You really have to watch the video of that loon Fr. Michael Pfleger carrying on in the pulpit of Trinity Church to grasp the full racialist wonder of it all. Love Pfleger's phony, ingratiating black accent.
I have had it with crazypants political preachers this year. Is there anything that people in the pulpit at Obama's church won't say?
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sigaliris, I adore the film "Elmer Gantry," and have done lots of channel-surfing TV preachers in my day.
As much as I disapprove of what Jeremiah Wright has to say, he at least is a half-way decent speaker. Phleger simply came across as a phony lunatic who is trying very hard to give the congregation at Trinity Church what he thinks they want. And, unfortunately, they do seem to want it.
I've watched the Phleger clip several times now, and also watched the congregation going wild as Phleger did his shtick. This was it for me. Obama waited too long to leave Trinity Church. I'm planning to write in "Hillary Clinton" in November. Between Obama and McCain, I don't care who wins.
Franklin-We also see the opposite effect where people are demonized based on their party affiliation, religious beliefs or statements taken out of context. We have this insane need to turn everyone into the "other". People do not settle for deciding that their beliefs or ideals are worthy. They must smash and vilify any who disagree. This is what our pundits and think tank folks do best, unfortunately.
Steve
Steve, vilifying the "other" is the defining aspect of American politics, from foreign policy discussion to judging Hillary through the filter of Bill's terms in office and even, to at least be even-handed, judging Dubya by his father's term.
Political office should be about service. Election campaigns are about winning. If the American voters can't see the difference, I have no qualms about sitting back and asserting in hindsight that they got exactly the presidents they deserved for the bad results and luckier than they deserved for the good, and will continue on that path ad nauseum.
I have the nubbin of a glimmer of a reflection of hope that Obama will actually be about service. It's a subtle and vanishingly small criterion on which to base my vote, but I've had so very few straws to grasp at in 34 years of voting that I'll take what I can get.
A belated thought to add: I don't hold to the notion that a military vet candidate is automatically better for any given reasons, real or imagined. I would, though, on balance choose to vote for a veteran on the trust that he or she has firsthand knowledge and understanding of what service means.
The military is the highest profile form of service we have. It is not the only one. All that said, I have a strong sympathy for requiring that the franchise be earned, and not automatic upon attaining a certain age. I also confess that it is very complex, and that I don't have a clear notion of how that would work.
Interesting how Daniel has yet to defend his claim that the only true Christians are those who follow Black Liberation Theology.
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