They were attracted to his message of diversity and unity, but two Muslim women who went to Barack Obama’s rally at Joe Louis Arena on Monday went home feeling left out.

They were barred from prime seats behind the stage because of their traditional Muslim head scarves, after campaign volunteers had invited their non-Muslim friends to the seats.

The campaign apologized to the women Tuesday and in a statement issued Wednesday, blamed the incident on the volunteers.

Still, it illustrates how the pressures of image-making in a presidential campaign combined with sensitivities over unfounded rumors that Obama is secretly a Muslim can create a sudden storm — awkwardly in metro Detroit, home to the nation’s most influential community of Arab Americans.

This story is just plain sad.  Image is more important thatn anything.  I thought that we Americans were voting for a person to lead the entire country.  But then, I have been mistaken in the past.