Washington churches jostle for the Obamas' worship
Not that any church would actually regard it as competition for famous worshippers, mind you. But Washington churches are already lining up to compete for the worshipful attendance of the new Barack Obama first family -- and the many newly arriving members of his incoming administration.
It would be good for business to have some famous faithful in the pews. Nevermind the Sabbath metal detectors for everyone else.
The Obama choice may be watched more closely than some past presidents, given last winter's heated controversy surrounding the fiery and radical sermons of the family's past pastor, Rev. Jeremiah Wright, in Chicago.
Will the Obamas attend an orthodox Protestant church as so many presidents and their families? Will Barack and Michelle choose instead a predominantly African American congregation?
Or will they, in the interests of bipartisan ecumenism, mix it up and attend several different churches with their two daughters, Sasha and Malia?
We have a Ticket video report below.
-- Andrew Malcolm
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Andrew Malcolm's immigrant parents repeatedly stressed the importance of active participation in a democracy. Early lessons included learning the alphabetical list of states by watching televised roll calls of national political conventions. That childhood exposure led to a lifelong fascination with politics, including 40-plus years of covering them and a brief stint practicing them as press secretary to Laura Bush in 1999-2000. A veteran foreign and national correspondent, Malcolm served on the Times Editorial Board and was a Pulitzer finalist in 2004. He is the author of 10 nonfiction books and father of four.
Johanna Neuman is a veteran Washington correspondent for both The Los Angeles Times and USA Today, having covered presidents and politics as far back as Ronald Reagan. A former president of the White House Correspondents Assn., she authored a book on media and foreign policy, “Lights, Camera, Wars.” Most recently she was co-author of the 
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