Recently I read two books that I found quite similar in many passages. One was the campaign biography of Republican Gov. George W. Bush, A Charge to Keep. The other was In Praise of Public Life, written by Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman before he knew that he would become the Democratic vice presidential candidate.

"I could not be governor if I did not believe in a divine plan that supersedes all human plans," Bush wrote. "Politics is a fickle business. Polls change. Today's friend is tomorrow's adversary. People lavish praise and attention. Many times it is genuine; sometimes it is not. Yet I build my life on a foundation that will not shift. My faith frees me. Frees me to put the problems of the moment in proper perspective. Frees me to make decisions that others might not like. Frees me to try to do the right thing, even though it may not poll well. Frees me to enjoy life and not worry what comes next. I've never plotted the various steps of my life, certainly never campaigned for one office to try to position myself for the next. I am more spontaneous than that. I live in the moment, seize opportunities, and try to make the most of them."

Now, hear Lieberman: "In the helter skelter push and pull of Senate life, Hadassah and I have found that our religious observance provide very welcome relief, particularly the Sabbath, that weekly sanctuary between sunset on Friday and sundown on Saturday. This is the time when the worldly concerns of the rest of the week are put on hold so that we can focus on appreciating all that God has given us. It is a day apart, when my family and I are able to reconnect with one another and with our spiritual selves, to pray, to talk, to read, to rest, or to just plain enjoy ourselves. It is a 'time beyond time,' as one rabbi called it. In fact, I usually don't wear a watch on the Sabbath. I treasure that time, twenty-four hours with no meetings, no telephone calls, no television, no radio, no traveling, no business of any sort. My Connecticut Senate colleague, Chris Dodd, once joked with me that he would consider converting to Judaism just for the weekends."

Both are saying that their political careers are transitory, while their religious devotion is permanent.

I've chosen a few other quotations from these two candidates' books, and, to make a point, I'd like to play a little game with you. I'll give you the quotation and you decide whether it was Bush or Lieberman who wrote it.

Quotation 1 -- "Our society has been shaken by a succession of morally jolting events during the past several years. There was, of course, the Clinton-Lewinsky scandal and the impeachment trauma that followed it. There was the horrific tragedy at Littleton, Colorado, along with similar acts of violence among school children in workplaces elsewhere across the nation. There has been a disturbing rise in violent hate crimes and unprecedented terrorist attacks by some Americans against their own government and their fellow citizens. And there is a swelling sense that much of our culture has become toxic, that our standards of decency and civility are being significantly eroded by the entertainment industry's shameless and pervasive promotion of violence, sex and vulgarity and that the traditional sources of values in our society - such as faith, family and school - are in a life and death struggle with the darker forces of immorality, inhumanity and greed."

Quotation 2 -- "Some close the shutters, turn on the television and withdraw. But apathy comes with a risk, because when the American dream is diminished by any one of us, it is diminished for all of us. We are 'one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.' I reject the thinking of those who would lump Americans into different groups based on characteristics such as skin color or ethnic heritage or economic circumstance. Group thought pits people against one another, and its political expressions, quotas and preferences, demean the individual and lower standards. Each of us is a unique individual, with a heart and a soul and a conscience, and each of us has ties to one another. We are united by a common bond of history and citizenship. President Lincoln reminded us that America is not just a collection of states or individuals. We are a single, moral community, with obligations to one another. We are America."

Quotation 3 -- "For our culture to change; it must change one heart, one soul and one conscience at a time. Government can spend money but it cannot put hope in our hearts or a sense of purpose in our lives. This is done by churches and synagogues and mosques and charities that warm the cold of life. They are a quiet river of goodness and kindness that cuts through stone."

Quotation 4 -- "More and more of us are engaged in a moral reexamination of ourselves, our families, our communities, our society and our elected leaders- their duties and behavior, public and private ... Beginning with the founders of our country and the framers of its Constitution, each succeeding generation of Americans that has faced such a time of crisis has turned to God and to America's civil religion for strength and purpose. We are, after all, not just a nation. We are, as our Pledge of Allegiance, declares, "one nation, under God." So it is not surprising that in the current time of crisis we are again turning to faith and experiencing what may be a spiritual awakening that can lead to social and political renewal. Nor is it surprising that in this democracy of ours that political candidates, including those running for president this year, are sincerely reflecting that return to faith in their lives and in their campaigns."

Quotation 5 -- "Public morality in America suffered a very damaging decline. That is evident in our families, where we have gone from completely stigmatizing divorce and out-of-wedlock children to normalizing these choices so that there is too little concern for the damage they do to children individually and to society as a whole. It is also evident in our schools, where too many teachers and curricula have avoided mentioning the words "values" and "faith" and have refused to help children understand the difference between right and wrong for fear of causing controversy, offending someone or inviting a lawsuit. It is true in our public ceremonies and places where courts and officials have repeatedly prohibited expressions of faith, thus mistaking the Constitution's promise of freedom of religion for a policy of freedom from religion. That has deprived America of one of its greatest sources of strength, unity and guidance."

Quotation 6 -- "My faith gives me focus and perspectives. It teaches humility. But I also recognize that faith can be misinterpreted in the political process. Faith is an important part of my life. I believe it is important to live my faith, not flaunt it. America is a great country because of our religious freedoms. It is important for any leader to respect the faith of others."

I suppose that if you study the style of the writings, it is easy to discern Lieberman's from Bush's. The Texas governor prefers short declarative sentences, Lieberman leans to more complex sentence structure. But in case, you 're not sure who's who, the answers are as follows: Q1 Lieberman; Q2 Bush; Q3 Bush; Q4 Lieberman; Q5 Lieberman; Q6 Bush

Although there are nuanced differences in what they say, Lieberman and Bush obviously are preaching from the same inter-religious sermon book. Americans evidently are listening, judging by polls which indicate that by a 2-1 majority they believe religion deserves a place in the candidates' speeches.