It is hard to ignore the giant picture of PresidentGeorge W. Bush praying - head bowed, fingers clenched - in Jim Towey's office. Yet Mr Towey is proudest of the photographs of his five children, ranging in age from two to 12. "The president always kids me about how many kids we have," he says.

As director of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives since 2002, Mr Towey helps religious groups get federal funds for social services. More bluntly, his role is to help Mr Bush live up to his alliterative slogan "compassionate conservatism".