Wright's gift to the right

By the time we reach November anyone voting for McCain will be called a racist.

You say he understands both sides of the racial divide, but I don't think so. What about a couple of days ago when he referred to the so called comments by his white grandmother as what a "typical white person" thinks. That is as about a raciest statement as I have heard. Would the media have allowed a white politician to refer to Rev. Wright's comments as being a "typical black person's" thought? There would have been a firestorm. And I believe you will dismiss me as another white raciest because that is the way this campaign is being conducted. If you don't agree with Mr. Obama, you are a raciest. The real reason I won't vote for his is not because he is black, it is because he has socialist economic ideas.

I'm a 60 year old white man...i never spoke to a black person until i was 25..none lived anywhere near our small town.

.I am 100% behind Obama. I will not vote if Hillary gets the nomination.

His speech was brilliant and so it he..there is absolutely no doubt he is what we need if this country is going to pull itself together.

thank you

I couldn't agree more with your commentary, especially, your conclusion that Sen. Obama should continue to demonstrate his integrity.

Jimmy the Greek RACIST or typical white person
Don Imus RACIST or typical white person
Trent Lott RACIST or typical white person
Al Campanis RACIST or typical white person
Michael Richards RACIST or typical white person
Fuzzy Zoeller RACIST or typical white person
Geraldin Ferraro RACIST or typical white person
Barack's Grandmother RACIST or typical white person
Rev Wright Misunderstood crazy old uncle ?

Compare the lone minority Chicago preacher, whose statements are taken out of context and played over and over, to the organized National hate machine of the Evangelical right-wing? No contest! When Obama is sworn in as the President of the United States, we'll hear the sound of their xenophobic, racist, intolerant heads exploding all over the country. I can't wait.

unfortunately, Mr. Obama's speech wasn't so wonderful. Why is his grandmother, who lovingly raised him when his own father returned to Africa, a "typical white person" because she shares Jesse Jackson's concerns about dangerous behavior from young black men? What is a "typical white person?" Do Schwermer and Goodman, who lost their lives along with black people in the civil rights struggle, qualify as typical? The problem is, Mr. Obama and Mr. Wright's followers think in racist sterotypes about white people. The big surprise about racism in America is that some of the most hateful racial rhetoric emanates from black people, yet these racists always get a pass. White people who behave and speak in what they believe is an innocent manner are continually told that only blacks can judge how offensive they appear to black people. Surely then, white people can do the same. We get reams of paper explaining why Dr. Wright is not a racist. But, using my equal right to feel offended, as a white person, I judge his comments to be insupportable. Stop telling me why I have no right to feel injured by this man, and start repairing this hateful behavior. And while we're at it, were there children in the audience when Dr. Wright talked about Bill Clinton "riding us dirty," or "doing to us what he's doing to Monica Lewinsky"? What kind of judgment does this illustrate?

"He showed an empathy for grievances held by folks on both sides of the color line that seemed to grow out of lessons learned from his own biracial background."

That's true, unfortunately his speech was totally devoid of any ideas about what, specifically, to do about anything. In other words, it was a typical Obama speech. As for "eloquent" - well, seemed like warmed-over liberal cant to me. Nothing new, nothing original. Again, typical for Obama.

I have come close to many racists and worked for some without knowing it for some time. However, as soon as I knew, I quit!

20 years of sermons guiding Blacks to hate White's certainly does not rank high on the ethical scale. If we don't want to admit that making the choice to sit in a sermon that preaches hatred of white's is unethical and racist then at least let us admit that it was a bad choice. If these are the kinds of choices that Obama is going to make then why should anyone vote for him.

I remember my grandfather fought in World War II against racism to bring freedom to the world. If he fought simply to put another racist in power then we haven't learned a thing.

Heil Obama Heil!

Obama is a two-faced disciple of his mentor Reverend Wright, the racist who purports to serve God. He will not disown a racist, but he speaks against racism. Many have sacrificed and died to preserve America, and they didn't do it so insolent people can say "God damn America". If these ingrates and their pals don't like America, they should leave, whether white or black. True racial harmony has never been achieved, and Wright and Obama are not helping the situation.

The main damage Wright did was not to say "God damn America" which I am sure plenty of White people have also said or thought from time to time -- one can get angry at one's country just as one can get angry at one's parents -- but he reminded White voters that Obama is _black_ and therefore not one of them. This is called "blackification" and the Clintons have been practicing it assiduously throughout the campaign. No rational argument is likely to counter it, because most people are not rational. Unfortunately, Adlai Stevenson's remark was all too apposite. Obama must now somehow deblackify himself not in reason but in image, and this won't be easy going against Slick, Hillary and company.

Well put. For someone making the claim he knew back in 2002 that there weren't weapons of mass distuction and that Iraq posed no real threat, Obama's current situation with the Reverend doesn't make him so wise. He had to have known long ago that the guy would pose serious problems. Why didn't he disclose this earlier? He gave his great speech with his back to the wall and his political career on the line. He hit a home-run ball but sadly the wall created by some white southerners and their northern brethren make the Green Monster look like a 4 foot fence. In a nutshell, he is done. Will the superdelgates recognize this in time? Maybe. Although many won't admit it for fear of being labeled a racist. Will his loss either to Hillary or MacCaine polarize the races even more? Yes. I blam the press for going soft and cuddly on Obama from the beginning. There were other shortcomings to point out that didn't involve race. Early on he lacked real substance, his big ideas were not bolstered with concrete plans, but he organized a smart campaign that brought in youthful excited voters. Let's see how it plays out. The only real thing I know is that the Los Angeles Lakers are taking the NBA title.

RE: Fred from Cypress,CA's post:
"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."
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Sir, you hit the nail right on the head with your above post. His steadfast "trance-like" followers will stick by him, but those of us who are Independents will go to McCain unless Hillary Clinton becomes another option. One of Obama's recent "post speech" tactic to try and divert attention to his passport being breached blew up in his face since this effected all candidates, so he can't claim ownership of being finger-pointed. Now his Jesse Jackson campaign runners are trying to force Hillary to drop her White House bid by "buying" Bill Richardson (with his 1/2 Hispanic background). What a weak attempt and so blatantly obvious of what they think of Hispanic people. They are basically saying that they'll dangle Richardson and all of the Hispanics will run to them with no questions asked. The Hispanics in this Nation are too intelligent for that underhanded maneuver. Both John McCain and Hillary Clinton (especially) have done more for the Hispanics' cause in this Country than Obama. In fact, Obama hasn't done one thing to help Hispanics other than now dressing up his candidacy with Richardson as a desperation move. Trying to muscle Hillary to drop out of the campaign when she is leading him in the National polls is dispicable. I wouldn't want Obama to represent me or my family, let alone this Nation that I love, even if my life depended on it. He has accomplished basically two significant things in his political life thus far -- to court the African American vote and establish himself as a supporter of Reverend Wright's racist and paranoid crusade of anti-American government, anti-Semite, and anti-white beliefs. Trusting this great free Nation to this guy would be the same as putting Louis Farakhan in the White House. And actually, if Obama is in the White House, you will see his guests will often include Jesse Jackson (whose son is running Obama's campaign), Al Sharpton, Ted Kennedy....and other such nauseating socialists and racists. I'm sure Farakhan, who outwardly supports Obama, will be invited to dinner as well. And these people will be at the forefront of our great Nation. No thanks.

In Obama's Speech he educates America on the complexities of the human race, something we all can identify with. He calls on us to look on life with an open mind. By taking the high road, he shows leadership and courage. He also shows that he has the intellect and the unique ability to unite America. Whether or not his speech will bring on new voters has yet to be seen. After all, everyone don't want a united America.

Ok, this Wright stuff is disturbing, very. But the bigger problem I have for Mr. Obama is his pattern of saying one thing and then distancing himself from those words when the opposite is revealed at a later date. That is called "spin", folks, and certainly not "new politics". It also speaks to his platform of "good judgement". How can it be good judgement to listen to divisive words when you are also running on a platform of "unity", and listen to that for 20 years, just as an aside. We have a need and right to know Senator Obama from every angle and what he believes when he talks of equality and a "vision" for America. To say that Clinton +/or Obama is at fault for the direction the Democratic campaign has headed, is ludicrous and short-sighted. America is a melting pot of races, genders, culture, etc. and we each have a personal interest in seeing "ourselves" in our President. With that connection comes passion and emotional investment. However, it also must be tempered with information about the candidates (good and bad, without negative "label" attached to said information) so that we can make informed choices, rather than only emotionally-driven ones. To Americans: try to take off the blinders of opinion polls, media spin, mud and excitement and remember what this race is really about: Hiring someone to do the toughest and,arguably, most important job on the planet. Being President of the US isn't about speeches, promises and what-if's - it is about who you believe will get up, everyday, and work their butt off for every hardworking American, because they have a track record of that already. That person is Senator Clinton. She has worked hard and diligently for all Americans, and spent years building strong relationships because she has a passionate vision of what America can be, not just because she's running for President. Vetted, intelligent, tested and hardworking. Senator Clinton is the right choice for me in '08

Good commentary, but his melodramatic minister bothers me less than Obama's own stereotypes, ie, "typical white person". Obama has tried too hard to be black, he is at his best when he is just AMERICAN.

Why hold Obama accountable for a soundbyte that is not even representative of his pastor's 30 years of ministry, as stressed by many white parishioners and reported in the NY times? It all looks to me like a wich hunt that is more representative of the poor quality of the media in their coverage of these elections, focusing on soundbytes and senstionalism rather than on substance, and of the poor state of education in our country resulting in an ill-informed public focusing on the "kitchen sink" and not on the substance (Ohio's working class which lost their jobs in large part due to the poor design of Nafta voting for Clinton who had supported Nafta through her entire political career illustrates how poorly informed the voters are). I still have to see a media report on Obama's book "the audacity of hope" which provides a very thoughtful roadmap for the future, far more substantive than the soundbytes, posturing and unsubstantiated assertions of Clinton and McCain, and in the final anlaysis, far more relevant to our choice of a candidate than the unfortunate--and unexcusable--words of his pastor. I would also argue that Wright's words are far less damaging to the US, and therefore far les "unpatriotic" than, among many examples, the decision by Walmart to buy and retail Chinese goods instead of US manufactured goods, costing millions of jobs in our country, or the frauds of the Enrons and worldcoms of this world, at a high cost to our national economy, or the exhorbitant profits of the oil companies thanks to a gasoline cost which is contributing to pushing us deeper into recession. Could we stop the soundbytes, please, and get real. Given the mess our country is in, the ability to spin or respond to soundbytes is a very poor criteria for selecting a future president. Like many others, I have changed my political preference and will vote for Obama. He is the only one who has the integrity and the intellectual scope to deal with the issues on day 1.

Are there any surveys which show the degree to which blacks agree with the most shocking and dumbfounding (to whites, anyway) statements of Rev. Wright?

To this white, among those would be that (a) the white-dominated us govt has sought/seeks to destroy blacks through the intentional introduction and spread of drugs, crime and HIV/AIDS into the black community,(b) that non-jewish-whites conspire with jews to oppress Palestininans specifically and generally everyone else in a worldwide conspiracy,(c) that blacks should side with Hamas and other anti-Israel and anti-US groups, and (d)that the black liberation theology as expressed by Rev. Wright and Prof. Cone are valid expressions of fact and reason.

I'm a 60-yr old Irish Catholic, and have no "skin in the game" in this contest, ethnically speaking.

But I really, really want to know if the simply dumbfounding (to me) views of Rev. Wright (and of the other proponents of the black liberation theology) are "fringe" views or - my deepest fear - more widely held (dear God, could they even be "mainstream"?) views of the black community in general.

thebob wrote:

Compare the lone minority Chicago preacher, whose statements are taken out of context and played over and over, to the organized National hate machine of the Evangelical right-wing? No contest! When Obama is sworn in as the President of the United States, we'll hear the sound of their xenophobic, racist, intolerant heads exploding all over the country. I can't wait.

thebob,

Sadly. one racist group does not justify another racist. If Obama can sit through a racist sermon preaching hatred for White's, it won't be long before he's sitting in another sermon preaching hatred for Catholics or non-believers regardless of color. A racist is easily swayed and will turn on you at any minute and racist friends don't go away. In fact, they come out more and more when their given power.

Imagine, if you will, a white man with a small mustache under his nose sitting in another sermon all across the world in Germany identifying with the common feeling that foreigners and jews were destroying the country. No one could have imagined what would come next including the millions of White and Black people that fought to stop the most charismatic person in the world at that time.

We once again have the most charismatic person in the world (Obama) with the same value system - racism.

How long do you think it will be before a little bug is put in his ear to do something that hurts you?

Peach wrote:

Obama ... is at his best when he is just AMERICAN.

You know what's funny about all this?

Obama went to a church for 20 years or so where he was welcomed.

Back when he first began attending this particular church, what do you think the reaction of the rest of the congregation would have been had he decided to attend a "white" church? Would he have been welcomed there?

And the same people who are lambasting him today for attending a church they see as "racist", are the same exact people who two weeks ago were insisting that he is Muslim!!!! Can't have it all ways, People!