ADL Statement Suggests Obama Must Distance Himself from Sharpton

IsraPundit ^ | 1/22/08 | Bill Levinson

[Winged Hussar]

NJDC'S Guide to Responding to Obama, Clinton, and Edwards Smears aimed at Jewish Voters contains a statement from Abraham Foxman of the Anti-Defamation League. This statement leaves little doubt that Barack Obama must distance himself from the prominent racist and anti-Semite Al Sharpton if he expects voters to take him for anything but a sick and demented practical joke on the American people.

ADL National Director Abraham Foxman released a statement saying: "We welcome Barack Obama's condemnation of the anti-Semitic rhetoric of Minister Louis Farrakhan, and his making clear that he did not agree with his church's decision to honor Farrakhan. Issues of racism and anti-Semitism must be beyond the bounds of politics. When someone close to a political figure shows sympathy and support for an individual who makes his name espousing bigotry, that political figure needs to distance himself from that decision. Senator Obama has done just that."

If the ADL expects Obama to distance himself from second-hand contact with a professional bigot and hate monger (the contact being through the intermediary of Jeremiah Wright and the Trinity United Church of Christ), then what are we to say of his direct and repeated contact with, and outright endorsement and promotion of, a racist and anti-Semite like Al Sharpton?

[Winged Hussar]

Senator Barack Obama (Ill): “Reverend Sharpton is a voice for the voiceless, and a voice for the dispossessed. What National Action Network has done is so important to change America, and it must be changed from the bottom up.”

Does that include leading racist and anti-Semitic demonstrations around Jewish-owned stores before a deranged individual burns them to the ground, Barack?

[laweeks]

Both of those guys are racists clear through. Only their edges differ.

Obama is a member of a decidedly racist church and won’t distance himself from the racists rants of the “pastor.”

And, Sharpton? ‘Nuff said.

[muawiyah]

ADL should keep its eye on the ball, and that's the gross stupidity and ignorance of so terribly many of the Democrat candidates the last couple of decades.

This Sharpton guy demonstrated conclusively that he is much smarter than the typical Dem candidate in the last Presidential primaries (from which he is unfortunately missing this time due to problems with the tax folks)>

If presumably well-educated people like the folks at ADL can just turn a blind eye to the lack of intelligence in the ranks of the Dems, we are doomed.

[Winged Hussar]

ADL is actually trying to sanitize Sharpton, if Foxman’s joint statement with him on racist hate symbols is any indication.

However, WE can use ADL’s position on Farrakhan to demand that Obama repudiate Sharpton, which he is not going to do. That is, we can cite the standard that ADL set to make Sharpton into a major issue that will destroy Obama and/or Clinton should one of them become the Democratic nominee.

In other words, I think ADL was trying to sanitize Obama because Obama repudiated Farrakhan to some degree, but it forgot all about his even closer connection to Sharpton.