In The Days

• Source: Telegraph
• News Date: 11/3/08
• Author: Toby Harnden

The Messiah cometh: Barack Obama t-shirts for sale in Ohio

Strong Delusion

“And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:”
—2Thessalonians 2:11

Laodicea

“Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:”
—Revelation 3:17

“For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him.”
2 Corinthians 11:4

Adulation of the Democratic nominee is building to a crescendo. Offering a prayer before a rally in Columbus, Ohio today, Cornal Garnett Henning, an AME bishop for parts of Ohio, West Virginia and Pennsylvania, compared him to Moses and Martin Luther King in the same breath

He thanked God for having “given us a Moses and a Martin called Barack Obama” and asked the Almighty to “grant that we together this nation under God may have the will to bring about the change we need” and ensure that “those who cast their sacred vote will not be deprived this right”. The McCain campaign, you might remember, mocked Obama as a Moses figure in an ad entitled “the One” in August.

The candidate’s wife didn’t quite compare him to a prophet or a civil rights icon but her praise was a far cry from the days when she used to complain publicly about his smelly feet and snoring, wishing she lived with “Barack Obama the phenomenon” because “the Barack Obama who lives in my house, that guy’s not as impressive”.

In Columbus, it was all sweetness and light. “There’s this beautiful thing about my husband,” she said. “He thinks he can really do everything, he does, with his own power and will.”

She continued: “Barack has built one of the most powerful political organisations, recruiting folks from all different kinds of backgrounds. In addition to that, he has built one of the most powerful political fundraising machines that has raised millions and broken records, not just with big donations but with folks writing $5 cheques, $10, $20, $30 cheques.

“Barack has selected a phenomenal running mate in Joe Biden. Barack has helped unify a party that some said could not be unified. He’s participated in three national debates and has been outstanding in every single one of them.

“And to top it off, he has done it, if I might just brag a bit, with a level of grace and poise and honesty and respect and consistency.”

As I left the rally, there was a man chatting into his cell phone while selling clothing that offered a modified version of the national motto of the United States, substituting the candidate’s name in place of that of the Almighty. “In Obama We Trust”, proclaimed his t-shirts.