Just in time for the election, Michael Newdow's "Under God" lawsuit is back, along with a challenge to "In God We Trust" on U.S. currency.

"I want to be treated equally," said Michael Newdow yesterday, as he argued 2 cases consecutively to a 9th Circuit panel. He's the atheist who challenged "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance around the time of the last presidential election only to lose in the Supreme Court on a rather innovative interpretation of standing. (Somehow the state court's decision that the mother had custody and did not want the daughter involved in the lawsuit deprived him of a sufficient interest in what the state taught the daughter about her father's beliefs.) But, in time to inject the issue into the new presidential campaign, he found other parents and he's suing on their behalf. So the first of his 2 cases is the Pledge challenge revived. The second case challenges the strange but familiar practice of stamping the motto "In God We Trust" on U.S. coins.

Terence Cassidy, a lawyer for the school district, argued Tuesday that reciting the pledge is simply a "patriotic exercise" and a reminder of the traditions of the U.S.

"How is pledging allegiance to a nation under God not a religious act?" Judge Dorothy W. Nelson asked. Cassidy said the pledge has religious elements but is not a religious exercise.

Newdow said the pledge has "tons of religious significance. That's why everyone gets so angry when we talk about ... taking it out."

Nelson asked Cassidy whether removing the words "under God" would make the pledge any less patriotic.

"Not necessarily," he replied, arguing it provided a historical context, not a religious one.

In the money case, the Justice Department lawyer also pushed the God-as-patriotism notion.

Judge Stephen Reinhardt indicated support for Newdow's position.

The "In God We Trust" motto "affects Mr. Newdow every moment of his life," Reinhardt said. "The government has no compelling interest to put a slogan on a dollar bill."

I'm almost certain that if the 9th Circuit agrees with Newdow, the Supreme Court will accept the generic "God" that has become such a familiar presence in the Pledge and on the coins. There will be talk of history and the phrase "ceremonial deism" will be thrown about and the controversy will be packed away and reshelved for a generation.

What will be interesting however, will be to see the various presidential candidates needled over this issue, because this is exactly the kind of thing that people get all excited about (even though it has nothing really to do with running the country). It was troublesome in 2004. (I think the Supreme Court majority that disposed of the case by concocting a new standing doctrine did John Kerry a great favor 4 months before the election.) It's irritating to see this issue rearing up now.