Following Barack Obama’s visit to the Western Wall in Jerusalem, his written prayer was retrieved and published in an Israeli newspaper. Obama’s published prayer reads as follows:

Lord, protect my family and me. Forgive me my sins, and help me guard against pride and despair. Give me the wisdom to do what is right and just. And make me an instrument of your will.

The popular newspaper, Maariv was widely condemned for releasing the “private” prayer. However, now the paper’s spokesman has said “Barack Obama’s note was approved for publication in the international media even before he put in the Kotel, a short time after he wrote it at the King David Hotel in Jerusalem.”

Whether the prayer’s release was a calculated campaign move to portray Barack as a dedicated, humble religious man or an egregious invasion of privacy by the media remains to be seen.

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