Obama's Wright response - Ready on day one

David,
I campaigned hardcore for OBAMA here in Denver for the Colorado caucus. I support him because he was way ahead on the learning curve about the futility of Iraq.
Yeah, Obama's pastor sounds extreme; but not necessarily racist [I challenge anybody to say how Mr Wright's comments are racist (Yeah, unfortunately right now our country is being run by guys like Dick Cheney who thought apartheid was ok in South Africa in the 80s)].
I appreciate you mentioning Republican Evangelicals', Pat Robertson's and Jerry Falwell's, comments about how they thought we deserved 911.
I go back to what you said about Christians fasting from politics:

For me politics in a pluralistic society is about compromise. Injecting moral absolutism into that process from either side of the isle is pure poison.

I think we can live the gospel out more by helping the poor than advocating for endless wars or government social policy.

I am once again taken by how thoughtful and intelligent Senator (and soon to be President) Obama is. This is exactly the kind of sensitivity, clarity and honesty that we need to rebuild our standing in the world. His sense of personal responsibility and "the buck stops here" attitude speaks volumes to his character and judgment-the type of judgment that we have been so sadly lacking for the past eight years. I look forward to a new era with Obama at the helm.

Pastor Wright is completely racist. How he handled Japan showed that. Where is his condemnation of the millions and millions of humans slaughtered, rape and tortured to death by Japanese conquest? And how America handled its vanquished is not an evil endeavor. Silence is very often deception in action. And Obama is marxist through and through by this method, with the addition of perversion about scripture. That a "politician" would make a claim like Obama did is anything but surprising. He wants to be elected to a political position of great influence. It is clear that Blacks will be exalted and others will be put into another category. Evil for evil is not a Christian doctrine. But it certainly is within Obama's church life. Liberal theology not only bends the truth, it snaps it into pieces with no account for Gospel truth. Obama is deceiving his followers. He learned from his pastor and mentor on how to do it. The only thing that looks like prepaation for the presidency, is that Obama deceives effectly.

Doug, how about a rational response. Liberal bobbleheadism is leading America into a Venezuelan society. I don't want to support communism and sodomy. Obama was conditioned by Wright, and Wright is clearly wrong on theology, history and social justice. Obama is not a good prospect for a president. And, "Donny" has been stoned into silence. How about a response on Japan for a try? A simple case of history. OK?

David - since you know the more "inside" of upper level political world - how likely is it that Obama wrote any or all of that statement himself? When we (figuratively speaking) live or die on written words or speeches given - isn't it likely that we are deciding based on spin doctors and ghost writers and a whole phalanx of "others" rather than the ingenuous and open communication of a person? I don't know - so I'm honestly asking for information. I do kind of puke(wasn't that a mature description) at the New American Idol tone of a verbal portion of Obama's supporters but I am assuming here a candidate takes whatever sources of support they get.

I have no inside information on the Obama campaign. Having read his statement, however, I'd bet the words were mostly his. He managed to do what others thought he couldn't - condemn the remarks without condemning the man, making clear his affection for the church despite the problems in the church, reasserting his faith in Jesus... it was a brilliant response.

I doubt that Rod et al are chagrined at Obama's thoughtful statement, Larry Parker. The facts of the situation really don't matter.

Their goal is to make Obama into a scary America-hating black guy. This clip serves their purposes. You have looked into the facts of the situation. Most people, through lack of interest or time, won't.

I think he should go farther, as I've already said, and will say again tomorrow, at my blog, which you can find by googling "twoberry" or just go to www.xanga.com/twoberry

... and here comes Tradewinds to prove me right.

We're talking about pure racial and partisan animus from the Fox-consuming base.

That's the mentality that Rod Dreher and his ilk speak for.

And any source that presents unwelcome facts is, by definition, a "black muslim symtherizer" working for a communist sodomite venezuelan society, they never have to consider anything but their own lies. (Recall, for example, the survey showing that Fox viewers believed a number of false statements about the US invasion of Iraq. Those falsehoods served the interests of the Republican Party, of whose propaganda machine Fox is a vital component).

The notion that a thoughtful statement from Obama would tamp this irrational emotion down is laughable.

Please! You are a bigot and very uninformed. Either that or you're just plain out stupid.

He sympathizes with muslims? Where's the proof of that (real proof).

His mother married two "black radical muslims". Radical muslims would never marry an American white woman.

He attended a muslim school until the age of 6/7, without ANY Christian influences in his life whatsoever? Although his father and step-father were Muslim, Mr Obama is a Christian and attended secular and Catholic schools rather than a madrassa for the four years he lived in Indonesia

Hussien WAS against bombing Iraq---but for all the wrong reasons? Barack said this about the war. "I know that even a successful war against Iraq will require a US occupation of undetermined length, at undetermined cost, with undetermined consequences. I know that an invasion of Iraq without a clear rationale and without strong international support will only fan the flames of the Middle East, and encourage the worst, rather than best, impulses of the Arab world, and strengthen the recruitment arm of Al Qaeda. I am not opposed to all wars. I'm opposed to dumb wars."

Why couldn't a true American,(who happened to be black) have run for the Presidency--like Mr. Colin Powell? He did't want to go to war with Iraq either you know. He spent hours trying to get Bush not to attack. Also, you have to know that he and his wife decided not to persue the presidency because they thought that he would be assinated by someone that is not a muslim.

Stop reading conspiracy theories and lies and get the truth!

I support John Mccain, and I don't think he will use any of this nonsense that you talk about here.

Lourdes---do you feel better now. You spinners---you carefully debate the selective things, and try to ignore or sweep the rest under the rug--just like CNN,

Good try Lourdes, but I'm not buying what you're selling.

In all of the coverage of this issue, I haven't heard mention of a dirty little secret in American religion (and, I hope, religion throughout the world). That is, I don't know anyone who, at some time or another, hasn't been annoyed with their spiritual leader. In my family, my parents both, at times, voiced disapproval over something their pastors said, but their attachment was to the church community and their own history and ties there, not solely to the pastor, and they could see the forest for the trees. Though tempted at times, they never resigned membership from the church. Everyone I know who attends a church, synagogue or mosque has taken issue with something their leader has said. We're human -- it's normal. Anyone who leaves this out of the picture is either an exception to the norm or dishonest.

Secondly, this petty "jump-on-the-latest-attack-bandwagon" is exactly what we need to resist in this political season. Every year, Americans say in poll after poll that we want leaders who don't play games, who focus on the issues, who tell the truth, who don't negatively campaign, etc., and every election season seems to have us swept up in some rabid, snarling fever against the candidate(s) we have deemed unworthy of our vote. We need to back up, take a breath, and be thoughtful about the information we are consuming. We can't just ask our leaders to be reasoned, informed, calm and issue-focused. We need to be that too. So enough with the fangs and the drool. Retract and wipe up.

Lastly, we need to get real. If we're going to atone for the real sins of this country, we need to face our history. There is a reason why Wright's comments resonate with members of his congregation and congregations all over this country. If we're going to be lily white about this and feign shock over it, we can kiss transformation goodbye. Real courage and integrity here would mean that we say to ourselves, "things still aren't right in this country and we need to come together to figure it out." There's some hard work ahead, but we have no choice but to face it sooner or later. If we really care about this country, we need to choose "sooner" and go into some kind of truth and reconciliation mode.

The choice in this election couldn't be clearer: we can continue to be sucked into "divide and conquer the masses" politics, or we can demand a transformative politics that challenges us to come out of comfort zones, be thoughtfully informed, and work together to bridge the canyons that separate us. It's so much more about us (the voters) than it is about them (the politicians) -- we get to set the tone and refuse to swallow the mud when it's slung.

The blogs are silent? Are you kidding?

Look, I'm a Republican and have no desire to take digs at Wright. But the insulting tone of this post does nothing to help the situation. You seem to think that this is a game, Mr. Kuo. You suggest that Senator Obama has somehow trumped his political opponents & the game is over.

Hogwash.

Senator Obama is opening a huge can of worms by playing dumb & backing away from his faith. I respect his relationship with his pastor. But Senator Obama is insutling my intelligence when he says:

"The statements that Rev. Wright made that are the cause of this controversy were not statements I personally heard him preach while I sat in the pews of Trinity or heard him utter in private conversation."

Even though I take issue with some things the man says, I still have a lot of respect for Rev. Wright. And Obama is the one displaying a lack of personal integrity & courage in disowning Wright as some sort of crazy uncle.

I get really confused when Donny doesn't use the word "Apostles" when he posts as one of his alternate personalities.

i couldn't agree more with mr. kuo. this type of falling-down, drive-by shooting politics is over. albeit dying a slow, painful death in some circles, but dying nonetheless. and thank god it is.

Today's speech (March 18th) was much better than that written section.

Obama sees that the reason the Rev. Wright said the things he did is because of a larger problem; racism and the division it leads to in our country. He makes it clear that he understands the bitterness of a generation that remember Jim Crow laws.
He also knows how important it is not to focus on what was said by whom, but what he is actually going to do about it. Not only does he addresses the issue instead of ignoring it, Barack Obama gives a response worth dying for.

He wants to us to recall our ideals and beliefs into our political process, our foreign policy, and our very treatment of each other. Barack Obama is a leader who understands our potential as a nation. and he will not wait to do his part.

We need a president who handles the media story that he could of easily let fade away into the background way before the primary in Pennsylvania in April. A president who addresses the issue and even looks into the deeper problems that lie behind the hype. We do not need a president who dodges and trys to spin every issue. We do not need a president whose goal is power for the sake of power itself.
We need a president whose goal is power for the sake of the country in which he is a part.

-
infintepat
As long as the lobbyists exert undisclosed influence on our politicians, the government will serve the corporations.
We need our country to be for the people and by the people again, reversing the growing divisions between the upper class and the lower class. This is not blue state and red state, we are talking about the red, white, and blue country.