But What About Jeremiah Wright?

Or William Ayers. Or ACORN. Or Karl Marx. Or whoever is the next person introduced on this Obama themed episode of This is Your Life.

"Wait a minute, Obama voter," I am often asked when declaring my voting intent, "What about Jeremiah Wright? Obama went to his church!" Sometimes I am even asked "What about Jeremiah Wright??? Obama went to his church!!!" In either instance, I can't figure out what this questioner expects from my response. As I see it, s/he wants to elicit one of 3 responses:

1) "Jeremiah who? Wright? Oh, I should have explained, I take a dose of HiberNol every March so I have never heard of him. But now that you will surely alert me to something very important and incendiary, I will change my opinion and vote for John McCain. Thank you, kind questioner."

2) Crying, ebbing into full sobbing, in a public display of remorse at how pathetic I am that I ever considered voting for Barack Obama now that this person has verbally confronted me with the prospect of Jeremiah Wright.

3) Some justification or defense of Barack Obama.

Not to disappoint too much, but none of those responses are coming. For one, HiberNol, to my knowledge, is not yet FDA approved. Secondly, I am not one for crying over spilled preacher videos. Thirdly, I could mount a defense for Barack Obama, sure. I could tell you that I have known religious figures who I admire despite despising their political views. I could tell you that I think that the line that would need to be drawn connecting the fact that Obama sat in Jeremiah Wright's church to the conclusion that Obama shares all of Wright's views is more convoluted than a dotted line in a Family Circus cartoon.

I could tell you all of these things, but instead I will tell you none because none of those responses is accurate. In fact, ultimately, I don't have an answer. But here is the thing... that is okay.

The fact that Barack Obama was close with Jeremiah Wright bothers me. The fact that he must have known some if not all of his pastor's views irks me, as well. But this election is not between the Barack Obama who knew Jeremiah Wright and the Barack Obama who repudiated him. If it was, I think I would vote for the latter. This election is between John McCain and Barack Obama, and in that race, I am also voting for the latter.

There is a tendency amongst people to pick sides and whitewash issues. If you support Obama, then this William Ayers business is overblown. If you are voting for McCain, it's stupid to look at G. Gordon Liddy. If you are voting for Barack, who cares that he broke his campaign funds promise, and if you support John McCain, then Sarah Palin is qualified to assume the presidency.

We lie to ourselves because it feels good. It feels better to vote for someone who you completely believe in and who has never had real associations with any felonious figures. But people are flawed, and these two politicians are no exception. We don't get to choose between idealistic, pristine versions of John McCain and Barack Obama; we get to choose between the actual, flawed McCain and Obama. And they are flawed... and that is okay.

When I step into the voting booth on November 4th and vote for Senator Barack Obama for President of the United States, it won't be because I don't think Jeremiah Wright matters. It will be because I do think he matters, but I think national security and the economy matter more.

So stop asking me about Jeremiah Wright. Is that okay?

Comments

[Lalita]

Having been raised in a Black church, I can say that I've heard much of Reverend Wright's kind of rhetoric at one time or another. What did bother me was the anti-gay, pro-man rhetoric, which I discussed heatedly with each successive pastor until I found that theirs was not my path to god.

What I find amazing is not that Reverend Wright said what he did. He said it and, in or out of context, it can give some people heartburn (though not as much as the bald-faced assertion that the 9/11 attacks were because our country didn't excoriate gay and lesbian people). It's that we're supposed to attribute the behaviors of people who were in a room with Senator Obama to Senator Obama. At the same time, we're supposed to ignore the adulterous (traded in noble Carol for home wrecking Cindy, a newer-model beauty queen), callous (used his POW status and first marriage to win him political points and score big ticket relationships like Ross Perot and Ronnie R before dumping her), unethical (the Keating Cats), racially tone deaf (Martin Luther King?...we don't need to honor "that one") behaviors of Senator McCain himself.

My adult self is proud that Senator Obama hasn't slung the mud. However, my kindergarten code of playground justice begs "just one volley."

[dadw5boys]

WE ALL HAVE FRIENDS LIKE WRIGHT. MAYBE WE NEED MORE LIKE HIM AND THEN BUSH WOULD NEVER HAVE GOTTEN ELECTED TO BEGIN WITH !

[irisda]

I think all religious leaders are prone to make incendiary remarks, and I can see it's been the trend for a while now. I believe people go to church/service to pray, and I suspect many disagree with their pastors and priests. It insults anyone's intelligence to suggest that attending a church means leaving your brain at the door. It might be the case for some, but many don't turn to religious leaders for political or social commentary or answers.

Often times it looks like churchgoers are like brainless sheep, but the thing is social pressure keeps people from being themselves all the time. In reality those who you think are sheep have their own informed opinions and know why they go to church and what they get from it. This is why I am not worried about Obama. I think it's hard to fake your convinctions for 2 years, especially when you're under scrutiny. If Obama were an extremist (and I mean it in the objective sense of the word) he wouldn't be running for president. So yeah I'm not worried about Obama, he's got his own experience in this world, he doesn't strike me as the kind of guy who needs someone else to dictate his outlook on life.

[navymike]

Good points. It is unfortunate when liberals attack churchgoers, or cast religion as some joke only towards the "right" of the aisle You forget that a huge demographic of bible-thumpers also vote Democrat. This election year is no exception....wait, it IS. Droves of African-Americans will be voting because BO is appealing to the masses in so many ways. Deny it all you want, but race IS a factor for many (not all) African-Americans in this contest regardless of their socio-economic background. And yes, Democrats do have their share of poor and uneducated voters. So cast stones if you want from your glass house, but remember the "brainless sheep" that vote within your own party the next time you libs plan on offending religion.

[wakupmagy]

I have to put my comment into context : I have supported Barack Obama from day one of the primaries.

Okay--having said that, I think McCain deserves credit for not using the Rev. Wright thing, as he pledged he would not do. Our own Democratic primary opponent, Hillary Clinton, did not make such a pledge and if her team was not complicit in the media maelstrom over this non-issue, they certainly did little or nothing to stop it.

[uheardme]

His views don't irk me.

[anewworld]

I didn't even read the article............. But what about him (them)?

[indepavoter9]

And what about Sarah Palin's witch doctor in Alaska ? or her treason to have Alaska break free from the US? Get over it !!!

[mmgbizgirl]

GET OVER IT!

[robXdion]

The racism exhibited at McCain-Palin rallies and even during the primary from Clinton diehards has only proved Rev. Wright and Rep. John Lewis were both correct. You don't get to racially insult people and then castigate them for getting PO's about it.

[uheardme]

Agreed.

[Eriq]

A good argument, well thought out, and well expressed. Just decide and vote. That's all. No smoke-screening, no extended arguments with friends (or otherwise).
Vote.

[NYCSocialWork]

Typically, my questioners (interrogators, inquisitioners) are my Catholic relatives...

Here's how my response goes:

"You're Catholic, right?"

"Yes?" (Like, How is THAT relevant?)

"So, you believe AND agree with 100% of what the Church teaches?"

"NO! Of couse not!"

"So Why haven't you denounced Catholicism and quit the Church?"

To which I get confusion and defensiveness...but, they usually drop it...

[SpoxLogic]

DAMMNNN!! That's a good one. Can we use it, too?

[FogBelter]

Etan, the thing is Jereimiah Wright, Karl Marx, William Ayres, Tony Rezko or whomever aren't on the ballot on November 4th, and only the intellectually challenged or dishonest see otherwise. Barack Obama has shown he is his own man, and if I were to consider who had the greatest influence on him, I would say it was his mother, who woke at 5 am in the morning to read with him before the sun came up, or his grandparents, with whom he lived. We all cross paths, and come into contact with people in our lives that aren't perfect, unless we never leave our homes.

Case in point, I live near, work with, and am related to many Republicans ... that doesn't make me one.

[mkam39]

Some facts on Rev. Wright...1) He served 4 years in the Marine Corps, then enlisted in the Navy to serve as a med tech. One of his duties was to assist the doctors caring for Lyndon Johnson when he had surgery. Gee, that sounds patriotic - right? If you had seen the full sermons he preached, YOU WOULD DISCOVER WHAT WE ALL KNOW: TAKE ANYTHING I SAY OUT OF CONTEXT AND I AM IN TROUBLE. He has often preached about the cruel ways the Nativce Americans were treated and the poverty that still exists in this land of plenty. I do not write these things to defend the man. Just know that he has qualities any of us may admire. I am a Catholic, but no way do I believe everything dictated by the church.

[greymom]

That is a good response. I was raised by strong Republicans, even John Birchers. That doesn't make me one either.

[portchester]

So what about Rev. Wright? Who cares when people are lossing thier jobs and homes.