers planned to include a Jewish speaker as well.