I just watched Bill Moyers" interview with Rev. Jeremiah Wright. It was a very illuminating and informative program. Rev. Wright is not the demon, America hating, Farrakhan loving extremist that the media has painted him to be¦ duh? Imagine that! When you hear the full context of those very infamous, albeit, carefully edited sound bites you see just how insidious the whole media driven assault on Barack Obama, Rev. Wright and the Trinity United Church of Christ has been.
Rev. Wright is an honourable and passionate person. Who loves America¦ loves God¦ and cares enough to speak the truth even when it is uncomfortable and unpopular. The media has done him a great disservice.
Bill Moyers had the courage and insight to go to the source and ask the important questions. He wasn"t content to just watch a few carefully edited sound bites. Although I"m sure that it won"t happen¦ I truly wish that the media would give equal time to the "true story"¦ that they would blast to airwaves with the full context of the sermons and show that Rev. Wright is not the pariah that Hillary, the Republicans etc. would like us believe that he is.
What does this have to do with "Defining Obama"? Exposing lies and half truths benefits us all. This type of campaigning diminishes us all and damages the democratic process.
Watch video:
http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/04252008/watch.html
or
Read story
http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/04252008/profile.html
Defining Obama
Despite having all but secured the Democratic nomination, the last few weeks have not been particularly good for Barack Obama. As Hillary Clinton's desperation peaks, and as her message morphs into something akin to a Karl Rove Talent Show, Obama has found himself taking heavy fire. And while polls have suggested that Obama's numbers have not been impacted by Reverend Wright, or "bitter-gate," or the tale of the missing flag pin, the Republican Party, with the happy assistance of the Clinton campaign, is beginning to define Obama in a way that could be dangerous come the fall.
For most of the campaign, Obama has been adept at preventing his opponents from defining him. When Hillary portrayed him as inexperienced, he was quick to point out that experience in Washington had little relationship to change in Washington. When Hillary suggested Obama had yet to pass a commander-in-chief threshold, Obama argued forcefully that if having supported the Iraq War was a prerequisite to meet that threshold, then it was the standard itself, not Obama, that failed to meet the test.
But in the closing weeks of the Pennsylvania primary, the eruptions of a series of mini-crises resulted in Obama's opposition defining him as an out-of-touch and unpatriotic elitist, half radical Christian, half Muslim-in-disguise.
Perhaps it was the silliness of these claims that led Obama to dismiss them rather than confront them. Perhaps he, like many, assumed that the American people would not be so easily fooled. Yet, as the weeks rolled on and the vacuum of Pennsylvania's purgatory needed filling, the media began to adopt and circulate the very narrative the Clinton campaign had tried so hard to create.
As Thomas Edsall reports, the media tone has shifted sharply; Obama is described in newspapers as unelectable, in magazines as incapable of connecting with working class voters, and on television as someone who might be uncomfortable with patriotism. A debate about whether Obama is more similar to McGovern or Stevenson is not one he wants pundits to be having. Obama is being defined by others. It's time for him to do the defining.
Obama must do a better job of wrapping his story around ours. His background is one of the few that is actually one-of-a-kind; how many other Americans were born into an interracial marriage in 1960s Hawaii and raised in war-scarred Indonesia? Because Obama's story is so dramatically different than literally everyone else's, it would appear that some voters are having trouble understanding how his story relates to theirs.
Obama has always been a master of weaving the story of his life into the greater American experience. The speech that launched his political career on a national stage got some of its greatest applause lines when describing his origins. But now, when Obama speaks of his background, it often takes the form of a list: his father was from Kenya, his mother from Kansas, born in Hawaii, raised in Indonesia, a half-Indonesian sister, and family members who resemble the UN General Assembly. It lacks the punch, that intimate feeling that he empathizes with voters because he understands them. But this need not be the case.
Obama understands what it means to be poor, to be an outcast, to be different. Having spent his early career working everyday with working class Americans who had been laid off, he understands better than Hillary or McCain ever could, what it means to be told your job is leaving forever. Having been raised by a single mother, he knows what it means to be a struggling woman in the workforce. It is Obama's very background that answers the questions being asked of him.
It's time for him to say so.
He should also show some anger and passion when told he isn't patriotic enough to be president. "Not patriotic?" he should exclaim with disbelief. "How dare you!" Barack Obama has dedicated his life to serving the American public. Everything he does suggests that he has an abiding pride in his country. It is a pride that made him yearn to find a better life for the downtrodden of Chicago's Southside. It is a pride that led him to teach Constitutional Law, a course which, at its very base, is a singing tribute to our most cherished founding document. Obama knows his story is only possible in America, and he is running for president to ensure that promise of America is fulfilled. He is an unabashed patriot.
It's time for him to say so.
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They are not lies or half truths, no matter how you edit it, or how he explains it, he was still preaching America deserved 9/11, GOD DAMN AMERICA and the congregation cheered and jumped around in agreement. It could not have been the first or only time he has preached hate, not only of America but of the white race. I understand that hes done good and served our country, but his radical and racial hatred influence on his congregation now, and for some years, is why people are angry. You can not blame anyone but him.
Have you heard the whole sermon? I am sure you have NOT. The "chickens coming home to roost" came from the American Ambassidor Peak. Your statement typifies what he talked about in his interview but more importantly what he talked about at the NAACP Dinner of 12K people in Detroit as well as addressed it in the Press Club Luncheion todaya in Washington DC.
He does not preach hate AMERICA preaches and exercises hate daily. You cannot expand your thought process because you do NOT want to listen to TRUTH.
You would not ACCEPT THE TRUTH if God gave it to you. Read Jesus' conversations with those in high position in the synagogue, in authority. You people THINK you can JUDGE someone EASILY because they are black. Be careful because the SAME MEASURE TO SEND OUT AGAINST SOMEONE, WILL COME BACK AND JUDGE YOU. Yes, Jesus said it.
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I have a few questions for you. Has America ever done anything wrong? If so, would you ever point it out and condemn the action (or lack of action)? Could you then be called, by some other patriot, anti-American? Doesn't the Constitution give us the right to protest... the right to disagree with the government and its policies? Why is it when people exercise their Constitutional rights they are branded as anti-American or subversive or haters?
When Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell (and several other white fundamentalist preachers) were saying that 911 was God's judgment on America because of her tolerance of Homosexuals and legalization of abortion did you condemn them as anti-American or as hate mongers? When these same two preachers blamed the Katrina tragedy on Gays did you speak out against them for hate speech?
Why is there a double standard? Rev. Hagey (who called the Catholic Church the great whore) endorsed McCain. Clinton's former pastor, Rev. Procanick, was convicted of inappropriate touching of a 7 year old girl and I haven't seen one viral video blast like the sort that happened to Rev. Wright? Why aren't McCain or Clinton being called to task for their associations with these "haters"?
Is it because "they" are only "haters" when WE disagree politically with them? Otherwise, we look the other way. I am so sick of the hypocrisy of it all.
The vision I can not forget was when PASTOR Wright was "Riding Dirty" dry humping at the pulpyt while mocking the Clintons. I watched as the people clapped & even went up & patted him on the back with big smiles on their faces.... While laughing sooooo hard . And the crowd kept nodding their heads & cheering. In a church? Not acceptale. I'vw walked out of churches and never came back for far less. No amount of sugar could cover up that glimpse into his soul.
Oh YES ... wonderful piece.
And the irony of it is that what you say dovetails perfectly with the suggestions Karl Rove offered Obama in Newsweek.
Barack is totally electable. As he has often said, his story is "uniquely American." It defines not only the place from which so many of of us have come, but also the level of future opportunity that we can recreate for everyone in this country. But only if we're willing to work hard for it Right Now.
Now Hillary wants a one on one debate. This would be a mistake for Sen Obama there is no way he can win. If he is respectful he will be seen as weak if he goes after her in the same way she will go after him he will be seen as beating up on a woman. This is a win win for Hillary and nothing but lose for Obama. Hillary seems to like being a lady when it benefits her and tough when it benefits her. All Hillary has to do is tear up and women will come out with a vengeance to defend her against the man.
Hillary is a lady when she wants to be and tough when she needs to be. Do you think that means she is bipolar or a well rounded female? So far, I haven't seen any indication Sen. Obama has hesitated to attack Hillary and women are going to come out with a vengeance anyway. It looks very weak for him to set out a debate so it is lose, lose for him now. In a debate he might at least be able to explain some of his plans. Maybe he doesn't have any plans? Don't you have at least a tiny bit of admiration for her? She is magnificent.
Please, DON'T BE STUPID! Hillary reminds me of a SNAKE that was once frozen in the wood. The SNAKE was picked up and brought and placed in front of the fireplace to thaw out. When the person that placed the SNAKE in front of the fireplace passed by, the SNAKE bit the person. The person asked the SNAKE, "Why did you bite me? I picked you up and brought to my house to thaw you out." The SNAKE then responded, "I was a SNAKE when I was frozen and I am still a SNAKE after I have thawed out." She & Bill have always had SNAKE dispositions and that's just the way it is. Anyone who cannot see her SCUFFLING walk in this campaign is SO BLIND WITH REALITY and does not regard HONESTY in their life. As a former supporter of the Clintons I am ashamed of their CHARACTER, DEMEANOR, HONESTY and so much more. Researched their assocates I discovered Rezko was a big supporter (Matt Lauer/Today show revealed this), Rev Wright prayed with Bill/Hill Clinton by invitation for adultery, Gov. Rendell gave Farrahkan & the Islam Nation HIGH praises in person, and she was a BIG defender of the BLACK PANTHERS in the late sixties. Where is the HONESTY AND CHARACTER the Clintons MUST GIVE ACCOUNT FOR? If you willfully OVERLOOK their FAULTS, you are PREJUDICE and your CHARACTER is just like theirs.
She wants a one on one, with no moderator, about the issues. Women are tough, and even tougher under pressure, so that benefits every woman. Debates are nothing new, thats how presidential candidates have done it for years, and their views seen and judged by all. The fact that he is scared to do a debate now, shows his weakness in confrontation, showing again that he knows he will crack under pressure, and that his plans are not as strong. He could have even used the idea of some seeing it as beating up on a woman to lighten the mood and make a joke about it at the beginning. This would have been the time for Obama to step up and show all that doubt him that he can handle the heat, but instead acted like a coward and denied. So really what he did was lose some respect. Reminds me of his senate seat when he voted present over 100x when faced with tough decisions. There is way more that goes with being President than many of us will ever know, good and bad. I want change fast, and strong, I know Hillary brings that.
Actually, Obama was smart to decline the one-on-one debate. There is an old trick in politics: you ask a question of the politician, they say: thank you, that was a very good question, and then they use the time to talk about things other than the question. Hillary will use all of her time attacking Obama, straight from the Rove playbook, as she has morphed into Karla Rove. If Obama is polite, Hillary's supporters will say he's weak. If Obama replies in kind, Hillary's supporters will say he's beating up on her. Nothing positive for Obama can come from debating Hillary Clinton at this time.
Born in Hawaii , Grew up in Indonesia , and when he finally came back to the US he found solace & a mentor in a radical , racist , USA hating , friend of Farakhan. Where is the connection he has to lead all Americans to his Promised Land. He is more a cult leader than presidential material. I for one will not vote for the man who embraces Rev Wrong , his American terrorist friend , his criminal donar/neighbor , his wife who has never been proud of the USA , and one who evades the issues when it comes to all his personal relationships. Also he puts down the Bill Clinton Administration which brought the USA to a new prosperity and recognized leader in the free world. BHO is so full of himself that he stares up , over peoples heads , when he speaks because he thinks he is better than everyone else and can't really explain his vision because he thinks he is smarter than everyone else. If not Hillary then I'll vote for McCain who I am sure is a real Patriotic American
The controversies (which the Republicans pounced on as if they were flies feasting on the proverbial sh*t) in the Bill Clinton Administration led to the Republican Majority of the 90s in both houses and also without a doubt cost Al Gore votes in his presidential bid. So there is criticism to be had with the way his Administration was run. Vote for McCain, you're the Anti-American, McCain won't sign off on an increase on the GI Bill for our troops. Hopefully you will sign up and serve in Iraq since you want McCain, a vote for him is support for the continuation of the Iraq War and future war with Iran.
american?worker? You are not much of an American, too foolish to know how to improve your narrow view of what you know nothing about. I imagine you think Mark Twain was no great American either. Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain) used humor and satire to get a lot of points across. He said "Only when a nation's very life is in danger, should anyone uphold their government when it's wrong." If you believe mccinsane is going to put this nation back where it was before the bushit clan and its cronies got hold of it, you're just as nuts as he is. mccain is no "war hero", he is no more than any other serviceperson who survived being in a POW camp. You don't see them running around thumping their chests about it, nor allowing their friends and neighbors to do so. Most would rather put those things behind them if at all possible. No true American needs a pin to prove their patriotism. I think the one large mistake Obama makes is thinking too many others are as intelligent as he is. John Kerry made the same mistake. When you are speaking to a crowd that contains a lot of fools, you cannot get too intellectual. People in general and fools in particular fear what they do not understand.
Barack Obama does not need to communicate his message of hope and change any differently than he already has. My 4th grader understands Barack Obama's message. Five girls in their early teens understand Barack Obama's message thoroughly enough to express it in their own words to six hundred conventioneers in Iowa's 2nd District Saturday, and received the day's biggest ovation for it (above that of a Senator, a Congressman, and the state's Democratic chair).
I completely understand your point, and agree that too many choose to be fooled by fear. But Obama need only continue his message, because those awakened by hope, will never turn back to their fearful slumber. People will either get it today, or get it tomorrow. But they never un-get it.
As for intellectualism or elitism, maybe "bitter" is too elite. But not inaccurate. Maybe Obama could avoid the accusations by saying "pissed-off" instead.
Littleblackcat I agree with every word you say, unfortunately many people will think that you are an Obama elitist that talks down to the common folk because you are making a true statement and the truth hurts.
I like to make a point about the infamous flag pin. I went on deployment in OCT 2001 and came back in APR 2002. When I came back I was amazed at the number of vehicles with the flag painted on them. My only thought were did all these "patriots" come from. A friend of mine coming back from Afghanistan said the same thing. It's funny now you don't see as many flags painted on vehicles anymore.
So will I
You sound like an average white underacheiver, and someone who can barely contain their racist thought process. Because you were born white in the heartland, people with an exotic past scare the devil out of you. You sound petty and childish. Were you in the Marine Corp, as Rev. Wright was? I doubt it. Were you around in the 1960's when Ayers friends and neighbors were being drafted to Vietnam to fight in a war startlingly similar to what we are engaged in now in Iraq, based on an imaginary incident in the Gulf of Tonkin? I doubt it. Were you a Black female in a 1980's all-white Ivy league school, who's roommate refused to share a room with you? I doubt it. Were you aware that Bill Clinton left us with such horrendous policies as the AEDPA, NAFTA, and a "surplus" that decimated our military, infrastructure, and social security system? I doubt it. Sounds to me that you don't know jack shit, but because you have some deep-seated personal racism issues, you go off on tangents about Farrakhan and other non-issues. If I didn't know better, I'd think that you ranters on here are deeply envious of a Harvard educated Attorney, who lived in Paradise (as have I...E Komo Mai), and scares the hell out of you because you personally could never achieve what he has. You have boucoup complaints, but no solutions. You are the end of America....I can see it coming already.
an average white underachiever, so its ok for me to call some Obama supporters average black underachievers, who know nothing about anything political, who base their vote on race, cause where I live there is much more of that. I have always stood up for blacks, in school and work, I work in public service for Chicago, and I would LOVE for these young children who are being raised around all this violence and emotional abuse to have a black President to look up to and know that they can be anything they want to be in America because it is theirs as well as every colors country. I do not believe that Obama can handle, or is ready to takeon these terrible conditions we face, hisrecord proves nothing, eccept being a great speaker with nice ideas, careless and cowardly voting, and his pushrush for higher office without the work. Itsalso the company he has chosen to surround himself with, and lies hes told about them and his religion that has fueled untrust, and for good reason. America should question, intensely. They are not non-issues, they relate to other important issues. www.TheObamaFile.com
Countless times in the campaign and on this post, you and other worshippers have tried to squeeze votes out of the white guilt thats been played off of for years. There are probably some who base their opinion on race, INCLUDING blacks, but for you to judge all like you do, is flat out wrong.
KINOKO, if I had read down a bit further I could haved saved myself some time. You said it better than I could. aw needs to grow up, as do too many who want to call themselves "Americans" and put down anyone unlike themselves. I'm a white woman in my 60's and I support Obama. My greatest hope is that there is still enough intelligence in the general population to see through HRC, and realize mccain will just get us further and further into wars that we cannot win. We, like Israel, have become a rogue nation. It is only a matter of time before we are "contained" by nations we don't think are strong enough to do it, (we'll have been wrong, but that should come as no surprise) or by the collective effort of many small nations.
McCain, was born in Panama came back to the US where he found solace and spiritual advice from the Likes of Rev. Hagee
Another supporter of McCain, Rev. Hagee said this on the Glen Beck TV show and on public radio"s Terry Gross show.
Hagee responded that he had "criticized the Catholic Church for its past anti-Semitism" and that "[s]tanding against anti-Semitism does not make me an anti-Catholic." Beck did not ask Hagee about his statement in a book that "[m]ost readers will be shocked by the clear record of history linking Adolf Hitler and the Roman Catholic Church in a conspiracy to exterminate the Jews." Beck also did not mention that the Catholic League's Bill Donohue has called Hagee a "bigot" and has pressed McCain to "retract his embrace of Hagee."
Additionally, Hagee told National Public Radio's Terry Gross that "those who live by the Quran have a scriptural mandate to kill Christians and Jews"; once wrote that "the difference between a terrorist and a woman with PMS" is that "[y]ou can negotiate with a terrorist"; and claimed that "Hurricane Katrina was, in fact, the judgment of God against the city of New Orleans" because it "had a level of sin that was offensive to God,"
By the way he repeated these remarks on Friday. When asked to respond Senator McCain said yesterday he welcomes his support.
Im not for Mccain, but Rev Hagee wasn't his spiritual mentor for over 20 years. He didnt marry Mccain and his wife, preach to or spend time with his family, he didn't praise God Damn America and say we deserved 9-11, he doesn't damn Israel, he also didnt travel with Farrakhan to meet with an Iranian terror supporter in 2006. Rev Hagee's church also did not reprint a manifesto by Hamas that defended terrorism as legitimate resistance, refused to recognize the right of Israel to exist and compared the terror group"s official charter " which calls for the murder of Jews " to America"s Declaration of Independence. There is a big difference there, one that the republicans will make very clear.
I do have some suggestions for Senator Obama.
I'm a veteran and a gun clinger he does need to hang with some people that do have some understanding of these issues.
Those that have not served in our armed forces do not have a full understanding how these men and women feel about the issues.
The gun owners look at it as a right granted them by the constitution and will not give it up. There are three kinds of gun owners. First there is the legal responsible gun owners they are the vast majority. There are the irresponsible gun owners a vary small minority. There are illegal gun owners that should not own guns they should go to prison for owning guns.
I'm sure that I will draw fire for these comments but thats ok every one has a opinion and is entitled to it.
Actually Obama is antigun. He claims not to be, but if you take a close look at his global poverty bill, which will not only add $65BIL to the $50BIL we already pay for poverty, it will also hand the UN control over ammendments ranging from 2nd-9th. The 2nd, being the right to bear arms, is the first to go. He was very "ecstatic" when it was passed through congress, mostly b/c no one realized exactly what was in it. Please look it up. Notice below his worshipper claims "probably", thats because like so many other issues, we dont know exactly where he stands, other than end of war and changing politics.
Obama isn't anti gun at all. His ideas probably fall right in line with yours
I'm curious. Is your affinity for guns related to depression or the state of the economy?
My affinity for guns comes from my father, hunting and target shooting and it affirmed by the constitution that I took a oath to defend in 1966.
Mr. Loewe, you have used your words to define Hillary Clinton using the
Posted April 25, 2008 | 08:57 AM (EST)