The problem for Obama is that his books do not, in fact, support the conclusion that he is entirely out of sympathy with what we now know to be Jeremiah Wright's noxious views.
To be sure, Obama has never suggested that the federal government developed the AIDS virus. But Obama's own account of his first encounter with Wright's preaching, as related in his book Dreams From My Father, reveals that Obama knew of Wright's virulent racism from the beginning, and that it was a racist screed by Wright that initially drew Obama to his church.
Listen to Obama himself tell the story in the audio book of Dreams From My Father, by clicking here.
It is hard to see how a candidate who finds inspirational the claim that "white folks' greed runs a world in need" can fully distance himself from Wright's anti-white racism.
PAUL adds: As I've written before, the common thread that ties Obama's views to Wright's is black liberation theology, which sees the Christian mission as bringing justice to oppressed people through political activism, and emphasizes the racial aspect of oppression. In effect, it is an amalgam of Christianity, radical left-wing ideology, and black militancy. Obama's autobiography supports my view that, in all likelihood, "only this brand [of Christianity] could [have brought] a left-wing political activist like Obama to Jesus."
The existence of this common threas does not mean that Obama subscribes to the worst of Wright's views, and I'm confident he does not. But I believe it helps explain why Obama found so many of these views merely "controversial," not deplorable.
So, was Obama just as naive as a child for 20 years, or as disingenuous as any major political figure of the last forty years when he denied knowing the real Pastor Wright this morning?
Either way it creates a huge issue for voters. Is Obama a dupe, or just duplicitous? Do you want him in charge of the nation's security, making judgments about our enemies?
Follow-up reporting should focus on the depth of the relationship between Wright and Obama. In Philadelphia Obama described a deep, strong and personal bond. How deep? What did they talk about all these years? How could you miss the government-created-AIDS etc?
"I did not vet my pastor before I decided to run for the presidency," Obama declared today. That's not the point. The point is Obama's judgment. Or his truthfulness.
One starting point --as Stanley Kurtz notes today, Pastor Wright attended the Million Man March. So did Obama. Obama writes about the Nation of Islam in his memoir, Dreams From My Father.
How can Obama possibly expect us to believe that he didn't know that Pastor Wright esteemed Louis Farrakan? This morning Obama used the Wright praise of Farrakhan yesterday as one of "ridiculous propositions" that led him to "denounce" Wright.
(When men from my church attended the Promise Keepers rally in D.C. in 1997, they went as a group. Do you think that either Obama or Wright traveled with others from their church membership to the rally? I hope a reporter asks Pastor Wright that follow up.)
12 comments:
Obama has been "molded" by Wright. Just like Wright is molding the others in his congregation, including Obama's children.
I have said it before, there is much more to all of this inside of Obama's head. He say's what he is "required" to say, in public. Doesn't mean he believes a word of it.
There is Taqiyya in the black world. I know, I lived in "their" world for over 30 years. I heard both sides of the story, with the ears of a white woman. Only, it went through one of my ears and out the other. It doesn't do that with most of these people, they absorb it. The victim mentality, the "racism is everywhere" meme, ect, ect.
The best people to ask, are the blacks who don't subscribe to it. They listened to it themselves and said bullshit! They are out there right now, truly and honestly denouncing Wright and Obama. They, for the most part, are Republicans. The party that allows everybody, including blacks, to move up.
Obama does not deserve any passes. And he get's none, zero, nada, from me. The first black president will be a Republican. They won't use the race card and people like Wright to try and guilt trip their way into the White House. They will walk in on their own two feet.
Hi Christine,
It seems to me that is a complicated subject. When you say the first black President will be a Republican I take it you are assuming that all Democrats/Liberals are grounded in a victim mindset. That seems to be true.
Now, here's an important question to ask: Is the Victimology of the Liberals somewhat justified? I think to some extent it is. I have had jobs that I believe it would have been much harder to get if I were a black man. That being said, of course, there are black men who get jobs that I couldn't get. However, when it all comes out in the wash, the jobs I can get are more high paid, in general, than the jobs a black man can get.
I have mentioned before that one of my friend's had a best friend in college who went to prison because his white girlfriend cried rape rather than letting her parents know she was dating a black man. I have not heard of the opposite scenario.
That being said, I do believe that just as many black people, if not more, are racists than are white people.
Racism seems to be bred into the human survival mechanism.
However, if one is a Christian or a Jew, we believe that we were created to be better than animals, though we retain some animal in us. The Law of God tells us that racism is wrong, though our instincts may prompt us to be racist.
So, we have to learn to be better than we are.
Because of that, I have to agree with the victim mindset to an extent, because it seems apparent to me that a large number of people do live more by their instincts than their principles.
Am I making sense?
I am not excusing Jeremiah Wright, who is way over the top. He is a cariacature, or I should say, he would appear to be a cariacature. but sadly, he truly says what he means.
And, I believe Obama believes much of it.
I don't want Obama to be President, but he would not be the first racist President of the United States.
I have a lot of faith in our system. I don't think we will go to hell in a handbasket if Obama becomes President. However, it is clear that Carter was able to do enormous damage in just four years, so I do worry. And, obviously, I put a lot of time into researching and posting about Obama.
It doesn't matter if Obama or Wright or others of their stripe feel they are "justified" in their complaints. You don't elect to the presidency of the United States some professional victim who sees that office as a chance to "get even" with hundreds of millions of people who never persecuted him in the first place. I'm not interested in anecdotes about unfair treatment of so-and-so because he/she happened to be black. I'n not obligated to bow and scrape to these people and promise to "do better" by them if they'll just refrain from trying to destroy our society. I don't owe these people anything that I don't owe to any other human being. It's suicidal to approach race mongers like Wright with our hats in our hands. We certainly don't owe it to them to put a big chunk of our future in their hands in a world that has become so dangerous. I think an Obama presidency can do even more harm than a Clinton one and if voters ignore the building evidence of the danger he poses and put him in office there will be hell to pay even if we do manage to evict him after one term.
First of all, I will ask you a question. How many black Republican politicians are standing up and "playing the victim"?
No, I don't believe that all liberals play into the victim mentality but, a vast majority appear to.
Regarding my worries about Obama becoming president. If we were in a more stable period in history, I would still be concerned but not overly worried. But, we have enough on our plates right now. Not the least of which, the uh, islamic situation, the Iranian problem, China, Russia, Palastine/Israel, Pakistan, Iraq, Iraq/Turkey, oil, economy, Africa.....shall I go on.
#1. I do not believe Obama is able to deal with all of these problems, in a safe and sane manner.
#2. His has baggage. This baggage has given him this pie in the sky idea that to solve the world's problems, we need to set up a "worldwide welfare system". Oh, how getto :/
#3. He has friends. Bad friends. Bad friends who blow up things and hate America. So far, he hasn't quite shaken them off his ankle.
#4. The whole racial issue. Our imaginations could go totally wild in wonderment. Imagining what kind of mischief he could cause, as commander in chief. One little piece of legislation here, a bill there..... I am not comfortable with Obama with regards to the race issue. Look at who he has as his "spiritual advisor".
If we were living in a less complicated time, I could actually live with #4. Because WE would have the energy to stay on top of things. To fight anything that seemed out of whack. But right now, we have bigger fish to fry.
The idea of letting "shit hit the fan" by having Obama as president, seems like a good idea. But, I would prefer to not spent the rest of my life living in turmoil.
Obama is young. Let him grow up first, then try it again.I should be close to death by then or at least senile and won't give a damn anymore. :)
RRA,
I'm not arguing for voting for Obama.
And, by the way, Wright is a racist. Of that, there is no doubt.
My point is that Democrats are not all wrong. There are victims in society. Society chooses different victims at different times. Sometimes, as in our current epoch, the government is responsible for the victimization. In the past, our whole culture attacked black people. That is a truth. It is not an anecdote. Slavery is the truth. Jim Crow laws were the truth. And, most of our culture supported those things. And, they didn't instantly go away when the civil war was over, or during the 60's.
And then, one can look at the Jews. The Holocaust was an attack on the Jewish people. They picked themselves up and moved on.
That is good. And, black people would be smart to do the same.
Too bad black people turn to people like Louis Farrakhan who only furthers their victim mentality by teaching them that the white man is born of the devil.
Christine,
I agree. I don't want Obama to be President. But, of course, the cynical side of me says that his Presidency would only make the shit hit the fan quicker, which would save more lives in the long run.
McCain, on the other hand, might be a better candidate than I give him credit for. I am very disappointed that he is our candidate.
It's a leadership issue.
You can choose to follow Steele, Harold Ford, Cosby and Powell, or you can go same old same old, with Jackson, Sharpton and all those of that ilk.
It's a human weakness to blame others. When that is compounded by so many leaders telling you it is so, it's much harder to break out.
The most extreme example of this is the official 'it's not our fault, we're the victims' of the Palestinians, who have been made into professional victims by both their leaders and all their foreign allies for a century.
In sports, scoreboard is the only thing that counts. If a guy blames his loss on the refs, or on the other team cheating, he is considered a pussy. He lost. That's that.
That is not to say the refs don't make bad calls, but as a players, you're supposed to make sure your team is ahead by enough to overcome any crap that might arise.
Likewise, in business, what matters is making money. If your boss calls you in and says, "Sales are down," he doesn't want to hear about the soft market. Your responsibility is to figure out a way to overcome that soft market.
But, try teaching that to the common person.
Once in awhile, you might need a buggy ride to a better fishing hole. But, when you get there, it's your responsility to fish.
The buggy ride to the fishing hole is the issue.
Of course, I believe it is better for individuals and religious organizations to do the helping. However, I have known people who have used Welfare the way it is supposed to be used, as a hand up. And, they have gone on to benefit society enormously.
That would be both white people and people of color, by the way.
Remember, I am a lifelong Democrat. I only "switched" because the Democrats are absolutely unwilling to defend our country.
I have also always hated entitlement mentality, so that made the "switch" easier.
My buggy ride analogy was meant as a "hand up". Not a lifestyle. You are on your own when you restart fishing.
And that is the way it is suppose to be. I know. :)
Yeah, sorry. I understood your analogy.
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