“We are hoping and praying that they will not be able to deny what the Lord has ordained,” Roland Burris said before his fateful trip to Washington. Now that Democrats in the U.S. Senate appear ready to join God in backing Burris’s appointment by Illinois Gov. Rod “Nothing but Blue Sky” Blagojevich to join their ranks, it might be a good time to review who really calls the shots in American politics. After the jump, videos of Burris, U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann and Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin discussing the key role God played in their ascension to public office.

Roland Burris, Jan. 5, 2009: “The Lord put his hands on the governor and said, ‘This is the person that has to go to Washington.’”

Michele Bachmann, Oct. 14, 2006: “He called me to run for United States Congress”

Sarah Palin, Nov. 10, 2008: “I’m like, OK, God, if there is an open door for me somewhere, this is what I always pray, I’m like, don’t let me miss the open door. … And if there is an open door in [20]12 or four years later … then I’ll plow through that door.”