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Reverend Wright and Barack
I am a Barack Obama supporter. I liked Senator John Edwards, think Hilary Clinton would make a super president, but have been persuaded ever since the start of the campaign that Barack offers the greatest chance for substantive, and greatly over needed, change.
I'm still in the Barack camp. But, as a vocal supporter, I'd like just a couple of answers about the flap over Reverend Dr. Jeremiah A. Wright, Jr, the former pastor of Trinity United Church of Christ, the Chicago megachurch where the Obamas have been members for 20 years.
Guilt by association is totally unwarranted. Barack is not responsible for Wright's views. However, how he responds to those views -- and whether he is being straight with us, the voters -- is critical as to whether he should lead our country.
The key issue for me, as both a supporter and as a reporter, revolves around what I view as Wright's most incendiary comments, those implying that America -- because of its own actions -- deserved the 9/11 terror attacks.
Wright made his comments on September 16, only 5 days after the deadly strikes in New York and Washington. He said, in part, "We bombed Hiroshima, we bombed Nagasaki, and we nuked far more than the thousands in New York and the Pentagon, and we never batted an eye....We have supported state terrorism against the Palestinians and black South Africans, and now we are indignant because the stuff we have done overseas is now brought right back to our own front yards. America's chickens are coming home to roost."
Barack was then serving in the Illinois senate. He had unsuccessfully run for Congress the previous year. Although the Trinity United Church is large (6,000 members), the Obamas were then, and have been since his 1997 election to the State Senate, some of the best known parishioners.
A church, synagogue, mosque, and other places of worship, are like extensions of the local communities they serve. Afro-centric churches like Trinity serve not only as houses of worship but as a backdrop for a wide range of social, personal, and often business, relationships. When a parishioner is away from their house of worship, if the preacher/priest/rabbi/imam says something particularly out of character -- or wildly controversial -- it is almost impossible that members aren't going to talk about it endlessly as gossip.
There was no more traumatic event in our recent history than 9/11. Reverend Wright's comments would have raised a ruckus at most places in America, coming so soon after the the attack itself. Political commentator Bill Maher lost his TV show when he seconded a guest's observation that the hijackers had courage to carry out their attack. The country was emotionally raw.
If the parishioners of Trinity United Church were not buzzing about Reverend Wright's post 9/11 comments, then it could only seem to be because those comments were not out of character with what he preached from the pulpit many times before. In that case, I have to wonder if it is really possible for the Obamas to have been parishioners there -- by 9/11 they were there more than a decade -- and not to have known very clearly how radical Wright's views were. If, on the other hand, parishioners were shocked by Wright's vitriol only days after more than 3,000 Americans had been killed by terrorists, they would have talked about it incessantly. Barack -- a sitting Illinois State Senator -- would have been one of the first to hear about it.
Can't you imagine the call or conversation? "Barack, you aren't going to believe what Revered Wright said yesterday at the church. You should be ready with a comment if someone from the press calls you up."
But Barack now claims he never heard about any of this until after he began his run for the presidency, in February, 20007.
And even if Barack is correct -- and I desperately want to believe him -- then it still does not explain why, when he learned in 2007 of Wright's fringe comments about 9/11 and other subjects, the campaign did not then disassociate itself from the Reverend. Wright was not removed from the campaign's Spiritual Advisory Committee until two days ago, and it appears likely that nothing would have been done had this story not broken nationally.
Come on, Barack. I'm backing you because you are not 'one of them.' You have inspired me and millions of others because you are not a typical politician. You tell it like it is, don't fudge the facts, and don't dodge and weave with clever words to avoid uncomfortable truths.
Tell it straight. Was Reverend Wright so radical that his post 9/11 comments did not cause a stir at the Church, and you never learned about them until 2007, nearly 6 years later? Why, when you did learn about them, did you not ask Revered Wright to step down from his role in your campaign?
Give us the plain truth. You won't lose us by being brutally honest. You only risk shaking our faith in you if you seem like so many other politicians that crowd the field.
Gerald Posner is the author of 10 books of investigative non-fiction, seven NYT bestsellers, and a finalist for the Pulitzer in History. His last book was Secrets of the Kingdom: The Inside Story of the Saudi US Connection
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Obama like many politicans (ie Bush) are religious opportunists'
They join congregations to solidify a base. They shake hands, slap backs and collect $.
Obama chose his church becuase of its political clout in Chicago.
The racism of his Church works for him in Chicago but not as well nationally.
Of course he say whatever the crowd or media want to hear at the moment.
He's a studied polititian with a game plan.
I personally don't like to be gamed.
Taking his kids to hear X rated adult sermons seems a bit abusive.
Oh I forgot we are all a bunch of racist America haters here in Chicago. Don't speak of stuff you obviously have no knowledge of.
I notice that the Clinton people seemed to be synch'ed to the same language on every blog: "He's a gamer." "I don't like being gamed." Sounds a little rehearsed.
Soundslike you should be a bit more open-minded. It seems like Obama supporters always have the quick negative retort that blames just one more thing on Sen. Clinton
I find it hard to believe that anyone would actually take this whole issue seriously. I especially find it difficult with an apparently educated person of some sophistication. Who could honestly believe that a person of Senator Obama's experience and education would be running the gauntlet of a presidential campaign if he secretly harbored what most people consider to be extremist views?
Not guilt by association? What else could it be called except perhaps naive foolishness? Nothing which Senator Obama has ever said or implied indicates that he would have sympathy for terrorism. If terms like vehemently disagree, strongly condemn, reject outright and denounce aren't good enough for you, what do you want an auto de fey before a court of inquisition?
The point is Obama should have distanced hiimself from Wright and for that matter Rezko a long time ago. A "person of Senator Obama's experience and education" would have done that. A political hack wouldn't have.
This is more than guilt by association.. By donating $22,500.00 to Wrights church he is endorsing what he stood for and said ... and no one is believing that he never heard these statements until recently .... And unlike Ferraro (and the AA community has not called her racist) or Haggee or Robertson ....there can be no comparison
Uh, tithing? You don't give 10% of your money every Sunday? Shame on you!
Lordy, it sounds like a lot of you don't regualrly attend a church. The church is not the preacher, it's the congregation. Giving money to a church is not for the preacher, it's for the community of the church.
With all due respect, my understand is that Obama and family have been members of this church for a long time and that it was not WRIGHT'S church, but the church where Wright was the pastor or the chief pastor. The fact that Obama supports the church he attends only makes him a responsible member of the congregation.
Huh? No comparison to Mr. Hagee? Well, you are right because Reverend Wright isn't as bad as Mr. Hagee. Mr. Hagee calls Catholics the emissaries of the devil. Is this the hate that you don't find comparable to Mr. Wright (who by the way grew up and was an adult during segregation)? What did Mr. Hagee ever suffer to make him hate (and preach hate) Catholics so? Please tell me because I cannot believe the man stood on a stage next to Senator McCain and everyone didn't cry out. I suppose hating Catholics is just fine. Geraldine Ferraro is probably not racist; although I do believe she is machiavellian in her tactics. I personally find that very morally bankrupt.
When I read comments like those here I become very concerned that the past will not let us go. I am 40+ and all my life someone is trying to make me take a stand on the 60's. Well, I'm not going to reject and denounce any of you. I am going to try and thread the needle between all of your hate, anger and bitterness (as expressed by Reverend Wright (gee whiz, everybody forget what happened in that man's life?) Geraldine Ferraro (anyone remember what woman had to go through to open the door for the rest of us?) and even somehow John Hagee (what in the heck is his excuse?). Enough is enough -- if we don't put this inanity behind us we will continue to FIGHT, FIGHT, FIGHT about who is right and who is wrong and whether we could have won Viet-nam right until the moment comes when all of our freedoms are gone (how can we defend them when we are so busy fighting each other?), our jobs are gone (how can we make new ones when we are too busy saying No, I'm the one abused!, our economy will fall apart while we are arguing over the "culture war," or some other phrase we come up with to make certain we cannot unify as a Country to address and solve any problem.
And why is that we must keep fighting with each other instead of fighting together? Because Senator Obama's pastor (who is now retired) made some statements we do not like. Please don't be deceived by this nonsense. Senator Obama is the only one offering us real solutions because he is the only one who understands that only if we quit fighting each other can we move forward together and actually solve our very real problems. If we cannot let go of the fight and we must stay buried in our fears of each other, we don't have much of a chance. I personally have no need for this nonsense in my life. It is, obviously, your choice, however. I just hope you make the right one for this Country, our future and the next generations.
Obama supporters have too much invested in him as "change" to understand he's done the ol' two-step on them 1) I don't recall 2)but if I had I woulda, shoulda, coulda. The man is a politician, folks.
And a green one at that. How could he NOT have known his Pastors' tapes wouldn't leak out. How could he NOT have known his Pastor's 20-year record. To believe that, means Obama is really out of the loop about his own church. And he wants to run the country???
I keep trying to understand his "aura" but I still feel, as I've felt all along, "I really don't know this man to make him my President." Yes, his book is marvelous, my husband and I, long-time Clinton supporters, are reading it now.
Guilt by association is wrong. Claiming innocense by ignorance is pure BS. What worries me isn't Obama's pastor getting outed. It's Obama's poor response.
20 year record? Where did you get that? There is something from this December -- when he was about to retire. There is something from right after 9/11. 20 years ago? Wouldn't that be about the time Reverend Wright met Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in Chicago? Are you certain of your assessment? Or do you think Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is implicated in the snippets extracted from Reverend Wright's sermons too? Have you listened to the whole sermon, or are you satisfied with the snippets? Just wondering.
Dr. King has been dead for almost forty years - so I don't think he was meeting Rev. Wright or anyone else in Chicago 20 years ago. No,actually it would be closer to the time (1993) Rev. Wright visited with Muammar Al Gadaffi in Libya accompanied by his good friend Louis Farrakhan.
I think you pretty much answered your own questions.
I find it impossible that he did not know of these remarks. The reason Wright was disinvited from Obama's line-up was because of these types of remarks.
He lied last night. Plain and simple. He only rejected Wright when he was caught. Didn't the same thing happen with Rezco?
His campaign ridiculed Gerladine Ferraro, and more so Hillary Clinton, for remarks made by Geraldine. Keith Olbermann ripped Hillary a new one, for remarks made by Geraldine.
This, I am afraid, is far, far, far worse. Obama did not excuse Hillary for remarks made by Geraldine, and he injected the race memo of comments made by Clinton surrogates, and called them racist.
He set a standard, and now he has to live up to it. He IS accountable to the 20 year relationship with this man, and he is accountable for the anti-american and anti-white sentiments Wright made.
And he is responsible for doing what is necessary to ensure the Democrats with the White House. And if that includes stepping aside, then... I do not believe he can win the Nov. election after this.
I am for Hillary, and have been arguing for her, and against Obama supporters for some time, but I must say, this saddens me. I thought he would have made a great VP.
But, I think Obama can only blame himself.
Your sincerity is so very Clinton-like. Like stone. Thanks anyway. Go back to FOX.
Truth hurts, I know.
Obama pointed out in his HuffPo posting that he had denounced the statements before now: "When these statements first came to my attention, it was at the beginning of my presidential campaign. I made it clear at the time that I strongly condemned his comments."
Maybe you could offer a little balance on the guilt-by-association smear tactic we see here. For example, what percentage of this pastor's sermons had this type of invective? Are we to assume this type of sermon was the rule or, as Obama implies more the exception?
Amerigus, Obama either sat on tv friday night, and lied repeatedly, or he is a big idiot.
Which is it?
Guilt by association? As Hillary about Geraldine.
Senator Obama has never called anyone in Senator Clinton's campaign racist except in the heads of some people who apparently don't do their research. Please check it out, you will find that I am correct. Shall we hold Senator Clinton responsible for the anti-semitic comments of Reverend Billy Graham that were caught on tape as he talked to President Nixon?
http://www.counterpunch.org/vestgraham.html
I don't like having to point this out especially since after Billy Graham was "caught" he apologized, but nevertheless, he made the statements. Since Senator Clinton admires Mr. Graham so, is she accountable for these statements?
This whole thing is so ridiculous. Is there anybody out there with a brain who didn't realize that an African American man who grew up in Chicago like Reverend Wright who experienced segregation and hate first hand might have some resentments? Anybody out there KNOW that although much of Chicago's African American population was more militant, Reverend Graham embraced the theories and Christianity of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.? I think if we let this be an issue, we will only have ourselves to blame when we don't get out of Iraq, when our debt continues to balloon and our dollar drop in value, when our healthcare costs continue to soar, our schools continue to fail to teach much of anything and our Country continues to fight itself, instead of unifying to solve any problem. We will only have ourselves to blame.
Why do you always have to get so nasty? We all have to read posts that take umbrage with our views, but we should just live with it....articulate your argument in a civil manner and HuffPost will become a prettier place....
then why did obama disavow, reject and finally have wright removed from his campaign, and say that he NEVER heard those remarks before and if he HAD, he would have quit the church? He lied. Obama preaches unity and his pastor spreads hate and sepratism. I find that disturbing behavior for a presidential candidate.
And for the record, Obama camp released a memo that contained 4 pages, outling attempts by them to call Clinton or her surragates racists. It was posted in HuffPo.
I do my research. Perhaps you should.
Gerald.
Your blog is really refreshing. You articulate your point very well and do so in a manner that is of respect.
Thank you for doing so.
Gerald, you say you're an Obama supporter and I would like to suggest that as his supporter you might want to as some more important questions. Such as why Sen. Obama has a religious advisory council as part of his campaign? You might go so far as to ask what his interpretation of the Establishment Clause is, since he was a professor of Constitutional Law at the University of Chicago. I haven't managed to find either of the candidates I'm left with wholly suitable, but I would really like to know if part of the change that Sen. Obama speaks of is returning this country to its secular roots or if he intends to keep religion, specifically the Christian religion, wedded to our government.
Every candidate has a voo-doo leader so you sheep are happy. The rest of your screed is just slippin' down the slope.
I second your questions. I believe I've seen Obama skirt the truth too easily, too often, for comfort.
This explanation about how he's an "uncle" just isn't flying.
Oddly enough, I suspect the real answer is probably reassuring. But it would require radical thinking and trusting the public to go with it.
Tell us what you love about the Rev. Tell us what you gained from him and why you tolerated his racism.
Unfortunately, in campaigns, the messages that get to voters are soundbites. The explanatory context is so often lost in the roar of reactions. Look at how many people did NOT hear Ferarro compliment Obama on a great campaign? Look at how many of even the professional writers who covered the story did NOT hear her say, "I'm not saying anything different about him than I said about my own VP candidacy years ago." If professionals miss the all-important details, why would we regular voters "hear" the message.
Also, many people would not agree that even honest spiritual guidance is worth the price from someone who has such a disconnect with what is appropriate to say from a pulpit. It wouldn't matter that Obama might have used the spiritual guidance in a healthier,better way.
Finally, Michelle's comment about not being proud of America DOES tie in strongly. Her comment bothered a lot of people. The link between her attitude and the Rev's attitude is too easy to see.
So I come back, full-circle, to agreeing with Obama that he handled the situation as best he could. And I reaffirm my own attitude that the real mistake was made early on by putting the rev. on his campaign committee.
In view of what has happened, that decision still perplexes me to no end, other than he really needed that AA base support initially. Then, once you make your deal with the devil, so to speak, you're in. There's no escaping the consequences.
What about Pastor Hagee calling the Catholic religion "WHORE RELIGION", and
"SATAN'S RELIGION"
At his Church School he was having BUY A SLAVE party.
McCain did not apologize for anything he has said. I forgot only Black People have to apologize.
Have America forgot the Lynching of Blacks was a standard Practice and now the Press has resorted to the familiar territory Lynching An Innocent Black Man.
Ok you tell me what "America" , and I am not talking about select groups such as those that went to Louisiana after Katrina, has done for us to be so proud of during the last forty years. Individuals have done a lot. Small groups have done a lot. But not as a collective can we claim any great and progressive accomplishments. I am not being self- righteous, I have not been part of anything that brings pride to us as a people. Michele Obama and Rev Wrights words help me realize this. I do not believe them to words of hate or division. They certainly were not calculated by the Obama campaign to suppress the African American vote for Senator Clinton. I am not denying that perhaps Rev Wright was trying to inspire African American who where members of his church to vote for Senator Obama. He really was not talking about Senator Clinton but about Senator Obama in the second of these Videos . Being a white male in my 50's this is giving me a lot to think about myself. Take a moment, take a breath, think about this. The stakes are great, If you want to spent your time in research give a good share to John McCain..
It's his "I did not have sexual relations with that woman" moment. It depends on what your definition of "is" [his spiritual advisor] is. Any hour now more will come out. Proof he WAS at plenty of controversial sermons. Over the course of 20 years, how could he not have been? It's just insulting for him to pretend otherwise.
There are holes in Barack's story you could drive a truck through. He's basically stone-cold busted here, and as with all of us, the temptation is there to lie your way out of it. He gave in to that temptation. What else can he do? The tapes don't lie. The whole church is applauding what Rev. Wright says. It's not aberrant behavior on the rev's part. It's his beliefs. And the "amens" are unanimous, as far as I can see on the tape.
The left-wing media are embarrassed that they've sat on this story (or reported it in the lowest-decibel terms possible) for months.
Oh, and there's a 7-point drop in Obama's Rasmussen poll number from yesterday to today. After a steady rise all month. That's as coincidental as Wright's resignation... yesterday.
I support Hillary, but I would've voted for Barack if he got the nomination. Until I saw his spiritual mentor in action. Not sure what I'd do now.
How do you know this? Is there any proof of this? Are you aware that Reverend Wright opened his Church after meeting Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.?
I don't know if you are ready to listen, but hopefully others are. Check out this assessment of Trinity United Church and Reverend Wright from a white Christian in Chicago.
http://marty-center.uchicago.edu/sightings/archive_2007/0402.shtml
I will say maybe some good will come from this nonsense. My cousins and Aunt and Uncle (whom I love dearly) have convinced themselves that Senator Obama is a Muslim. At the very least, this ridiculous departure from the issues that actually matter to putting our ship of state back on track, will convince them that they are completely wrong in their assessment of Senator Obama's religious faith. Since now folks are SCREAMING that Senator Obama has been a member of the same Christian denomination for 20 years, the muslim internet whisper campaign is now dead. Good!
By the way, should I denounce and reject those I love (my mother's family) simply because they can be thoroughly hard-headed about things in the face of objective facts? I think they also believe there were WMD in Iraq, I am uncertain because I don't like to raise the topic.
"Give us the plain truth. You won't lose us by being brutally honest. You only risk shaking our faith in you if you seem like so many other politicians that crowd the field."
Seems like a fair statement to me. Sen. Obama's post "On My Church and My Faith" here at HuffPo will probably shake the faith of some.
I SUPPORT BARRACK ALL THE WAY,HE DIDN,T MAKE THE COMMENTS.
MCCAIN IS BACKED BY JOHN HAGEE A PREACHER WHO CALLED THE CATHOLIC CHURCH A WHORE AND REV.ROD PARSLEY WHO MADE THE CRAZY COMMENT THE THE UNITED STATES WAS CREATED TO DESTROY ISLAM.
SENATOR OBAMA RELEASED HIS PREACHER FROM THE CAMPAIGN AND DENOUCED HIM.THATS ALL HE CAN DO.
.
If you read the comments of certain Catholic bishops about gay marriage, abortion, etc., guilt by association would mean a liberal, under no circumstances, could vote for a practicing Catholic. No matter what hardliners in any Church say. "Cafetaria" style-religion - where you take what you like, leave alone what you don't-- is how most people of deal with issues within their own Churches. As Catholic-- I abhor the sexism of the Church, but I like the social gospel of works and responsibility to the poor. It's a tough call sometimes. I believe in Obama and I believe he can distinguish between distructive forms of Afrocentrism and constructive forms of racial pride.
Yes, McCain is backed by those crazy people . . . there is a big difference between these people backing McCain (who is also a bit nuts) and the Obama-Wright situation. Obama has been attending this man's church for many years, considers this man a friend and has had, up until yesterday, considered him part of his campaign. Wright didn't just "endorse" Obama . . . he is and has been an part of Obama's life. So tell me, if you attended a church where a preacher preached the sort of hatred and divisiveness as Rev. Wright did . . . would you stay? If you stay, doesn't that give the impression to all that you AGREE with the man's opinions? Sorry, but your comparison to the crazy folks who are supporting McCain and Rev. Wright, while it sounds good outwardly, is like comparing eggs to rocks.
You need to open your eyes . . Obama is a politician, just like any other politician. He will do or say anything to get elected, just like any other politician.
People who are blind with igrorance. Will only hear what they want to. They do not support Senator Obama, nor are they going to vote for Senator Obama. Such hypocrites.
Obama denounced Wright yet still backed him up by saying Wright's war against this country was a one time thing, which is also hard to believe. In doing so, he gave Wright support and tried to keep his base in the community. Very slick but it won't work with the general electorate. It just seems that no matter what ditches Obama gets himself in some of his supporters are so blind as to look past them. Think about your response if this had been Hlllary Clinton.
Here's a little factoid for you, Posner. (You wouldn't be the "single bullet theory guy, are you?). Rev. Wright was far from the only person expressing such sentiments in the week following 9/11/01. There were a slew of articles by Black people saying pretty much the same thing in various degrees. Funny how you could fixate on all the wrong stuff. Nothing about the US support of South African terrorism, and Isreali terrorism, and the Saudi connection. (How did the 19 know about NORAD "exercises" that day?).
The fact is that the America got a taste of the casual violence that is rather commonplace in Black communities, police and drug violence. 50 shots at 3 unarmed men, 41 shots at one man, children dead from police and drug violence. No one, but no one, would be found asking incredulously what Rev. Wright said that day. You obviously are without a clue about the sentiments expressed around Black people who generally tend to be more keen about these things as we have little time to indulge the denialitis that whites thrive on.
Besides, if you were get all self righteous about that, you might have offered some proof that Rev. Wright was incorrect, though you cannot hardly use the 9/11 commission report to do that. Perhaps the Warren commission, but not likely that either.
Besides, who are you that you should tell any man where he should worship? Who died and left you in charge, Jack Ruby?
"...Besides, who are you that you should tell any man where he should worship? Who died and left you in charge, Jack Ruby?"
Nobody is telling anybody else where they may choose to worship.
We are looking at somebody long ago chose a spiritual leader for guidance whose point of view are apparently very much out of phase with our own. What we get to decide is whether we still want him to be in charge -- now that we've found out about all of this.
Your own, not "our own". I am guessing then that you have attended services at the church?
Senator Obama.
Said he that he did not hear such sermons, when he was present at the Trinty Bapist Church. I believe him.
Thank you for the honesty. i dare say your post is more genuine than Senator Obama's.
What about Pastor Hagee calling the Catholic religion "WHORE RELIGION", and
"SATAN'S RELIGION"
At his Church School he was having BUY A SLAVE party.
McCain did not apologize for anything he has said. I forgot only Black People have to apologize.
Have America forgot the Lynching of Blacks was a standard Practice and now the Press has resorted to the familiar territory Lynching An Innocent Black Man.
Hagee is every bit as pernicious as Wright. No argument there.
Back, and to the side. Back, and to the side. Gerald, you're a fiction writer ain't ya-??
Why were all those people running toward the fence? Gov't cheese?
Works for ABC, so yes. Fiction. Go ahead and delete this, free speech is dead.
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