Just how long does a hateful blame-whitey rant have to be before it's not excused as a "soundbite" or "cherry-picked comments?"

btw, today Obama denounced the "soundbites" in question in fairly strong terms. Does that mean that Obama is "lynching" Rev Wright, too?

Wait...that guy's black?

For twenty years, Wright was Obama's spiritual "mentor." In what way did Wright mentor Obama spiritually? Does Obama share Wright's views that America created the AIDS virus for the purpose of killing off certain minority groups? Does he believe America deserved the attacks on 9/11? For twenty years, Senator and Mrs. Obama and their children sat in that church week after week as Wright preached, yet today Obama announced that he was unaware of Wright's anti-American, conspiracy-filled sermons. No rational, intelligent American will buy that sorry excuse.

Oh! so its a black thing then. Now i unnerstan. So its okay for the Revrund Wright to spew forth all sorts of nasty sounding words and statements as long as we understand that it is a black thing.

Sorry folks but Homey don't play that game.

Jeez Loueez, what a day. I just went out and emptied the rain gauge because it only goes to five inches. It was at four and a quarter and rising. Plus the radar says a whole lot more is on the way.

While I was out I grabbed the mail and there was a letter from the patent attorney. It seems the examiner had rejected the patent application because of two previous patents. This is after two plus years and ten plus grand.

It can only be compared to reading Peterk and religion of bacon perspectives on Obama's speech. Complete insanity.

Seriously the examiner not unlike Pete and Pork is comparing cats and cows while discussing drilling for castor oil.

I at least have some hope for the examiner. after I explain a couple of things we'll be okay and he/she will see the light of day.

I wish I could say the same for Pete and Pork.

Obama did great. He covered the bases as best they can be covered for those who understand bases. For those who haven't a clue about bases or anything else no explanation would have gotten through anyway.

Churches are a closed system, not unlike Vegas if you know what I mean. What's said in churches stays in churches. If you doubt me consider how many times you've heard a preacher rant and rave and then watched most of the faithful go right out and do the bad thing like the rant never happened.

No one takes what preachers say seriously. If they did we'd be closer to being like Iran than Iowa.

All of these conservative haven't paid attention to a preacher speaking for years. Now all of a sudden they're experts on the power of the pulpit.

Harvey says, after quite a while, "All of these conservative haven't paid attention to a preacher speaking for years."

First course: Ever heard of the Religious Right? Falwell, et al? If so, how could you separate conservatives from their preachers? These are people who await pronouncements from their leaders to vote - and the pastors know it, as witness James Dobson coyly declining to endorse anybody this election until he knew how deeply the pol would genuflect for his approval.

Second course: When Falwell also blamed 9-11 on America's Godless ways, and Robertson blamed a hurricane on Florida's acceptance of homosexuality, they were rightly scorned high and low. No politician worth his/her lobby money even tried to defend those comments as being "contextual", part of the larger picture of service, etc. Not even the beneficiaries of the Religious Right's power to mobilize voters wanted to hang in there with these ranters. (see "First course" above.)

Third course: There are indeed Caucasian preachers of racial divisiveness. These are isolated in Montana mountains and Arkansas compounds, and certainly not part of any mainstream political movement. Can you imagine McCain quoting one of those rednecks in the title of a book?

Fourth course: Harvey, picking up on your Vegas theme, Obama and other Wright defenders now seem to be saying "What goes on in our black church stays in our black church." So it's not just OK, but downright inspiring when it's just among us, but others don't have the right to react - is that it?

For those who haven't a clue about bases or anything else no explanation would have gotten through anyway.

I know, I know! Us ignorant uptight white people just can't understand ebullient joyful Caucasian-hating black church culture. I feel blessed that Obama even bothered to try to explain it to us, but as you say, it was to no avail.

What's said in churches stays in churches.

Well, apparently not, although in this case you may wish that it had.

Would you be saying the same thing about some racist white-power preacher who says that blacks are monkeys, or that blacks are responsible for the problems of white people? I hope not.

No one takes what preachers say seriously.

Oh, that's nice... you've just belittled the man who Obama refers to as his "spiritual mentor" of 20 years. He's just a preacher, no one takes what he says seriously! That's similar to Obama's first attempt to defuse this issue, when he said that Wright was like a crazy old uncle. "Yeah, Reverend Buford is my spiritual mentor, but I just ignore him when he puts on his Klan robes and starts babbling about how Negroes have messed up the world! You know how those preachers can be when they get worked up! But aside from that, he's a great guy!" Riiiiight.

btw, next time could you please skip the long intro and the insults and get right to the weak arguments?

I am confused. Does Obama's mentor think Obama's grandmother is an evil white person?
Is the white half of Obama keeping the black half of himself down? When his "spiritual advisor" said Hillary Clinton had never been called the N word, does he think she should have been? Did Obama only attend the services where Rev. Wright had taken his medications and thereby missed all the venom and only saw the love? Exactly how shitty am I suppose to feel?

Sunday I did some extensive reading on the Internet about the Rev. Wright. As of right now, I feel I may understand his racist tirades a little better.

Although his tirades are not excusable in any way, they have been presented by the media as sound bites and not presented in the context of Rev. Wright's background and his congregation. Fox News is particularly guilty of this.

An article in the New York Times presented the story at its best, one of a young preacher who took over a failing church in Chicago and built it into what it is today. It is unfortunate that the basis for his sermons is frequently racist and inflammatory to us, but in thinking about the whole issue it comes down to what we as non-blacks cannot hope to understand fully because we did not experience the spectrum of troubles blacks and other minorities have had to endure.

In short, he's preaching to what his particular community of worshippers know and we as outsiders are aghast when exposed to it as it is presented in the tabloid-style sound-bite journalism prevalent today.

When one looks at it all in the context of what and how preachers everywhere preach, it is not much different from a fire-and-brimstone preacher of whatever ethnicity who is fanatically against prostitution, drugs, gay marriage and myriad other so-called sins. We're not bothered by these sermons as much as we are by a blantantly racist tirade from Rev. Wright because his tirade is targeting us as white people.

If my own brother had a particular bias against one thing or another and I did not, I might listen to him rant about it although I did not agree with him. His position on the subject would not make him any less of a brother to me and I would still love him. The same thing applies in Obama's case because Rev. Wright met Obama when Obama was in his early twenties, fatherless and in search of his own identity. Rev. Wright helped him to find that so Obama probably has strong emotional ties to the pastor. He is a father-figure to Obama and it is only right for Obama to respect him.

That tie does not make Obama a racist and today in his speech in PA I think he proved that adequately. I still firmly believe he's a man for all people and I look forward to the day when Obama may be our President.

We need this man. Seriously.

Majus...

I use to think Obama was the greatest thing since Whataburger. However, I want the right to be able to question my President or call him a douchebag without being called a racist.

Today, as I would say on any other given day, we voice our opinion in a different way. We are in the 21st Century and Ministers, Pastors, Bishops, Supt. etc., that speak as Revered did should stop NOW. Had it been a White Man of God speaking the Words, We would be on him asking for him to step down. My father was a pastor of five (5) Churches at know time did his sermon or preach about Race. As a matter of fact, I was not aware of such until I begin working.

We as Black Folks need to check our own agenda, today we have a mixtures of people their are a black children nearly in ever race and a white child in ever race.

Barrack, Was at Church when some of those Sermon was preach.

When he said God D America, he was cursing in the pulpit. What if God give him his Wish?
as for me and my house we will Back Ms. Clinton

Wow. If anyone came away from his 37 minute speech today with anything but respect for Obama and the complicated situation that he had to discuss, I pity you. That was an incredible speech that didn't shy away from anything. Unlike most politicians who can't answer a direct question, he took every issue head on and explained his positions in a respectful and eloquent manner. I can't fathom another politician in America being even to deliver a heartfelt speech like that. What an amazing improvement over what we have in office today.

I can't believe Senator Obama would have gone to his church for over two decades and not have known his pastor, Jeremiah Wright, was preaching sermons with a subtext of anti-white vitriol and not have taken issue with his pastor's hatemongering rhetoric years ago. Republican or Democrat, it should not matter what side of the political aisle you're from. I would have been offended if I would have been at Senator Obama's church with my family and grand-kids while Senator Obama's pastor made obscene sexual gyrations while explaining Monica Lewinsky's encounter with former US President Bill Clinton and blurting off GOD DAMN AMERICA. At best, that's the kind of stuff one would expect to hear at an adult comedy club.

RevWrong, you are absolutely correct in your statement, and you won't be losing free speech if he's elected. You can say anything you want about the President, even George W., who in my book is an ignorant clod, a puppet being controlled by Cheney and his people.

I am retaining an open mind about the whole Rev. Wright issue but for now I'm still for Obama.

I will never, ever, be for Hillary Clinton. She is the Leona Helmsley of politics.

I hope Robert will pass along this link.

http://aleksandreia.wordpress.com/2008/03/19/doh/

Another Robert explains it much better than I ever could.