Hitchens: Obama Sold Out His Grandmother

Slate:

It's been more than a month since I began warning Sen. Barack Obama that he would become answerable for his revolting choice of a family priest. But never mind that; the astonishing thing is that it's at least 11 months since he himself has known precisely the same thing. "If Barack gets past the primary," said the Rev. Jeremiah Wright to the New York Times in April of last year, "he might have to publicly distance himself from me. I said it to Barack personally, and he said yeah, that might have to happen." Pause just for a moment, if only to admire the sheer calculating self-confidence of this. Sen. Obama has long known perfectly well, in other words, that he'd one day have to put some daylight between himself and a bigmouth Farrakhan fan. But he felt he needed his South Side Chicago "base" in the meantime. So he coldly decided to double-cross that bridge when he came to it. And now we are all supposed to marvel at the silky success of the maneuver.

You often hear it said, of some political or other opportunist, that he would sell his own grandmother if it would suit his interests. But you seldom, if ever, see this notorious transaction actually being performed, which is why I am slightly surprised that Obama got away with it so easily. (Yet why do I say I am surprised? He still gets away with absolutely everything.)

Read the whole story: Slate

Comments

[bellecloche]

Oh, Christopher. LOVED your latest book because I agreed with it philosophically and it made a wonderful case for atheism which has too often been persecuted. Politically, however, I am convinced that Obama's public statements on religion comprise a better method toward secular government in America than your own arguments. I liked his chapter on Faith in "The Audacity of Hope" better than any other section of his book.
That he himself comes off as more of an agnostic theist than a dogmatic Christian doesn't make me worry that he is inauthentic. It makes me relieved - after these 7 years - that Obama appeals to those who are religious but admits uncertainty of life after death and finds the Bible too contradictory to apply to U.S. law. Given the high rate of opposition to atheism in America, I do believe that religious politicians like Carter and Obama are right now an extremely important link between those Americans who have no need for religion and those Americans who do on the common ground of progressive politics such as sex ed, stem-cell research, and foreign policy sans the Second Coming.
You can argue that Obama's speech was a missed chance to abandon religion and should have used the words "wicked" and "stupid," but you'll immediately be more divisive than unifying in doing so and won't be helping ANY candidate. With so much at stake in this election, creating more angry divides is hardly helpful, but it's your right.

[Truthosaurus]

Obama should absolutely be taken to task for his association with this pastor. Obama chose to attend this church for 20 years and chose to have this pastor involved with his "spiritual" advising group - whatever that is. Hopefully one day this type of spiritual advice will go the way of the tarot card reader where it belongs. For far too long, donning the cloak of religion and assuming the label of reverend or preacher has allowed people to get away with the most absurd and unsubstantiated claims, largely shielded from deserved criticism. (Some of these pastors are now considering ending the taping of their sermons to avoid scrutiny.) And it's people like Obama that are complicit in propping up these charlatans. Obama gives these people legitimacy. McCain gives people like pastors Hagee and Parsley legitimacy. If these candidates are going to involve their campaigns in religion, then they can hardly cry foul when they are called out on it.
Obama says he found Jesus, campaigns at churches, and makes religious references in his speeches. So we have every right to delve into his religion, the religious people who guide him, his supernatural beliefs, and how they will influence his presidency. It's unfortunate that Obama has allowed himself to get caught up in this - but as his pastor said: "the chickens have come home to roost".

[riconap]

The thrust of Hitchens position and this expose' is that despite unrelenting attempts by his followers to sanctify him and proclaim that he is the emissary of "CHANGE" and "NEW POLITICS", it is glaringly apparent that Obama is nothing more than a calculating and somewhat hypocritical politician. This makes him no better and for that matter no worse, than all others. The convoluted admission in his book "The Audacity of Hope" that he sought out a religious affiliation for political gravitas, underlines his ability to be another opportunistic player who at this point, deserves recognition for his acuity and for bringing himself so far on so little.

[OETKB]

Mr. Hitchens vitriol again lands him in hot unthoughtful water. His logic, although at times very persuasive, colors his real agenda. He wants certain swaths of the human population completely demoralized or destroyed. He can not fashion better solutions than to take the radical approach of trying to completely extirpate certain people in spite of activating the law of unintended consequences. It is this that Sen Obama seemed to be paying attention to in speaking of his grandmother. He offered that it is preferable to educate in a receptive way where hurtful ignorance exists. Leaving it alone means savoring the status quo while bringing it on, thick with caustic criticism, ensures we will all be at each other's throats. Somehow Mr. Hitchens feels we can all undo our life's experience and always upgrade what intellect has been given us genetically. He is not a peace maker as his ideological adherence to Bush's Iraq War policy shows. He can be safely ignored as an unreliable source for any societal solutions.

[Nyla785]

This whole 'grandmother' flap looks less like throwing grandma under the bus, and MORE like 'how dare this black guy out white people on their ingrained fears of blacks'.

[sockman]

You've done here what most in the main streem media are afraid to do; expose Obama for what he is. Since Don Imus was trown to the dogs for his racial insensitivity, most political talking heads tip toe around Obama and are terrified to challange him on simple policy issues for fear of being branded racist. Obama's response to being caught in bed with the Rev Wright was to hide behind his black half, cry racism, and kick his white half under the bus. Rather that explain to the American people why he sat there for 20 years on mute while his pastor spew hatred and lies about America; Obama responds by lecturing Americans on race as if his poor judgement and raw political ambitions are somehow inseperable from a broader discussion on Race in America. This article is quite refreshing for the huffington post and I bet quite sobering for many of the Obama supporters that visit this site. Cheers!

[MsLiz]

Hitchens spoke of Rev. Meeks in Chicago, so I googled him and found this article on Meeks from last week, with this line:

http://cbs2chicago.com/local/obama.james.meeks.2.681178.html

"Although Meeks was never very close to Obama, last month he was elected as a delegate pledged to Obama."

I have enjoyed listening to Hitchens on CSPAN discussing religion, and somehow missed his pro-war articles. Last night I read over this article, and then glanced over it again this morning. Not a lot of scholarship there, just impressions.

One point I took to heart. I know my own tendency to trust people until proven otherwise, so I will be let down when I find Obama's weaknesses. I had to go through the same process with both Clintons and McCain. There is no perfect candidate.

[bluesnot]

Blather on, neocon....

[Bulbul]

It is good to have Hitchins around , to point out the truth sometimes. Admitedly , he goes far so many times. He call Mother Terresa , one crazy nun...

The truth he is trying to point out , when one enters politics , to be successful, they are calculating , cunning in a good or bad way, and time their every single move.

Anyone thinks otherwise are making a fool of themselves !

[KarenJW]

Whatever Hitchens..­.........W­hat has Senator Obama really gotten away with......­..his relationship with another black man whose views he doesn't agree with? The offending views are Pastor Wright's not Senator Obama's. Don't you have friends whose views are contradictory to yours? Does this make them any less worthy of your friendship?
Compare Senator Obama's actions to those of the other two undesirables in this race. How does America overlook and justify the lies and deception that the Clintons have perpetuated and continue to spin? How does America justify McCain's endorsement of John Hagee? No one is perfect...­..........­.and as far as that goes, the lying, ruthless Clintons and senile McCain are as far from perfection as it gets!

[Bjorn316]

Did any journalist read Obama's speech? Scary that they rather use talking points from their corporate lawyers than what he actually thinks about these topics. Oh well, at least Hitch is still a atheist.

[rwe]

It is not what was in the rambling 45 minute speech of necessity and deflection , rather what was not in it... No remorse, no response to the specifics of Racism, antisemitism and America hating and why he says he did not know until recently,,,, similar to someone misspeaking about snipers.So­me how the greatest speech since those of MLK and JFK is still being overshadowed by the Wright hate speech

[ReasonIsMyReligion]

(HuffPoo editors: the below appears on my profile as having appeared, but NOT on the Hitchens string itself. From 7:12p last nite. Wassup?)

~~~

But Rev. Wright is NOT family.

Wrapping him in the family cloak -- shared by racist Granny -- is not cutting it with many people, just those that were already Obama supporters.

Additionally , he blames residual skeptics for having an "untrained ear." With that phrase, he disses all white people who CAN tell the difference between anger and bigotry.

Great speech. But no pass for Obama's feigning ignorance of, let alone tolerance of, hate speech.

Turning the other cheek is NOT what this country needs right now.

[vallon]

Vallon: Hitchens is making mischief. As a Democrat who will vote-still-for either Clinton or Obama in November, over the train-wreck policies of Bush/McCain, I'd like to offer my two cents. Chris Hitchens did more in the 90's to turn me into a full-blooded, irate Clinton supporter than almost anyone else. I can't believe that any Democrat would take this guy seriously, especially Clinton supporters. Just Google Christopher Hitchens on Bill Clinton for some insight on how this guy works. The enemy of my enemy is NOT my friend.

[1dogs2]

Poor Hitch. Still trying to make a living as the most thoroughly and universally unpleasant pundit on the scene with intentectual gifts so diminished (by alcohol? senile dementia?) that he cannot even parse a speech correctly and has to join the howling chorus of the simple-minded MSM to the effect that Obama "threw his grandma under the bus." If he had a shred of his former (equally unpleasant) self left, he would vent his spleen on the far more nefarious connection between Clinton and "the Family."

[ChimpmasterDJ]

Poor dear Christopher has dedicated the latter portion of his adult life to proving the truth of the dictum that warns "Education can never be a substitute for a lack of character". Christopher has a brother who is both intelligent and relatively sane, proving that Christopher's very public deterioration is unlikely to have genetic causes.