The God Gap may turning against Barack Obama in the Democratic primaries.
Buried within the exit polls from Pennsylvania are some signs that Obama’s appeal may worsening with culturally conservative regular churchgoers.
That may not be too surprising given the controversies Obama encountered in the six-week run-up to the primary. Despite Obama’s later explanations, his comments at a San Francisco fundraiser that “bitter” small-town Americans “cling to” guns and religion are hardly likely to have endeared him to small-town churchgoers.
That followed circulation of a well-publicized video highlights reel of his former pastor’s incendiary sermons, including one in which the Rev. Jeremiah Wright declares blacks should sing “God Damn America” instead of “God Bless America.” Not only Wright’s comments but the African-style garb that the pastor is shown wearing every time the video clip is rerun no doubt feeds a suspicion that Obama’s outlook on life is far removed from the moral certitudes of religious traditionalists.