Posted on 03/29/2008 12:29:26 PM PDT by Mobile Vulgus
On Friday, March 28th, Barack Obama made his latest stab at explaining away why he spent 20 years as a comfortable member of the volatile and racist Trinity United Church of Christ on the south side of Chicago. This was the church where Reverend Jeremiah Wright, Jr. bellowed sermons filled with hate for whites and the United States of America as well as a church that published anti-Jew, pro Hamas terrorist articles in church newsletters. And, like all Obama's other "explanations on this matter" this one leaves a lot to be desired.
This time, Obama tried his best to make us believe that he would have quit the church over Rev. Wright's racist, hate filled rants if the good Rev. hadn't retired first even though it was only a year ago. In an excerpt from an upcoming interview CNN reports that Obama earnestly hoped to assure America that Wright's rhetoric was "outrageously wrong" and that his brand of religion would have caused Barack to quit the church had it continued.
The problem is, when you look at what Barack really said, it does not assure us that he would have left the church over Wright's obscenities any more than a child caught with his hand in a cookie jar could be believed should he say that it was the last time he intended to steal a cookie. It's easy to claim what you would have done after being caught at something. But the proof is in the pudding as history shows what was really done. Barack didn't leave the church over Wright or anything else. He sat in that congregation with his wife and children nodding his head and saying "Amen" to Wright's 20 some years of railing against the United States.
Barack talked about the controversy on ABC's "The View" and tried to sound as if he was somehow disturbed by Wright's long history of anti-Americanism and racist diatribes.
"Had the reverend not retired and had he not acknowledged that what he had said had deeply offended people and were inappropriate and mischaracterized what I believe is the greatness of this country, for all its flaws, then I wouldn't have felt comfortable staying there at the church," the senator said.
To ferret out the real truth here, let's break Obama's claim down line for line, let's Fisk the rhetoric, if you will. (Baracks words follow in bold)
Had the reverend not retired...
Barack says this as if Wright's retirement solved anything or as if the retirement was in response to outrage expressed by members of the church, an outrage that would have chastened Rev. Wright for his hate-speak. Here Barack is making believe that Wrights retirement is consequential. However, it is none of these things, including consequential. See, the only reason Wright retired was to give Barack cover. The members of the church never saw anything wrong with Wright's rhetoric just as Barack and his family saw nothing wrong for nearly 20 years. Then came Barack's presidential campaign and the political calculation that Wright should retire was made to give Barack cover. In other words, this retirement was not in response to anything Wright ever said, only in calculation for Barack's viability on election day. Wright being retired was better so as to make Barack seem to have been rid of a potential embarrassment.
... and had he not acknowledged that what he had said had deeply offended people and were inappropriate and mischaracterized what I believe is the greatness of this country...
It would be news, indeed, if Rev. Wright had ever made such an admission. However, Barack's claim here that Wright has "acknowledged" his rhetoric is wrong simply is untrue. Wright has never repudiated his past rhetoric. Never. Not one time.
...for all its flaws...
Why is it we have to point out the fact that there are "flaws" in America? We all know there are flaws. Nothing is perfect after all. In fact, this little line was but a paean to those on his side that do think the USA is a bad, inherently flawed place. This little line was a tip of the Obama hat to those like Rev. Wright, haters of the USA.
...then I wouldn't have felt comfortable staying there at the church.
Now, notice the coda to his claims. He says he "wouldn't have felt comfortable staying there," right? But, notice that this is NOT saying he would have felt compelled to leave the church. Also, notice how this last bit seems predicated on the fact that Wright retired making his ultimate leaving of the church moot and unnecessary.
Obama does his best to deflect from the fact that Wright preached his hate for 20 years and Barack seemed to have felt perfectly comfortable staying at the Trinity United Church of Christ during that long amount of time. He never did leave the church and if 20 years of Wright's racist rhetoric wasn't enough to make him leave, just how much hate speak would Obama have had to listen to before he became uncomfortable enough to leave? And, why did that discomfort only arise after 20 years and conveniently enough just as he began to campaign for president?
Further more, Obama cannot claim to have been too upset at his "spiritual mentor" because Rev. Wright had an official role in the Obama campaign until just a few weeks ago. Wight was Obama's adviser to the campaign for outreach to African-American communities. So, Obama cannot claim to have felt too distant from his long time pastor.
But, here is the thing: Barack cannot refute Rev. Wright's racist ranting nor can he be seen being outraged by his church. If he did he'd lose a large part of the black vote that would feel he has turned his back on them and he would certainly lose black leaders that he only recently accepted into his fold.
Barack has left the realm of the candidate who is transcending race to the candidate who is representing race.
Barack HAS to be understood to be winking at the black community and saying on the sly that he does agree that America is hateful, America is racist, and America is a danger to the world, for this is the narrative from the leadership of the black community. This is the pot stirring that black leaders use to keep their constituents in a constant state of turmoil and outrage so that they will stay on the correct side of the issue -- as far as those leaders are concerned, at least. This is the plantation of hate of which black leaders in America are malevolent masters.
Unfortunately, their mode of leadership prevents American blacks from thinking independently enough to question the authority that black leaders claim as their own. This sort of Us against Them system of control is a common top down tool used to keep people under the thumb of leaders who have little else to offer. By keeping the focus on outsiders, scrutiny for those on the inside is foresworn. And what could be better than substituting the ease of finger pointing at others for the hard work of improving from within?
Lastly, what we have here is a Barack Obama who has signed on whole-heartedly to the finger pointing style of rhetoric that black leaders are so prone. This certainly makes the lie to Barack's claims of finding a moderate, middle way of compromise and working together to solve America's problems. It absolutely shows us that Barack has no intentions whatever of trying to found a new nirvana of bipartisanship.
This Wright incident has revealed that Barack Obama is not above signing on to the sort of anti-American rhetoric as espoused by the Farrakhans and Rev. Wrights of this nation. In fact he is quite eager to do so.
The only change the candidate of change offers is that folks who disagree with him should just shut up, change their minds and forget about what they wanted before Barack descended down to us from on high.
Read more at Publius Forum
“I will eat two Oreo cookies after dinner tonight to prove Im not racist.”
Who in the hell can eat only “2” Oreo cookies??!!
“My guess is that when one follows the $10 million credit line one will find the real story.”
I agree with you 100%. But, is anyone investigating?
As adults, friends and associates have immeasurable influence on us. And, it doesn't take too long to know where any potential friend is "coming from".
Similarly, it's no small wonder why parolees are not allowed to associate with known felons.
The influence of friends and associates on people is huge, and everyone knows this. Got life experience?
This is, of course, acutely the case in people interested in politics and power. (Think Obama and his buddy Jeremiah here).
No thinking person can sustain disbelief that Barack and Jeremiah didn't resonate philosophically (and deeply so) from the very get-go, 20 years ago.
Is Barrack Obama the man we want in charge of our national security? Never mind the fact that he and the other democrats have screwed up their own candidate selection process, does he have ANY pro-American credentials at all? How many of his votes in the senate have helped to strengthen America and it’s security against international murderers?
The thought of Obama in charge of our national security scares me a lot. I don't trust him at all and all I can think of if he does win is Jimmy Carter but worse.
I hate to say this (especially here, LOL), but this is why I would take Clinton over Obama if I was forced to. Clinton is just as liberal as Obama is, but I think she would be tougher on national security due to the fact that she would want to prove that she can be tough on NS, despite being a woman. She also has the shame of the Clinton Name and how her husband messed up getting Osama. She would NOT want to continue that legacy.
With that said if either of them win I will be in mourning for 4 years. It is pretty depressing that our only salvation is McCain.
It's a very depressing election year. :o(
That's OK, The "US of KKKA" hates him!
he is what he is ....nothing left to say
Black America is a spoiled teenaged child, rebelling against the rest of America. And it's refusal to grow up and get with the program (and the rest of America's cowardice in enabling this behavior) is destroying the quality of life in this country. Our schools are crap, our culture is garbage, our neighborhoods are in decline, our middle and upper class kids act like wannabe gangbangers in the lowest of upbringings...When are we going to show the compassion and the love to slap the unruly child in the face and say "Enough is enough!"? "Grow up!"
Heck, historically, senators suck at being President.
That may have been an issue when Obama started his career, but not any more. As the only Black Democrat likely to run for President or Senator from Illinois, he's got the Black vote tied up.
It's street cred -- respect for being a "real" African-American that Obama's looking for. Since Obama got elected to the Senate, it may be that he needs a link to what he considers "real" Blackness to bolster his own identity, more than he needs it to win anyone else over.
Barack HAS to be understood to be winking at the black community and saying on the sly that he does agree that America is hateful, America is racist, and America is a danger to the world, for this is the narrative from the leadership of the black community.
Maybe, but the other possibility is that he's winking at the White establishment and saying on the sly that he doesn't believe that anymore than they do.
Senator Obama, please find me another country whose soldiers fight and die for freedom in other countries, and still lie buried in the thousands, with graves as far as the eye can see, in the countries yet enjoying the freedom Americans bled for them to have.
I'm still waiting...
Do you remember the fuss over an old edict of the Mormon Church that had said that blacks could not be pastors? And the fuss was, how dare we elect a man who belonged to such a faith that had once had a ruling like that?
I am just wondering if Obama’s Chicago church would accept a white Pastor. What do you think?
You can’t just say Oreo these days. There are so many variations on the shelf that one could have the peanut butter, mint or chocolate versions and be without any typical white stuffing. :)
;>)
“...she would want to prove that she can be tough on national security...”
While you have made some good points, I disagree with the above. Once in the White House, she would do just what her husband did in matters of national security, namely, sell out to the highest bidder, put useful idiots in positions of national trust and, then, trust them to fail. Do the names, Albright, Burger and O’Leary ring a bell? Mrs. Clinton, like her husband before her, is in this ‘game’ for herself, for her personal gain, for all the trappings of political power that can swell her bank account.
Good points, I forgot about her cronies.
I think that Obama would get 99.9% of the black vote not matter what he said. They claim not to be monolithic but they are. However, I did not realize how hypocritical they are until now. I just read an article about Rev. Wright’s $1M+ house in suburban Chicago. The same article also mentioned Michele Obama’s urging of black women not to seek jobs in corporate America (which presumable pay better) but to seek jobs serving the community. How convenient, now that Michele and Barak are millionaires. (I have mine but you don’t need yours). What hypocrites!
He wouldve been Trent Lotted all the way out of the race...............
or Don Imussed all the way out of the race.
That headline is absolutely right.
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