Ironic, isn't it? Some conservatives have been calling for an inquiry into Barack Hussein Obama's Muslim connection--didn't he attend a madrassa in Indonesia?--when the real problem turns out to be Obama's Christian mentor, the Reverend Jeremiah Wright.
Wright is a kind of Ward Churchill in vestments. Remember Ward Churchill? He's the leftist white guy who was posing as an American Indian as he gave speeches saying America deserved to be attacked and that 9/11 was a case where the "chickens came home to roost." Eventually the University of Colorado gave Churchill the boot.
Oddly enough Wright used exactly the same language as Churchill in saying that on 9/11 America got its comeuppance. Actually, Wright's statements taken collectively are worse than those of Churchill. Wright also said the U.S. government deliberately introduced AIDS into the black community. And he insisted that instead of saying "God bless America" we would be better to say "God damn America."
This is the man that Obama calls "like family." This is the man that Obama credits with "introducing me to my Christian faith." This is the mean that Obama choose to marry him and his wife, and to baptize his children. This is the man who inspired the title of Obama's book. This is the man whom Obama credits with being a mentor over more than two decades.
I found it very interesting to hear Wright explicitly endorse Obama over Hillary in church. Normally when evangelical preachers cross the political line they get hammered for violating the separation of church and state. One pastor I know invited a local Republican official to give his personal testimony in church and had to answer to the IRS for it. How come black churches engage in blatant electioneering, even to the point of busing members to the voting booth, and nobody from the ACLU or the media raises an eyebrow?
Equally fascinating is Wright's comment in church that unlike Hillary, Obama will be a race man. Wright's argument is that Obama will stand up for poor blacks against the rich whites who control the country. In the past Obama has been accused by some of being insufficiently attentive to black concerns. The term sometimes used for this is Oreo: black on the outside, white on the inside. Wright by contrast seems to be claiming that Obama is white--or at least tan--on the outside but black on the inside.
Wright poses a possibly lethal threat to Obama's chance to be president. Obama's great appeal is that he's the political equivalent of Tiger Woods. He's not an America hater or a race man like Charlie Rangel or Jesse Jackson. Wright makes Americans wonder: why is Obama so close to a man whose incendiary views are far worse than that of just about any black radical figure with the possible exception of Louis Farrakhan? Isn't professed ignorance of Wright's political views, combined with a refusal to cut ties with him, proof of Obama's bad judgent?
Pretty soon people are going to ask: Is Wright's influence the reason why Obama doesn't want to wear an American flag pin? Or raise his hand to his chest when the national anthem is played? Is Wright's ideology part of the reason why Obama's wife says she has not been proud of America for her whole adult life? And behind all this, the big question: at a time of war, can America is entrusted to a man who seems tolerant of the kind of vicious anti-Americanism that we are used to hearing from our worst enemies?
Reader Comments ( Page 4 of 44)
46. #1: Ward Churchill was fired from UC for plagiarism, not for having controversial views.
#2: DD is walking on thin ice here. He's actually criticizing a Christian. Is it possible, just possible, that being a Christian might lead someone to have the wacky views that J Wright has? No mention of that from Dinesh. Jeremiah must not be a REAL Christian.
AndrewV at 10:05AM on Mar 19th 2008
47. Wow, Lisa. You are one obsessed chick. Hope you're not a stalker too.
And Cecil? Obama had every advantage? He was a fatherless child, raised by a single mother with the help of her parents. Money was tight. He got scholarships because he was so bright, not because of any "advantage".
You really should read his autobiography. He had the N-bomb dropped on him as much as anyone.
Obama was raised ostensibly as an atheist, or an agnostic. He began attending church in his 20's.
If anything, he is not a slave to dogma, and certainly does not buy into hatred. Quite the opposite. He was raised with love and open-mindedness.
I thought his speech yesterday was excellent.
Linda at 10:10AM on Mar 19th 2008
48. Hey Paul, say whatever the hell you want but you cannot deny that Jesse Jackson did set these soldiers free so why don't you ask their families if that makes Jesse Jackson un-American. And secondly,your silly comment about "a vote for Barack Obama is a vote for black racism". What the HELL???? Truly it is evident that you have no understanding of history nor did you pay close attention to what Mr. Obama said in his speech. There are 2 Americas, One let's call it: Amerikkka represents the racism sexism homophobia and all the other ills that has divided our society. The other America represents what this country can truly be: a place where all people are equal regardless of race, gender or sexual orientation. In order for America to emmerge, it must destroy Amerikkka. And that's what Rev. Wright was talking about when he said "God Damn Amerikkka." Rev. Wright is a former marine who fought for this country, he has earned the right to denounce the unjustices that his commmunity faces. That makes him a TRUE AMERICAN.
A vote for Barack Obama is a vote for the America that Martin Luther King dreamed about. By the way Paul, you probably would have called Martin Luther King Un-American too, since he did not obey US Policies by marching and speaking against the Vietnam War.
Learn your history.
dakasa at 10:12AM on Mar 19th 2008
49. Bryan CRT, while William is a bit off-topic, I don't hear hatred in his post, I hear plain, brutal truth. He's a man apart.
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So, this video is making the rounds, eh? Are you all aware that this guy is no longer a pastor at the church, and the current pastor limits his sermons to things spiritual?
And by the way, DD, I have NEVER put my hand on my heart during the National Anthem. It's just not done most of the time. So you can get off that high horse, tout de suite.
Linda at 10:17AM on Mar 19th 2008
50. obama's speech was good but too too late-he's done. now the liberal left will embrace their new savior hiilary the hun. obama is a lost figure on the election scale.
ryan sadly you are mistaken. i am neither of your loathsome comments. yet you are a judgemental bigot as you so aptly prove with your statement. don't you just hate it when people with some sense do not agree with you. does it keep you up at night? cause you discomfort.
as for mo- you know good and well your black. now i will say i have never heard a racist statement out of you, here. that does not mean your not raqcist though. as for the hate you said happens here every day. your right!! just look at the likes of ryans comments,pauls comments. any one who disagrees with the liberal left atheistic agenda is branded. its so great to be in america though!!! land of the free until liberals get the power
brian at 10:18AM on Mar 19th 2008
51. linda,,
yes i am quiet sure if the show were on the other foot and it was mccain's pastor, retired who made racial hateful remarks that you would give him a pass also. this just show the ansolute hypocrisy of the left. were this mvccains pastor he would be finished. he would be have to quit. who in the liberal left camp is calling for obama to quit??? nooooooooooooooooooooobody. that would be un-fair and tooooo racist
brian at 10:22AM on Mar 19th 2008
52. Um, janesophie? Your remark about the "Born Alive Infant Protection Act"??? THAT WAS PASSED IN 2002, LONG BEFORE OBAMA WAS ELECTED TO THE SENATE!!!
(SHOUTING INTENDED)
Can you tell me how Obama voted for that law? With his homemade time machinc?
Linda at 10:22AM on Mar 19th 2008
53. brian; and you are dumb.
Ryan Anderson at 10:23AM on Mar 19th 2008
54. Ryan,
It's spelled "Sistah"
brian,
"as for mo- you know good and well your black."
Let's not make this an issue about my race, because there shouldn't be a reason for me to say what I am.
"now i will say i have never heard a racist statement out of you, here. that does not mean your not raqcist though."
I have not said anything racist, yet it almost seems like you're trying to label me one anyway, you know, "just in case". I may be jumping the gun, but you have a tendency to justify my paranoia.
Mokele-Mobembe at 10:23AM on Mar 19th 2008
55. "Hey Paul, say whatever the hell you want but you cannot deny that Jesse Jackson did set these soldiers free so why don't you ask their families if that makes Jesse Jackson un-American." --Dkassa
____________
What I say really doesn't matter. Nobody cares what I "think". The FACT, however, remains that Jesse Jackson violated American policies and laws to broker unofficial deals.
I agree with you. We could ask the families how they felt about it and out of their self-centered point of view they would praise Jesse Jackson the way, say, any beneficiary of racketeering or the illegal drug trade might appreciate the profits from such subversive commerce.
Their praise, however, does NOT (and can never) justify Jackson's subversion of the United States government. Jackson has never held an elected office and has never been a representative of the United States government. He had no authority to broker any deal. We can rightfully label his actions as subversive...undermining the authority and foreign policies of the US government. And THAT, my friend, is the very definition of anti-American.
Paul at 10:24AM on Mar 19th 2008
56. brian: "as for mo- you know good and well your black."
You know, I've seen Mokele on here plenty, and I can't be 100% certain of MM's race. What if he isn't?
PS - This is the internet. Mokele could be a 90 y/o white grandmother. I doubt it. But still.
AndrewV at 10:25AM on Mar 19th 2008
57. brian, you telling someone that you've never seen or met that "you know good and well your black" tells us all we need to know about you.
Seek help.
Ryan Anderson at 10:27AM on Mar 19th 2008
58. mo,
i said i never heard a racist remark from you. i assume you are not racist. i am giving you that you do not seem so at all. and its refreshing i might add. i would never label you anything short of what you consider yourself. though your politics is way off because your liberal, though i assume your atheist so lost there, i still think all in all your very kind and considerate most of the time.
a bit of a smart ass sometimes though
brian at 10:31AM on Mar 19th 2008
59. I like blues. I like soul. I like hip-hop. I like fried chicken. I like to watch blaxploitation movies - anything with Pam Grier. I like Beyonce. I might as well be black... Am I?
Mokele-Mobembe at 10:29AM on Mar 19th 2008
60. ryan,
you loon does his color matter? do you park cars for a living? or are you a mis-understood cashier waiting for your break because you do not strike me as too proffesional, i could be wrong, please correct me if so
brian at 10:32AM on Mar 19th 2008