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

[leftbehind2000]

Sometimes we try too hard to be funny.

In deference to Hitchens, I'm going with that.

[HGalal]

"The statements of clergymen like Jeremiah Wright aren't controversial and incendiary; they're wicked and stupid..."

As are most utterances by Hitchens himself. He is nothing but self righteous and egotistical. He is almost as dim-witted as William Kristol.

[rixhex56]

I don't agree with everything Hitchins advocates, but "dim-witted" he is not.

And he is dead-on with what he says about religion.

[bauersox]

So you think it's *not* "wicked and stupid" to stand in a pulpit and tell black parishioners that AIDS was created by the US government as a way of harming African-Americans?

[Plowboy]

Hitchens, please tell us how calling her a hard working, loving, self sacrificing woman is selling her out. Does the working shame you and make you attack so senselessly? If you worked better, you would have checked into Wright before yacking so. I did and, even though not religious, I find his sermons admirable.

Is it the loving part you object to? I've read some of your stuff, found it rather pale. If you had more love in you, you might understand more;. Wright spoke incessantly about it, and how it was manifested. Not by making criminal wars. (How many Iraqis have been killed?)

Are you jealous because Obama had someone love him and sacrifice for him? Lovable people tend to be loved. Hateful people are often hated.

Was it his comment on her language? Few of her age and that time would have been squeamish. Obama was saying that harmful words are common in our culture. You missed the point because you were only looking for something to attack.

Probably Obama expected the attack. He isn't stupid. It seemed to hurt him somewhat, but he turned it into a positive. Did that anger you? Small people hate excellence.

Is this Christianity's meaning: that people are small beings who keep messing up, need someone with excellence to rescue them , but small people resent excellence, so they must always destroy their saviors?

Luckily I'm not excellent in any obvious way. So I feel safe from people like you.

[Nostraboris]

like Jesus, Hitchens has his pro and cons. Religion IS a scam. Atheism is a blind faith. Al Qaida was NOT in Iraq before we invaded, and petty, lengthy and drunken blogs can't take away from Obama's historic speech.

[Didi47]

Historic speech my eye! It was a desperate attempt to try to detract from the ugly fact that Wright has been his mentor for the last 20 years; and in doing so he - even used his grandmother as a scapegoat ! Talk about poor judgment..­. He creates one fiasco after another... and then runs away and hides and waits for his "followers" to do his dirty work.

[dct19]

He told the truth. Unfortunately a lot of people can't handle the truth and treat it like a meaningless talking point.

[BeyondGoodAndEvil]

Some fiasco. The Reverends comments that were considered so controversial are not ugly when you see the videos in context:
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=RvMbeVQj6Lw
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=QOdlnzkeoyQ

And new shocking video from Obama's church:
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/3/15/203242/685/352/477632

[rixhex56]

This speech was Obama's version of "triangulating" and his supporters either don't realize that, or they are choosing denial consciously.

[boombox]

Hey, you'd better hurry so you can make another 50 insane anti-Obama comments before midnight. Now, why would someone do that? Because they're desperate?

[rixhex56]

While religion IS a scam, atheism is not a blind faith. I am curious to know how you would even support such a statement. Would you care to do so?

[Nostraboris]

In my opinion, to insist on having knowledge on the absence of a creator, or afterlife seems equally stubborn, or even blind as doing the opposite. one simply does not know.

[Halfwit]

The full article is your standard religion-hating piece. His problem is that Americans pay attention to religion at all. I have the same problem, but I don't agree with the piece.

[JamesRiddle]

Totally incoherant. Your point. is what ,Mr. Right wing nut?

[mam]

"He still gets away with absolutely everything­."

Hitch is talking about McCain, right?

[IndependentMeans]

Obama is half white, he loves his grandmother, and it was in context to the generational gap. Get a grip Hitchens.

[798space]

Tawdry Hitchens ruse to butt into the news and push another stage-Oxbridge doorstop.

[tbone99]

I guess everything BO does in the future that people find objectionable will be due to Rev Wright or Grandma.

[dajay]

Gee, this is the first time I actually agree with C.Hitchens­. He is so right.

[LAcarlito]

Hitchens always takes the easy way out by making suppositions about what Obama may or may not have said to his grandmother or what his thought process was. Why can he not argue this issue just on the merits. Everything with Hithens is a tacky smear that has little to do with the actual argument he is trying to make.

Bottom line: Obama brought up points about his grandmother that he has mentioned in his books in the past. Obama tried to make the point that these are things often said in houses by someone close to us that we won't abandon. In this case, the person he would not abandon was his grandmother--just like his pastor...w­ho was like a father figure to him. The analogy wasn't that hard to figure out. It was not a story that began and ended at his grandmother, as Hitchens implied.

It seems so many whites are bothered by an open discussion about what things whites say behind closed doors. Maybe Hitchens is just upset because "he can't handle the truth!" It seems the more whites are uncomfortable with Obama's speech, it stems from a discomfort they do not want to face.

[Grizzlies]

Christopher Hitchens article is compelling and newsworthy. Clearly, in April, 2007 the New York Times interviewed Rev. Wright. To suggest that this conversation did not occur is to suggest the Times simply made up the story to sell to a gullible public. Why is it so difficult to believe that Wright's statement that Barack "might have to publicly distance himself from me" so arduous to accept? Is Obama not a politician? Or do you simply accept his disingenuous rhetoric?

[avomonster]

Because Hitchens said it, it should make you wonder. This guy is two short of a six-pack.

[cmbaldwin]

Let's not forget that Obama is still a politician who understands how nasty and unforgiving campaigning can be and he knew he would have to distance himself from Wright..ca­n't fault him for that, but I hardly think he's being disingenuous about the vision he has for this country.

[Plank]

Last I checked His grandmother is his familiy. How would like it if, someone starts lecturing you about your familiy relationships?. I bet they hate you. The only reason one would suggest he sold out his grandma, never mind taking the quote out of context, is because you're seeing this as Black Vs White. That shows your prejudice and like it or not, Obama is as much white as he is black. That also means Obama's speech was too sophisticated for your ordinary intellect.

[NoahVail]

At least he doesn't need to distance himself from opportunistic left wing nut cases from the U.K.

Just what is Hitchin's point, anyway?

[DBBearden]

This is what he said in Slate: "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.)"

Obama's grandmother, Madelyn Dunham, is a typical white person just like my father in that they were both loving family persons and devoted Christians. I did not know the bigotry that existed in my father during my adolescent years because we lived in a lily white community and there was never an opportunity for him to demonstrate racial bias. Sen. Obama loves his grandmother and was merely trying to describe what he personally observed in his own home. White bigots who use this argument against him are the one's throwing her under the bus.

[Oldtimer]

And don't we all know that Hitchens would never sell out his grandmother! Ha!