BEYOND January.
He just may become Obama's New Best Friend.
He's still looking for a church, after all--maybe he'll just fly Pastor Rick in, instead:
http://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=6310182&page=1
In Wake of Rev. Wright, Obama Seeks New Church
In Picking Church, Obamas Will Weigh Political, Religious and Personal Feelings
By RUSSELL GOLDMAN
Nov. 24, 2008—
Come Jan. 20, Barack Obama knows the house in which he and his family will live, but he has yet to decide at which house of worship they will pray.
Within steps from the White House, the Obamas can choose from a bevy of churches, each offering reasons to be selected, from historic connections to the presidency to historic connections to the African-American community.
Anywhere the Obamas choose to worship, observers told ABCNews.com, will likely be scrutinized for a political message.
The Obama transition staff would not comment on which church the family was considering or when it would announce a decision.
Shaun Casey, a professor at Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington, D.C., and an advisor on religious outreach to Obama during the campaign, said the Obamas had yet to make a decision....Obama's selection will perhaps be scrutinized more than that of any other recent president, given the attention paid during the election to his faith and his relationship to his former pastor, the controversial Rev. Jeremiah Wright. ....Obama has spoken frequently about the importance of his Christian faith. In his 2006 book, "The Audacity of Hope," he wrote that "the historically black church offered me a second insight: that faith doesn't mean that you don't have doubts, or that you relinquish your hold on this world. ... You needed to come to church precisely because you were of this world, not apart from it."
But there is no guarantee that the Obamas will choose an historically black church, and perhaps, instead, they'll pick a more diverse congregation. ...