If Feingold wins in 2008...

[Gabu]

It seems to me that swearing in on the Bible is no more merging church and state than praying in the White House.  The fact that one president did not do this tells me that it's entirely voluntary on the part of the president-elect, and is simply a way of expressing that the president-elect is being honest when taking the oath.

Separation of church and state does not mean that politicians are not allowed to be religious.

[Gabu]

The inauguration is an official ceremony of the state that should have nothing to do with religion.

And it doesn't.  It has the president-elect swear to uphold the Constitution.  The fact that it includes a religious prop does not make it a religious ceremony.