McCain Blames Obama For Rev. Wright Issue

Politico:

Here's a new angle from McCain, at an avail today, at which he said, more or less, that he didn't plan to attack Obama on Wright, but that Obama -- by calling the question "legitimate" -- had legitimized it.

It's a move either clever, or too cute, depending on how you see it -- but it'll serve to keep the story in the news, and to signal surrogates that it's more than fair game.

He's also showed a detailed knowledge of the story.

I've stated my position very clearly that I don't like the ad. I was interested that this morning Senator Obama said that it was a legitimate political issue. If he believes that, then it will probably be a political issue. I saw yesterday some additional comments that have been revealed by Pastor Wright, one of them comparing the United States Marine Corps with Roman legionnaires who were responsible for the death of our Savior. I mean being involved in that -- it's beyond belief. And then of course saying that Al Qaeda and the American Flag were the same flags.

So I can understand -- I can understand why the American people are upset about this. I can understand that Americans viewing these kinds of comments are angry and upset, just like they viewed Senator Obama's statements about why people turn to their faith and their values. He believes that it's out of economic concerns, when we all know that it's out of fundamental belief, fundamental faith in this country and its values and its principles. Again, Senator Obama is out of touch. I can't control and will not in the future control. I will voice my opinion and I will continue to think and to say that I think that ad should not be run. But I won't continue to try to be the referee here

Read the whole story: Politico

Comments

[EverConstance]

Watching Wright now and I'm appalled. He had me at the beginning; I was really feeling a lot of respect for him, but then it all changed.
"Comparing African-American children to European-American children is like comparing apples to...rocks"???
I can only imagine the outcry should that statement have been reversed and someone had compared African-American children to rocks.
African-Americans are right-brained and "European-Americans" left-brained? Sorry, the statistics simply don't support that.
Further, though he claimed to describe difference rather than superiority/inferiority there was a great deal of mockery of white people. And this Irish-American wasn't amused by his 'joke' that maybe Irish-Americans do have a disease.
He knew his speech was being aired live on national television and yet his racism came through loud and clear.
Very, very sad.

[obamasOHangel]

I wish that I had seen that interview. I'm tired of being swayed by opinions of those who would reject anything that he says anyway, and then they'll put on this air of disgust at one comment that he made. I would like to see or hear the context that the statement that offended you was made in. I actually think that he's a scapegoat for a lot of people's own racist views. There is no way in hell that Jeremiah Wright is racist. I don't believe you.

[shel3364]

I saw the second half of the interview and really enjoyed it. He's an intelligent man, especially when talking about communication.

You can see it on PBS.ORG

http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/04252008/watch.html

[GBecker]

Tune into CNN. It's on right now.

[uheardme]

You are dumb. That brother can preach. You typical white people are.. .ahem different.

[obamasOHangel]

I can be harsh at times but I thought this was mean uheardme.

[ApolloniaCreed]

Not cool...

[MariaHopeful]

Uncool! That was his point. We are all different.

[Sabreen60]

You missed Rev. Wright's message, too? Well, I'm sure he knows you can't win 'em all.

[donaldw6]

You're worse than dumb, EverConstance. You're poisonous.

[EverConstance]

I don't know anything about you. But truly, would you not have been offended had he compared African -American children to rocks? Or, in recounting the prejudices all immigrants have faced, said that your group was actually deserving of the biases against them?

[aplegrand]

This is the exact nonsense that Rev Wright tried to combat in his speech. You take two quotes completely out of context and try to frame and narrate his speech. First, he was quoting the statistics of the day from a study done in the 1970s. Second, if you are offended by the "mockery" it is because you are not open-minded enough to see that Rev Wright made jokes about every race, not in a condescending way, but in an effort to show how our differences are not "deficiencies" but simply differences---sometimes funny ones.

[devadasi]

You're making a mountain out of molehill Everconstance. You certainly don't have to agree with Wright, and if you heard 1,000 pastors giving a talk, you could find something to disagree with each of them about..

As a white woman I have to problem with the Rev. As a Creative Arts Therapist I understood exactly what he was talking about when his theme was on music.

As a recovering Catholic,I find the Pope much more offensive than Wright.

As a white person I don't take Wright's mockery of white people seriously...it doesn't offend me because I know who I am. I think that's the big point. Individuals who know who they are are not offended by Wright, but if you're not sure you are, then you're going to be offended.

When Wright speaks about white people, I know he's not talking to me. He's talking to white people who are racist.

[CapitalistRebel]

I'm watching Wright on CNN right now. He's very "animated" lol, but the content of his speech is right on. His message: "Different is not deficient". I hope this gets as much attention as those soundbytes did.

[GBecker]

It is. CNN is altering their schedule for the night so they can keep broadcasting it!

Obama '08!

[DocJerome]

I wish there was an edit option for situations such as this. Sorry.

John McCain has huge pastor problems with his associations with Hagee, Parsley, et al. All queries concerning pastors apply to all. This is a ridiculous road to go down, but as usual, the Republicans would rather distract the American electorate, rather than have their lack of any solutions for the problems we face, be it policy, or anything substantive, be exposed. They know that they cannot win on the issues, and are devoid of any ideas that do not involve trying to grow the economy through war profiteering, or the corporate rape of America.

[BethStuart]

DocJerome, you're putting it mildly. McCain has insurmountable pastor problems. Check out the Rev. Hagee at:

http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/10052007/profile.html

Preemptive war with Iran is just one of the items on Hagee's agenda.

[Lagniappe]

Hagee, who serves as head pastor of the 18,000-member Cornerstone Church in San Antonio, Texas, hosts his own television program that is seen twice a day on TBN. He argues that the United States must join Israel in a pre-emptive military strike against Iran to fulfill God's plan for both Israel and the West. Shortly after the release of his book last January, he launched Christians United for Israel (CUFI), a lobbying organization intended, he says, to be a Christian version of the powerful American Israel Public Affairs Committee. With CUFI, which Hagee has said will cause a "political earthquake," the televangelist aims to put the political organizing muscle of the conservative evangelical movement behind his grand plan for a biblically prophesied end-time confrontation with Iran, which will lead to the Rapture, Tribulation, and Second Coming of Christ. -------------------Prospect Magazine,"06,Sara Posner

[MuchMadness]

McCain: "when we all know that it's out of fundamental belief, fundamental faith in this country and its values and its principles"

This sounds like idolatry to me. The Bible urges faith in God, not faith in a nation or political system.
A Christian might believe that the founding political principles of our republic were sound, but that faith would not be fundamental or primary, but rather secondary to his chief allegiance.

[DocJerome]

John McCain has huge pastor problems with his associations with Hagee, Parsley, et al. All queries concerning pastors apply to all. This is a ridiculous road to go down, but as usual, the Republicans would rather distract the American electorate rather than have their lack of any solutions for the problems we face, policy, or anything substantive. They know that they cannot win on the issues, and are devoid of any ideas that do not involve trying to grow the economy through war profiteering, or the corporate rape of America.

[Lagniappe]

Parsley was profiled in American Prospect,2005,by Sara Posner. He is a member of the Arlington Group,:_____________IOctober 2005, Arlington Group Chairman and Focus on the Family founder James Dobson became the center of a minor scandal after leaking assurances made by Rove to an Arlington Group conference call regarding the pro-life credentials of Supreme Court nominee and White House counsel Harriet Miers. Miers withdrew her nomination later that month, largely due to reservations among conservatives.

Despite these setbacks, the Arlington Group remains one of Washington's most powerful conservative groups, and the first effective combination of the major religious right organization.
The organization's deliberations are strictly off-the-record, and membership was previously held confidential, but the group launched a website in July 2006 which lists its member organizations. In March 2007, the home page was taken down; according to an article in the Boston Globe, it was "abruptly disabled earlier this month after the Globe began making inquiries".______________If I'm not mistaken,Dobson will speak at the Fellowship's Prayer Breakfast this week.

[ApolloniaCreed]

Unfortunately, it's only a huge pastor problem if it's reported... and I haven't seen it being approached with the same vigor as the egregious depiction of the Rev. Wright snippets.

[JohnCochtosten]

This is some really circular logic here.

[GBecker]

McCain couldn't remember on Thursday that on Monday he said he thought the 9th Ward should be torn down. I'm thinking by Tuesday or so he won't remember any of this either. Buckle up, put that seatback in the upright position and fly away in your wife's private jet, old man.

[boombox]

He doesn't think it should be an issue, but since the subject is brought up he'll throw a few bricks.

It's the double-talk express!

[harriscrl3]

McCain blames Obama in an effort to cover the fact that he is a WEAK LEADER of his party. He can't stop that NC/GOP ad running Monday so he pushes the responsibility on Obama. Typical Lying Flip/Flopper.

Carol

[AC500]

Here is the Bill Moyer interview with Rev. Wright:

http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/archives/archives.php

And here is the Clintons' connection to Rev. Wright who prayed over the Clintons in the White House after Bills affair with Monica became public:

http://blackstarnews.com/?c=135&a=4470

[FreeSpeech200854]

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/4/27/193256/345/258/491964

[castlerider]

Like Obama said, He went there to worship God, not his Pastor.
He needs to keep saying this, because it takes some numbskulls a long time sometimes, before the truth begins to ever sink in..

This is, or was, his neighborhood church.

Who cares what this pastor said? I sure don't and less and less Americans who have been seeing all this really give a hoot about it anymore either.

McCain, quit kicking a dead horse issue that isn't even worth talking about.

[Tropiholic]

If we are talking about guilt by association it applies to EVERYONE not just Obama. Mccasket and Hillary have some very questionable people associated with them. Where is the scrutiny???

[AC500]

Guilt by association?

Well here's the Clintons' association with Rev. Wright who prayed over them in the White House after Bill's affair with Monica became public:

http://blackstarnews.com/?c=135&a=4470

[Lagniappe]

A few words about The Fellowship,Hillary's spiritual advisors:-------The organization's official name is the Fellowship Foundation, but it's more commonly known as the Fellowship or the Family. Its membership is a closely guarded secret. Members are told to keep silent about the group and its activities.

Since the mid-1930s the Fellowship has used weekly prayer meetings, National Prayer Breakfasts and powerful connections to champion an extreme religious and political agenda. Its founder, Abraham Vereide, was a Methodist evangelical from Seattle who believed that Communists were wrecking America.

Katherine Yurica, an expert on fundamentalist religious groups, describes the Fellowship as postmillennial Christian Dominionist, a sect whose goal is to hasten the end of the world and Jesus's return. Many of the faithful believe this will come to fruition in the form of all-out nuclear war, which will lead to Armageddon-the final battle between Christ and the Antichrist.

Dominionists interpret the Bible literally. They fervently believe that Jesus cannot return to Earth until all Jews have returned to the Promised Land mentioned in the Old Testament. These Christian zealots insist that the end-of-the-world war will begin in Israel. This explains why the conservatives in power seek to control America's relations with the Middle East, particularly Israel.

"They use religious members as dupes to further their nonreligious goals," says the official.. Noting its close ties with the White House and the defense industry, some Beltway insiders have dubbed the Fellowship Foundation the "Christian Mafia."

[McFlipFlop1]

My reading of McMummy's words shows that he has trouble putting a complete sentence together.

[GBecker]

Make no mistake, people: the media is making this an issue.

I just heard Rick Sanchez on CNN announce that Rev. Wright will be addressing the Press Club later tonight (although I think it's tomorrow morning) and CNN will be "breaking in" as soon as they can report on what he's saying. The media is playing all of us to their own financial gain in terms of readership and viewership. How many times over the past months have we heard how this race is "neck and neck" even when the poll numbers say otherwise? They're not reporting news, they're reporting snippets of this and that to keep their corporate bosses happy and the rest of us in the dark.

[srtjsrtj]

If the Media has nothing to talk about they CNN, MSNBC, FOX cannot longer add new shows and Promote Anchors to our Expense. My family and friends stopped watching and just use these blogs that are not TV related.

Our actions speak louder than words. It' past time for us to just shut the Media off then they can have a love affair with themselves. If we are not watching, well.................................

[GBecker]

Absolutely agree.

[harriscrl3]

Whether he said it was a political issue or not they are going to make it an issue so better he beats them to the punch and say that its an issue. The MSM is bought and paid for corporate controlled Joke. I dont watch them hopefully more people will start tuning them out like the did ABC after that deplorable debate.

Carol