Posted on 12/04/2007 2:57:22 PM PST by LdSentinal
CHARLESTON, S.C. - U.S. Sen. Barack Obama picked up the endorsement of almost 130 black South Carolina ministers Tuesday in this early voting state where he runs even with rival Hillary Rodham Clinton for the crucial black vote.
Noted leaders of the civil rights movement including the Rev. Joseph Lowery and the Rev. C.T. Vivian, a close adviser of Martin Luther King Jr., attended the announcement.
The endorsements for the Illinois senator came a week to the day after Clinton, senator from New York and former first lady, visited upstate South Carolina where she announced the endorsements of 88 black ministers.
"We believe Barack Obama will not use his religion as a crutch or a hammer, but will draw on the moral imperatives of our faith and apply them to the political, social and economic problems of our country," said Lowery, founder of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.
A poll this week by The Associated Press and the nonpartisan Pew Research Center found Clinton and Obama even in support from black voters, which comprise about half of the Democratic primary voters in South Carolina.
The poll, though, showed Clinton with a comfortable overall lead in the state _ 45 percent to 31 percent over Obama. The South Carolina Democratic primary is Jan. 26.
Vivian said Obama is not just a political leader.
"Here we have a man who brings together the political and the spiritual in a very active way," he told about 50 people gathered outside the Avery Institute, which documents and preserves the history of blacks in Charleston and the South Carolina Lowcountry.
Later, Lowery told reporters that endorsements by the clergy are important among black voters
"I think it will carry tremendous weight by the people who respect their leadership," he said. "The black church has been the centerpiece of black activism."
Lowery said many blacks feel an allegiance to former President Bill Clinton which has carried over to Hillary Clinton.
"But I think as black folks come closer to the election, they will realize this country needs unifying," Lowery said. "Obama is a unifying force. We're not against anybody, we're for a man we think brings a healing this nation needs."
Kay Colleton, the pastor of the Manna Life Center in Charleston, said she is not sure what impact the endorsements may have.
"It's kind of hard to tell where people are going to lean when we come to that time," she said.
And which one would that be ?
He unifies me... to stop him. Probably the singlemost unqualified rodent to run for President.
Those supporting Obama or Clinton, or the Edwards for that matter, IMHO, are literally selling their entire birthright, and that of their children to liberty and the potential for prosperity for a bowl of worthless pottage that will only be used to further ensnare them.
Obama is a unifying force.Scarecrows of the world, unite! You have nothing to lose but the straw between your ears!
Expect every naughty thing Obama ever did from the time of 3 yrs onward to be exposed in every media outlet in the country. Also expect a bunch of stuff he never actually did to show up.
The mainline dims and the Clinton machine will destroy this man.
It’s good to have a vagina if you are Hillary.
What an extensive resume these two have.
He admitted to alcohol, pot and cocain use.
You know there is a Lindsey Lohan of Obama with his face on a plate somewhere.
The Clinton Machine is like the minions of Mordor mining away for that “ring”.
This is good news. Their DVD is on the way. :)
Gosh I wonder why they would endorse him...hmmmmm, why would they do that,hmmmmmmmm. (sarc)
Are you counting Kucinich?
130 black “minister” endorse the only black running
for prez ,
yeahh, no racism there.
On paper, Kucinich is more qualified than Obama. In addition to Congress, he’s served as a state legislator and a major-city Mayor and has a career stretching back nearly 40 years (yeah, he was running practically from grade-school). Mind you, all on paper. Kucinich was regarded as one of the most incompetent Mayors in the 20th century and has continued that trend ever since in Congress. All Obama is is a freshman Senator who won his seat in a fluke because his initial opponent was guilty of the cardinal sin of wanting to have sex with his own wife. He has no other qualifications.
As a major city mayor, he bankrupted Cleveland.
I didn't see any mention of how many black ministers there are in that particular area. Is this like 4 out of every 5, or 1 out of every 50? The number sounds impressive by itself, but without context it seems vague.
I hope he does form a ticket with Ron Paul. Between those two and Jihad Cindi McKinney, we can take away key votes from Hillary on the left...
Of course, if we fail to nominate Fred, it will all be moot... We’ll have a 3rd party Conservative on our side.
“Is this like 4 out of every 5,”
LOL, hard to tell. Where I’m from, if every person with a “clergy” sticker or tag on his car had his own church, the town would double in acreage. :P
I’m shocked, shocked I tell you....
That blacks would vote for Barrack Obama, they must see something in his “long and productive” record.....that no one else has seen....
But then, Blacks can’t be bigoted, biased or discriminatory....can they?
Given Mr. Hussein Obama's almost pathological zeal in promoting/protecting abortion -- how can it be that 'any' Christian ministers endorse him? Unless there are 1000 black ministers in the state, and these 130 are just the Christian-in-name-only 'social-club' churches that seem to infect Christendom's ranks in the West...
Why isn’t the IRS investigating these “Ministers” for injecting themselves in politics. Oh I forgot! A church can get invoived in politics as long as they support DemoRATs. It’s only wrong for conservative churches to be invoived in Republican politics.
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