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Why Is the Obama Campaign Hanging Out With Rob Schenck?

We’ve written about Rob Scheck a few times lately, mostly wondering why he was saying that NPR had tapped him to provide commentary on the Republican and Democratic conventions and noting his excitement that he had received a VIP invitation to John McCain’s announcement of Sarah Palin as his running mate.  

Schenck is probably best known for his reportedly successful efforts to sneak into the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing room and anoint the chairs with oil before Samuel Alito's confirmation hearings. But, as we’ve noted before, he got his start as a militant anti-abortion activist, often targeting Dr. Barnett Slepian who was eventually assassinated by an anti-abortion activist in 1998. 

More recently, he’s been leading a one-man crusade against Barack Obama’s Christian faith, suggesting that Obama might be, in fact, a Muslim infidel … and declaring that even if he’s not, his Christian faith is “woefully deficient” and even going so far as to question Obama’s claim that he “[prays] to Jesus every night, wondering why he would “pray to Jesus” rather than “pray to God in Jesus’ name.” 

Which makes this all the more confusing:

The Reese RoundTable on Capitol Hill will host senior campaign McCain advisor Robert Heckman and senior Obama advisor Evna La Valle for a lunch forum on Tuesday, September 23, 12:00 PM – 2:00 PM, Capitol Hill Club, 300 1st  St., SE, Washington, DC.

The forum, entitled "How Does the Declaration of Independence Guide Your View of Government?" will focus on the inalienable rights enshrined the Declaration including Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness. Topics will also include moral and religious issues. The program will be moderated by the Reverend Rob Schenck (pronounced SHANK), president of the National Clergy Council and chair of the Committee on Church and Society for the Evangelical Church Alliance.

We understand that the Obama campaign is dedicated to reaching out to evangelicals during this election cycle, but maybe they should start trying to be a little more selective about just who those evangelicals are.