Wright's gift to the right

It gets even crazier. As of July 2007, Obama's pastor is also pro-Hamas. So it's apparently not enough to sing God damn America, you should also support terrorists groups like Hamas. Things are not looking too good for Obama nowadays.

In all of this I feel like black people are being blamed for slavery and all of its many blessings. (Not) And who ever decided to use this fustration of unresolved issues between the races due to slavery for political fodder was wrong for doing so. This is an unresolved issue and an apology for slavery and lynchings would be nice so we can really move on and stop sweeping the issue under the rug and hoping it will go away.

Quitting the church now would have no significant meaning, whatsoever. The fact is, he attended this church for 20 years, and is still attending. He considers the racist and anti-American Rev. Wright his "mentor and spiritual adviser." This is why the speech he gave, which was necessitated by his outing by the press, made little difference with anyone but his own supporters. The rest of us see through this blatant attempt at rehabilitating his image, and see the speech as nothing more than that. If Obama becomes the Democratic nominee, we have only just begun to see and hear Rev. Wright's greatest hits. The Republican attack machine will destroy him with this issue, as well as Rezko, his lies about NAFTA, and his inexperience.

ok for the record i never owned a slave, nor did any of my relatives EVER, their is a black branch in our family, as a kid growing up in south chicago i had many friends of all races and others of all races who did not want me in their neigborhood. i understand the black church to blow off steam and their worship to confront the to blame devil in this case USA though if Rev wright corrected himself to blame bush, politics, policies, for the the lead up to this attack, then attack the rich for keeping the black in "slavery" ie; wal-mart and others who will only pay min. wage no benefits....now thats modern day slavery to me when they are making trillions on the workers black,whjte, latino backs rev. wright ...point your anger at the correct target just like in the marines shoot straight and hit the bulls eye

Obama should have just ignored the whole thing. Talking about race is trap that not many have been able to survive. That's why most people just avoid the topic. Political correctness has put an iron curtain over such dialogues.

Interesting headline: "Wright's Gift to the Right." The headline writer should do his/her own column, because this headline has no connection with the substance of Clarence Page's column; at least none that I can discern.

BO is a fraud. He had his daughters indoctrinated with this garbage for there whole life. Churches that preach hate should be shut down. They are no different than the hate coming out of radical islamist mosques.

I believe that the Reverend Wright says what's in the minds of all the Blacks. It will never go away, the same as racial harmony and " botherhood/sisterhood" will never happen.
We certainly can be more civil among each other on a personal level but over all I don't see a total turnaround in race relations.
100 hundred years from now there will still be other Reverends Wight(s) and the divide will go on as usual and apart from some inter-marriages the races will keep to themselves distrusting each other.
After all,despite the past, God really meant it to be this way!

This is not just about a few sermons given by Rev. Wright. This is about the brand of theology which Wright has been teaching Obama and the others at his church:“black liberation theology.” Wright admits this and it is stated on the church's website. Black theology is based upon the premise of the white oppressor against the black oppressed. This is why, for example, that Wright refers to Jesus as black, and his killers as white. This is the only way the story of Jesus fits within this brand of “theology.” Rev. Wright cites James Cone, another proponent of black liberation theology, as his theological inspiration. Here are just a couple of James Cone's quotes:(1)“To be Christian is to be one of those whom God has chosen. God has chosen black people." (2) "While it is true that blacks do hate whites, black hatred is not racism." (3) "All white men are responsible for white oppression." (4) "Theologically, Malcolm X was not far wrong when he called the white man "the devil." (5) "If there is any contemporary meaning of the Antichrist, the white church seems to be a manifestation of it." (6)“Black theology refuses to accept a God who is not identified totally with the goals of the black community. If God is not for us and against white people, then he is a murderer, and we had better kill him. The task of black theology is to kill Gods who do not belong to the black community … Black theology will accept only the love of God which participates in the destruction of the white enemy. What we need is the divine love as expressed in Black Power, which is the power of black people to destroy their oppressors here and now by any means at their disposal. Unless God is participating in this holy activity, we must reject his love.”*** These teachings are fundamentally racist and divisive. Obama has chosen to belong to this racist church for 20 years, and now because of exposure by the press, he tries to fool the American public once again.

His mantra is judgement - I don't think his illustrations of it are too great - belonging to a church where hate is shouted for 20+ years! Now - you can't really think Obama didn't know it. I do think he was there to back his political aspirations and to show he was really "black". I just believe it is now blowing up in his face.

I usually see your comments to be fairly balanced. Obama did his own damage. Then to make his minister sound better he uses his white grandmother and threw her under the bus.
The description of how his grandmother feels when she sees young black men on the street, mirror comments made by Jesse Jackson. He must be in white drag if he feels the same way about how he sees young black men. Let me know if I didn't paraphrase Jesse's comments from years ago.

As much as many would like to make this a racial issue, I don't think that's where the damage has been done, and will continue to be done.

The damage to Senator Obama is not the racial remarks, but the anti-American remarks -- like saying "the chickens have come home to roost" at a time when rescue workers at Ground Zero were still digging innocent victims' bodies out of the rubble. That kind of anti-American rhetoric and insensitivity to the families of 9/11 is inexcusable and unforgiveable.

If Senator Obama had simply refused to emphatically repudiate those comments, the damage would be bad enough. However, unfortunately there is more. I'm not talking about the silly right-wing crazy campaigns trying to paint him as a Muslim. But there is actual video of a campaign rally where every Democratic candidate has their hand over their heart...except Senator Obama. There is the unfortunate misstatement by his wife that she is now proud of the United States for the first time in her adult life. There is the silly decision he made to stop wearing an American Flag lapel pin because he thinks it is often used to display phony patriotism.(He's right intellectually, but he's dead wrong politically. He needs to go find his lapel pin!). Those are REAL pictures, and REAL statements by Mr. and Mrs. Obama which unfortunately give what I think are incorrect impressions about his feeling toward his country.

I don't expect Senator Obama to "disown" Rev. Wright -- that's silly. But I think he needs to make another speech, this one tackling Rev. Wright's inflammatory statements head-on. He needs to talk about the 9/11 comments -- I'd like to know that his stomach was turned as much by those remarks as mine was.

In the absence of such a repudiation of the IDEAS expressed by Rev. Wright, combined by his twenty-year relationship with him, I have to assume that Senator Obama agrees with them.

How about a speech from Rev. Wright? Interviews? Anyone?

Rev. Wright led a black congregation within a predominantly white denomination. He also served in the marines. Surely he has something to say about all this.

Unfortunately he's caught on tape saying things that, out of context and without understanding the theology behind them, sound toxic. It's just a storm to weather at this point.

Obama has no way out but to blow it off for the rest of the campaign and talk about other issues. Wright has cost him votes and most of them cannot be brought back. So move on.

People who are offended by Wright's comments will not be mollified by seeing a softer side of the man. Ministering to your flock with soft words of Jesus does not cancel out anti-American, anti-White diatribes. Consider the image of a religious leader in Iran leading a group screaming "Death to America. Death to the Great Satan!" If we next see an image of the same man softly leading a prayer, will one image cancel out the other? The answer is obviously no, and I think the same will be true for Wright.

I made a small typo above -- the video of the candidates with their hands over their hearts was during the playing of the National Anthem. The statement I typed doesn't make much sense without that info. Sorry.

Calls for another "speech" from Obama are missing the point. Sure, Obama can read a teleprompter better than anyone since Ronald Reagan. However, no speech will change the underlying facts, which are that Obama voluntarily chose to attend a church that teaches black liberation theology; a "theology" based upon the "white oppressor" against the "black oppressed." He chose to listen to racist and anti-American rants from Rev. Wright for 20 years; he chose to call Rev. Wright his "mentor and spiritual adviser." No speech, no matter how well written or delivered will change these things. His association with Wright, as well as his association with Rezko, his continual lies to the American people about NAFTA, his Iraq policy, his playing of the race card, etc., have shown that Obama does not possess the main qualities upon which he has built his candidacy. No, he is not the candidate of change, his politics are not new and different, and he is not the symbol of unification.

Obama never lived in Kansas.

HERE IS A QUESTION I HAVE YET TO HAVE ANSWERED BY AN OBAMA SUPPORTER: If Hillary had been going to a "white centered" church for 20 years; the fundamental theology of the church was one of white versus black; the pastor of the church often made racist remarks against blacks; the pastor of the church gave David Duke a lifetime achievement award; and Hillary considered this pastor her "mentor and spiritual adviser"; would you give her the pass that you are giving Obama. I doubt you could answer this question honestly, so I'll tell you what would happen: The righteous indignation of Obama and the media would rise up, the demand would be made that Hillary withdraw from the nomination process immediately, and Hillary's political career would be over, period.

Race is one issue that does not escape from Obama. It is a good thing. Because he is going to be the healer. However, the racial issue is only a small part of what Obama stands, and working for. The supporter of Obama is not racially divided. Attempt to divide the supporters would fail, because there is no other alternatives. Those white supporters of Obama is supporting him on the basis of his Progressive message. Only the fearmongerer may try to gain on the divide. Who are the fearmongeres? Who are the reactionaries? Obama needs to get over them. In this Democratic race, fearmongering does not work any more. Where does the fearful white women go to? Power and money hungry fearmongerer? It seems that the only alternative, but is that going to strengthen Clinton's electability?

This is like walking in on your neighbor in bed with your boyfriend or girlfriend, and finding out that it's been going on for a long time. It doesn't matter that your neighbor lent you a chainsaw, let your kids play in the pool, or helped you build a deck. If this cheating has been going on behind your back all along, then it's a deal-breaker for trusting that neighbor. It's opens your eyes to the reality of what you were missing all along. Life has irrevocably changed and there is no going back.

What is most stunning to me is that I never realized that some pastors were training black people to hate me. I was assuming that we were equal, making friends, swapping babysitting, having dinner parties - and then I find out all along they were dissembling, and mocking me behind my back. What kind of person would deliberately infect their congregation with contempt for others? It's pathological, and I feel traumatized by this revelation.

As an ethics educator, I believe the most accurate way to judge people is based on character: their integrity and their competence, and their guilessness, and humility. I feel an intimate bond to my friends who have these characteristics, and I know they do for me as well because our actions have proven that we are willing to make sacrifices for each other, and are committed to each other. Other shallow ways of making character judgments fail completely in identifying who is to be trusted and who not, who is to be relied upon, and who is not.