Obama Keeping the Faith

And now some fresh pickings from the Political Grapevine:

Revisionist History

Virginia schools need to face the facts. Some history textbooks they've been using are giving students wrong information. The Washington Post reports Virginia has historians reviewing the accuracy of textbooks that include dozens of errors.

For instance, the books state that the Confederacy included 12 states -- instead of 11 -- and the U.S. entered World War I in 1916 -- instead of 1917. One book -- "Our Virginia, Past and Present" -- was pulled from some schools in October. It created a controversy for saying thousands of black soldiers fought for the South in the Civil War.

One of the reviewers said -- quote -- "I absolutely could not believe the number of mistakes.... How in the world did these books get approved?"

Going Public

President Obama, who has largely been private about practicing his religion, now seems to be making his Christianity more public.

This past Sunday, Obama and his family attended church while on vacation in Hawaii. It's his second visit to church since September. He's also been quoting passages from the Bible more often at non-religious events.

White House deputy press secretary Bill Burton told Politico the president "has consistently talked about his Christian faith and the role of faith in America, over the course of his public life."

A Pew survey in August showed the number of Americans who think Obama is a Christian had declined from 47 percent shortly after his election, to 34 percent last summer.

Selling Like Hotcakes

And former President George W. Bush's memoir "Decision Points" has sold more than 2 million copies since its November release. Compare that with former President Bill Clinton's book "My Life," which sold a comparable 2.2 million copies -- except it's taken six years to do so.