IS THIS WHAT OBAMA'S DOING IN INDIA?

In the summer of 2008, there were a few mentions of what Barack Obama carries around for good luck. One of the things he admitted to carrying around was a tiny monkey god, known in India as Lord Hanuman. In the days leading up to his election, a two foot statue of Hanuman was built and shipped to Obama from India to help him in his election bid. Lord Hanuman is one of the most revered gods in the Hindu religion and Obama's arrival there coincides with the unveiling of the largest statue of Hanuman to date.

First, from June of 2008, even POLITICO and TIME reported on Obama's affinity for Lord Hanuman.

WND reported at the time:

A group of Hindus in India have presented Sen. Barack Obama's campaign with a two-foot Hindu monkey-god idol after hearing the candidate carries a smaller version of the Lord Hanuman good-luck charm with him as he vies for the presidency.

Earlier this week, according to reports in India, Obama representative Carolyn Sauvage-Mar accepted the gold-plated statue, promising to pass it on to the candidate after is it sanctified through ritual Hindu prayers.

"The idol is being presented to Obama as he is reported to be a Lord Hanuman devotee and carries with him a locket of the monkey god along with other good luck charms," reported the Times of India.

The statue was received by Sauvage-Mar in India and then shipped to Obama for arrival one day before the Democrat Convention on August 24, 2008.

Fast forward to November, 2010. Obama heads for India on November 5th. On that very same day, Zee News reported on the unveiling - in Shimla - of the largest Lord Hanuman statue erected to date:

Shimla: The world's tallest idol of Lord Hanuman was unveiled at the Jakhu temple here on Thursday by Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal in the presence of film star Abhishek Bachchan, his sister Shweta Bachchan Nanda and other members of Nanda Trust.

The 108-feet tall idol was installed at the highest peak of the town. As the legned goes, Hanumanji had rested on Jakhu hill for a while here after taking "sanjivini booti" from Deoronagiri and an ancient temple was already in existence for a long time.

If Obama felt that he gleaned luck from a two foot statue in 2008, what kind of luck does he hope to glean while in India at the time of the unveiling of a 108-feet tall Monkey god statue?

Here's the video of the unveiling: