America and prayer added to Obama campaign appearances

Barack Obama is still feeling the sting from the revelations of the inflammatory rhetoric--"God damn America....US of KKK A" made by his spiritual advisory and longtime pastor, the Reverend Jeremiah Wright.

From the Chicago Tribune, free registration required for the link:

Before Sen. Barack Obama took the stage here Wednesday, the crowd was led in prayer and the Pledge of Allegiance. And as the Illinois Democrat ended his speech, he offered a "God bless America."

As Obama returned to the campaign trail after a brief respite, news and questions about his controversial former Chicago pastor continued to circulate, while the activities before his appearance seemed to try to reinforce that he is a Christian and a patriot.

An audience in Indiana had also been led in prayer on the Saturday after the flap over the Rev. Jeremiah Wright Jr. first spread on the Internet. But such overt religious showings have been relatively rare during the 13 months Obama has campaigned for the presidency.

More...

Robert Gibbs, Obama's communications director, said he was not aware of efforts to bring more prayer and patriotism into events. He said recent occurrences might simply be a matter of helping showcase a local minister who is helping the campaign.

Uh...yeah, right Robert.

The wrongs of Wright have made fresh a couple of stories from last year. Unlike other presidential candidates, Barack Obama does not wear an American flag pin on his lapel. Obama stopped doing that a while ago, telling an Iowa reporter, "Shortly after 9/11, particularly because as we're talking about the Iraq War, that became a substitute for I think true patriotism, which is speaking out on issues that are of importance to our national security, I decided I won't wear that pin on my chest."

Also in Iowa, Obama, unlike other Hillary Clinton and Bill Richardson (still a presidential candidate at the time) did not put his hand on his heart during a rendition of the national anthem.

Lots of people don't wear flag pins or put their hands on their hearts during the national anthem. But most people aren't running for president. Keep in mind that Obama, perhaps more than any other candidate in American political history, has been selling himself through imaging.

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