Barack Obama is finally acting presidential.Which means, of course, he’s wearing a flag on his lapel. He’s distancedhimself from Rev. Jeremiah Wright, the firebrand cleric who screamed “God damnAmerica!” in church. You can’t blame Obama for stepping away if he wants to bepresident.

You know what was the scariest thing aboutthose videos from the Trinity United Church of Christ? It was the reaction ofthe faithful. Like sheep they were listening to this absurd mind control andshouting their approval. I don’t think that the parishioners at the UnitedChurch of Christ had uniting in mind. They were being whipped into bitternessby the guy with the loudest robes and the loudest voice. (They were paying forit, too.)

But you don’t need to head to Chicago to getin on the religious fervor. You can see this kind of “church” going on allover. You don’t have to look far to find snake charmers, fundamentalistChristian polygamists, Branch Davidians and all kinds of kinky kooks. Forgetthe Islamic fundamentalists. We have problems of our own here at home.

I mean, people are giving God a bad name. Howabout these dastardly freaks from the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ ofLatter Day Saints? People can’t stop talking about them. I’m a live and letlive kind of guy, but these “gentlemen” think that their direct connection tothe bearded one gives them a right to 90 wives. I heard on the radio yesterdaymorning that the men never saw any of their wives naked and that they werealways wearing the hairdo, the dress or the nightie. Doesn’t that defeat thepurpose? I’m confused here. And after seeing the dress and the hair aren’t youstrangely curious, as I am, to see the mysterious nightie? And isn’t MittRomney loosely affiliated with this religion?

I don’t really want to know. I don’t want tosee politicians being backed into a corner so that they have to give somecookie-cutter answer to what is in their spiritual heart of hearts. Thesesituations often reveal posers who are off to church to be seen and not to bowbefore a greater power.

As long as someone is compassionate, who careswhat label you give it? I saw Obama getting questioned by a Christian group.When someone asked him if he thought the world was created in seven days hesquirmed in his seat just like Bill Clinton did before he said the now famousanswer to whether he got it on with Monica, “It depends on what the meaning ofis is …” Obama said something along the lines that he believed it but that the“days” were actually not 24-hour days. It should be illegal for a politician tosay a word about religion in public. It’s embarrassing.

Religious labels and differences aredividers. We are embroiled in a Mideast conflict that looks from the outsidelike some kind of holy war. Christian country. Muslim country. Lots of oil.Poverty. What could go wrong?

Politicians should keep their pants zippedand their souls under their hats because there’s work to be done here. Thedowntrodden in rural America are clinging to guns and religion? Maybe. Let’shave a dialogue without freaking out when anyone says anything potentially trueor controversial.

I like Obama. He might be the closest thingto honest we’ve seen in a viable presidential candidate. I just hope he doesn’thave to answer to a religious constituency to pull it off. Because it’s not funto watch him do the potty dance in front of the entire audience of couch potatoeswho has nothing else to do than to wonder why someone is not wearing a flag pininstead of getting off their butts and trying to do something positive in theworld, like Jesus did.

Steve Skinner likes his politics a lacarte. Reach him at nigel@sopris.net.