He wouldn't dare leave. His wife would hang him out to dry. They fully believe every word spoken by the good rev.
He's in pickle -
Posted on 03/15/2008 4:47:13 PM PDT by indcons
When Sen. Barack Obama joined Trinity United Church of Christ 20 years ago, little did he know that the church’s charismatic pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright Jr., would become a flashpoint in a Democratic presidential primary.
Wright, an activist pastor who brought the South Side church from a 85-member congregation to an 8,000-member mega-church, has been under constant attack on Fox News’ “Hannity & Colmes” as a “cult” and “separatist” church.
In an interview, Obama told the Chicago Sun-Times that, despite the controversy swirling around Wright over racial comments he made from the pulpit about Sen. Hillary Clinton, he is not abandoning his church.
“We are still members of the church,” Obama said.
At the same time, Obama strongly condemned the racially explosive language attributed to Wright.
“The particular statements that have been pulled out of Rev. Wright’s sermons are ones that I profoundly disagree with,” Obama said, adding that he has never been at Trinity when Wright made similar remarks.
“If I had heard Rev. Wright making those statements while I was sitting in the pews, I would have talked to him afterwards and said I am troubled by these statements. They do not reflect . . . how I feel about this country, how I feel about race relations.”
Campaign has put burdens on church
Apparently, Wright’s offense — at least in the video clip that is getting hits on YouTube — was telling his congregation that “Hillary has never been called a n - - - - -.”
For the last week, both campaigns have had to put out racial brush fires, beginning with Geraldine Ferraro’s widely quoted comment that Obama “would not be in the place he is if he was a white man.”
Under pressure from pundits, Ferraro, a chief fund-raiser for Clinton, was forced to resign from the candidate’s finance committee, but she stood by her remarks.
Obama’s predicament is different. Wright is not involved in Obama’s campaign, nor is Wright a fund-raiser.
Moreover, Obama has already distanced himself from Wright. Last year, when Obama announced his intention to run in the Democratic primary, he rescinded his invitation for Wright to give the opening prayer.
Obama acknowledges that his campaign has put “burdens” on Trinity and its members. The church has been under scrutiny by conservative talk show hosts since Obama announced his candidacy.
The parent church, the United Church of Christ, is now being investigated by the Internal Revenue Service for a speech Obama gave at a church convention attended by 10,000 people.
“It is tougher now to go to church, period, because of the attention that I draw . . . and obviously the controversy surrounding Rev. Wright,” Obama said.
Wright retiring in June
“They are constantly getting inquiries and having press people to show up reporting sermons. I feel bad about the burdens that I have placed on the other members of the church.”
In June, Wright will retire as the senior pastor, and the Rev. Otis Moss III will ascend to church leadership.
In a statement released to the Huffington Post, Obama said that because of his “strong” links to the Trinity faith community, the church where he married his wife, Michelle, and where his daughters were baptized, he does not think it is appropriate to leave the church.
But it’s also clear to me that Obama is troubled by how Trinity, a pillar of social activism in the black community, is being portrayed.
Wright “has preached for 30 years,” Obama said. “I don’t think this is a well-rounded portrait of him.”
Obama, who has been campaigning across the country since last year, is no longer among the Sunday morning worshippers at Trinity.
Although still a member of the church, Obama acknowledges that these ongoing controversies have put “strains” on his relationship with his pastor.
“I have felt frustrated by how the church has been characterized and by the suggestion that this is somehow a separatist church and by other statements made on these talk shows,” he said.
“Anybody who has been to the church knows this is a terrific, welcoming church,” Obama noted. Trinity “is a wonderful faith community that has done very positive things in the community and also in my life.”
As the gospel teaches, Obama is looking for a way to condemn Wright’s actions but still love the man.
“We are still members of the church.”
Obama's bamboozling us.
He wouldn't dare leave. His wife would hang him out to dry. They fully believe every word spoken by the good rev.
He's in pickle -
The drive bys are reporting on this story with utmost reluctance. Their chosen candidate just destroyed the “moderate” image that the drive-bys created for him.
I won’t be surprised to see the MSM spin this as Buraq’s Sista Souljah Moment.
This whole g_d awful mess indicates that BO is an empty suit.
He was until it got too hot! No excusing here
Garbage. One may love a man but disassociate himself from that man. Obama has failed to do so for decades. That's the issue.
Rev. Rul. 2007–41
Organizations that are exempt from income tax under section 501(a) of the Internal Revenue Code as organizations described in section 501(c)(3) may not participate in, or intervene in (including the publishing or distributing of statements), any political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate for public office.
26 CFR 1.501(c)(3)–1: Organizations organized and operated for religious, charitable, scientific, testing for public safety, literary or educational purposes, or for the prevention of cruelty to children or animals.
http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-tege/rr2007-41.pdf
These too need to be looked into by the IRS.
Don't think Gestapo, think illegal gamers.
Already there has been one disastrous attempt to spin this affair by his own people, in the form of strident cries of "what has Wright said that's wrong?" Plenty, as it happens, the old attempt to bully people out of questioning it by accusations of racism is simply not going to work this time.
And so at last we do end up having that "dialogue on race" that the liberals have been forever babbling about but terrified to actually enter. This one, unlike the predecessors, isn't going to consist solely of accusations on the one side and apologies on the other.
As important as the candidate is the team he or she will bring to office. In this particular case the prospect of empowering a gaggle of resentful, aggrieved hatemongers is one that no one in the MSM has had the courage to consider. Do these people speak for Obama's team? Does his wife? Is this sort of vicious, hate-filled rhetoric to become enshrined as canon within the Democratic party? Or is it already?
If Hillary thinks this line of attack can be brought up to damage her opponent and then put back in the bottle she'd better wake up and smell the molotov cocktails. This stuff is incendiary, and it isn't going out with a cheery "Well, whatever, it's time for a healer, not a divider," when she crosses the finish line in Denver. But ultimately it is Obama himself who is going to take the rap for it, and he deserves to. IMHO.
I like how the singled out Fox News (Hannity & Colmes, specifically). Of course none of the other networks would dare...
Right and let’s face it, he is ONLY concerned about his OWN campaign, he is falling from his golden pedestal now that the smoke and mirrors are getting clearer.
When Sen. Barack Obama joined Trinity United Church of Christ 20 years ago, little did he know that the church’s charismatic pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright Jr., would become a flashpoint in a Democratic presidential primary.
“Charismatic” is what the left calls black racism?...Gag me with a spoon!
if a candidate went to a church that preached that Jesus was the son of God and that the only path to salvation was to believe that he was born and died for the forgiveness of their sins he would be denounced as a right wing nut but obama gets a free pass in spite of going to a church that is the black equivalent of the KKK
No one forces a church, or any other “nonprofit” to voluntarily apply for tax-exempt status, with the concomitant voluntary quid pro quo of limiting their political advocacy speech.Churches, Red Cross, March of Dimes: all the same, when it comes to politics & taxes.
Nobody says they can't take the NRA route, and play on the other court.
But only as a public ploy - and only until he made it to the WH =
Just like the "uninvite" to open the meeting with prayer - but he had him backstage for a prayer before he went on.
Double speak = forked tongue
I bet his wife does not agree! She is a separatist! And the more dangerous of these two!
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