dke

I'm not a big fan of this fellow but I do like the way he's come back from wherever he was after Obama threw him under the bus. Rev. Wright isn't the type of guy to go quietly into the night.

mini

"I just listened to this guy say that the attacks on him were not really attacks on him but were attacks on the black church. Apparently, Wright believes he is the representative of the black church."

That's because he IS "a" representative of the Black church, and an important one at that.

Mudder's_Mudder

A recent column in The Chronicle of Higher Education on Rev. Wright by his friend and former professor at the Univ. of Chicago:
Prophet and Pastor - ChronicleReview.com

The article is not without criticism, but Marty still concludes, "I've been too impressed by the way Wright preaches the Christian Gospel to break with him."

More on Martin Marty:
Martin E. Marty

razorsharp

As Wright reminds us about the importance of context, the context of his remarks suggest he was speaking on behalf of the black church as if he was "THE" representative of the black church.

I don't believe he is THE representative of the black church, but if he is then there are a lot of problems in the black church.

Speaking of Wright and context, if you listen to Wright today you would think slavery in the US ended just two days ago.

Hunt

It's depressing. Whatever Wright says or does to demonstrate to any sensible person that he is not a hate-filled ogre, the conservative talkers will simply keep on saying that he is a hate-filled ogre, and a lot of credulous people will believe it. It's really hard to say whether it is better for Obama if Wright speaks up or stays quiet. If I thought that people were sensible, and would actually listen to what he has to say, then I would say he should speak up. But I honestly don't know.

bulletandpima

Let's be real Wright through Obama under the bus. He's a politician and on January 21st of 09 I will still be a pastor...ouch!

Or the fact that he questioned his own spiritual guidance to Obama.

Many pundits are now saying Wright doesn't want Obama to be president. If he did he would just walk away until Nov.

1sokkermom

I would hate to be judged by everyone that I associate with who may espouse nonsense. (Happens all the time.)

I still don't get why Obama and this guy have somehow become one. It seems that the Clinton campaign and the media have nothing else. Obama is judged by what this guy says, yet Clinton continuously tells out right lies, and gets a free pass. She also has some rather "ethically challenged" associates that haven't quite been vetted! Has anyone else noticed that Hillary has once again become the media darling? Once again, CNN=Clinton News Network.

dke

Associating with someone is one thing but Wright was Obama's spiritual advisor. Big diff.

mercymom

OK, here's the criticism from Martin Marty's article:

"...To me, Trinity's honoring of Minister Louis Farrakhan was abhorrent and indefensible, and Wright's fantasies about the U.S. government's role in spreading AIDS distracting and harmful. He, himself, is also aware of the now-standard charge by some African-American clergy who say he is a victim of cultural lag, overinfluenced by the terrible racial situation when he was formed."


If Martin Marty can say that w/o being accused of being a racist, why can't others? Fair or not, it is a hot button point and not beneficial to Obama. otoh, I have a great deal of respect for Marty and am willing to read and reread his comments and take the entire article to heart.

1sokkermom

I still don't get it. The pastor is retired, and Obama doesn't agree with what he said. The only ones who are beating this dead horse are the Clinton campaign, and those who never would have voted for Obama anyway.

(..And the talk show hosts and TV anchors who are biding time until a real story breaks. I say enough is enough. But, that's just my opinion. )

mercymom

As for the speech last night, the only part I caught was the part about learning style differences, and the reason that set me off was more to do with all this clap trap one constantly gets from the teacher organizations. Our family's experience comes in the area of math education and the crazy NCTM. I have had countless battles with incompetent math teachers devoted to calculators and who were convinced that girls learned math "differently". This craziness resulted in more frustation in both my daughters, well, it just infuriated me no end when Wright jumped on that band wagon. The stuff about the presidents and their speech patterns I missed.

mercymom

Sokkermom - it doesn't matter who's beating the horse. If you want Obama to get elected, the issue has to be dealt with so that he gets enough electoral college votes to get in the White House. Denigrating the people who find it offensive won't do that job. The Obama campaign should have planned for this. They should have seen it coming and planned for it.

applejack

Why wasn't George W. Bush subject to this type of criticism?

Should we even begin listing divisive, bigoted quotes of evangelical leaders who threw their support fully behind Bush and to whom Bush pandered as one of their own?

Oh, that's right. They're white, powerful, and rooted in the conservative tradition. When they blame 9/11 or Katrina on homosexuals, they are not attacking America. They are attacking what's wrong with America. When Rev. Wright blames the government for AIDS (I have actually read a scholastic report that there is a cure for AIDS but it is being suppressed - so I have no idea) or 9/11 or whatever, he is pointing his finger at the immoral behavior entrenched in the status quo - but that is what they perceive to be everything right with America.

1sokkermom

mercymom,
If this is the only thing that is raised during his "vetting", then he is in much better shape than his opponent for the general election. I am sure that if Hillary were to win the nomination, the republicans would find and dissect a lot of her skeletons that would be much more damning to her than this to Obama.

dke

I don't know, sokkermom, from what I'm hearing Clinton's saying basically that ALL of her dirty laundry's been aired. You think there's more?