NBC Nightly News Showcases Devotional Obama as Lauer Cracks: 'Spirituality Meets High-Tech!'

Published: 3/30/2010 8:31 PM ET

Out of the lengthy interview sessions Matt Lauer conducted with President Barack Obama which were played back over the first hour-and-half of Tuesday's Today show, Brian Williams decided to highlight on Nightly News only Obama's explanation for "why his family hasn't found a church to attend yet in their new adopted home of Washington, D.C." Obama's reasoning satisfied Lauer, who quipped: "It's spirituality meets high-tech! That's pretty good."

As Lauer and Obama strolled down the main White House corridor, Obama blamed how he and Michelle would be "very disruptive to services," but he's taken advantage of how "there was a prayer circle of pastors from across the country who during the campaign would, would say a prayer for me or send a devotional." So:

We've kept that habit up and, and it's a wonderful group because it's a mix of some very conservative pastors, some very liberal pastors, but all who, you know, pray for me and Michelle and, and the girls and, and I get a daily devotional on my BlackBerry which is a, is a wonderful thing.

To which, an impressed Lauer approved: "It's spirituality meets high-tech! That's pretty good."

Wonder how "conservative" are those "conservative pastors"?

BiasAlert by Geoffrey Dickens about Tuesday's Today show: "Lauer to Obama: How Do You 'Move On' from the Vitriol, Sniping and Threats?"

From the Tuesday, March 30 NBC Nightly News:

BRIAN WILLIAMS: And an interesting note from the White House. In a wide-ranging exclusive interview on political and personal matters, Matt Lauer asked the President, with Easter weekend approaching, why his family hasn't found a church to attend yet in their new adopted home of Washington, D.C.

MATT LAUER: As of yet, I haven't heard that you've settled on an exact church. Where do you stand on that and how important a decision is it for your family?

BARACK OBAMA: You know what? What we've decided for now is not to join a single church. And the reason is is because Michelle and I have realized we are very disruptive to services. [edit jump] And in the meantime, what we've done, there was a prayer circle of pastors from across the country who during the campaign would, would say a prayer for me or send a devotional. And we've kept that habit up and, and it's a wonderful group because it's a mix of some very conservative pastors, some very liberal pastors, but all who, you know, pray for me and Michelle and, and the girls and, and I get a daily devotional on my BlackBerry which is a, is a wonderful thing.

LAUER: It's spirituality meets high-tech! That's pretty good.