Obama’s outreach to people of faith ‘must continue’

WASHINGTON — Religious Democrats had been “hibernating” until the 2008 elections, when the party’s candidates — including then-President-elect Barack Obama — made religion central to their campaigns, former White House Press Secretary Mike McCurry said Jan. 19.

And now Obama must continue his outreach to people of faith if he is to end the Iraq War, reduce the number of abortions and halt climate change, among other difficult issues, said McCurry, former President Clinton’s chief spokesman, 1995–1998.

The brief talk by the former White House spokesman, who is an active United Methodist, was part of a four-day event called “Be the Change” tied to the inauguration and hosted by Washington-area United Methodist congregations.

McCurry said “faith and politics have been intertwined in our DNA as a country for a long, long time. It’s part of who we are as a people.”