At the time, Obama was a young man who'd been through a spiritual journey, not uncommon for someone with his background. If anything, the Trinity United Church of Christ (which, btw, is a part of the much larger and mainstream United Church of Christ) afforded him an outlet to become a part of the black community and do what his heart's desire was: to organize, teach and help those in the community become better people.
Granted, Wright was a bit of a crazy guy, but Obama's mission wasn't to pray before Wright, it was to lay the foundation of a political future. Which he did quite well. As you admit:
I suspect most churchgoers had a hard time imagining someone being in a church with a minister like that unless he shared those views. The fact that Obama praises Wright in his books speaks for its self. Obama wouldn't be the first politician to use their church membership for political gain, but for mainstream America, but that church is not mainstream, regardless of the denomination it belongs to.
So how do you see it? Did he accept Jesus Christ as his Lord and personal savior, or is he merely "nodding to the local superstitions.?"
