Obama distances himself from another clergyman

[Divine Discontent]

Source: AP


By CARYN ROUSSEAU, Associated Press Writer 33 minutes ago

CHICAGO - Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama said Thursday that he was "deeply disappointed" by a supporter's sermon at his church that mocked Hillary Rodham Clinton.


The Rev. Michael Pfleger, a Chicago activist, also apologized for last Sunday's sermon at Obama's church, in which he said Clinton's eyes welled with tears before the New Hampshire primary because she felt "entitled" to the Democratic nomination and because "there's a black man stealing my show."

In video circulating on the Internet, Pfleger said the former first lady expected to win the nomination before Obama's sudden popularity.

"She just always thought that, 'This is mine. I'm Bill's wife. I'm white.' ... And then, out of nowhere, came 'Hey, I'm Barack Obama." And she said, 'Oh damn, where did you come from? I'm white. I'm entitled. There's a black man stealing my show,'" Pfleger said at Trinity United Church of Christ.

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080530/ap_on_el_pr/obama_pfleger

---

What is WRONG with those ministers at his church (on edit: I'm told he's a guest minister - but it was still done at his church which makes it worse than if it was said somewhere else) how DUMB can they be - do they not realize their words are going to be publicized and UNFAIRLY attributed to Obama's "church supporters attacking white America"... this aggravates me for Obama's sake to no END! And saying Hillary said, "OH DAMN, WHERE DID OBAMA COME FROM? I'M WHITE, I'M ENTITLED" was just pathetic on his part - Mr. Pfleger, you're a doofus.

[buff2]

1. I'm beginning to think they are WANTING to sink him

Damn big mouthed over the top phony "preachers". I'm sick to death of them. :grr:

[Divine Discontent]

20. hey... just sayin!

"In March, Pfleger invited Obama's embattled former pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, to speak at Saint Sabina, embracing Wright in the church.

Obama recently broke with Wright, who had been his longtime pastor, after video of his sermons blaming U.S. policies for the Sept. 11 attacks and his calls of "God damn America" became fixtures on the Internet and cable news networks and created a political problem for the candidate."

[WillyToad]

35. This is all about FOX news trying to sink him

It is another non story

[Blaq Dem]

48. I thought I was watching 'Def Comedy Jam'

It just didn't seem like church service.

[TwilightGardener]

2. Meh. Yawner. Obama knows people who occasionally say stupid things. Oh well.

[buff2]

3. The media acts like it's all Obama's fault.

Cripes.....he can't control what people say. These idiots must want McSame. Why else would they be doing this? :argh:

[TwilightGardener]

5. If he knows somebody, however casually, he's responsible for that person's speech forevermore.

Apparently.

[emilyg]

11. He seems to know a lot of them.

[notfullofit]

28. Yeah,

guilt by association.

[tidy_bowl]

45. Heh. Yeah. LOL nt

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

15. The plumber repairing pipes in the church basement let out an expletive

when his wrench slipped and hit his head. Whoops, he once shook hands with Reverend Wright so Obama should have stopped him from repairing that water pipe. Politicians are in a business where they shake hands and meet all kinds of people. Unfortunately, in America every politician has to go to one church or another just to have the slightest chance to get elected. Priests, or pastors, or rabbis give sermons and often say whacky things. Unless the words come out of Obama's mouth, I don't see what he has to do with them. Religion should not enter the picture at all when it comes to someone who will be chosen to manage the country. No wonder Europeans laugh at the pathetic nature of American politics, and rightfully so.

[Name removed]

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[Name removed]

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[truthisfreedom]

6. That was pretty fast. He's on his toes...

Hopefully at some point he'll have distanced himself completely from religion. And that makes sense to me.

[onehandle]

7. "I'm white. I'm entitled. There's a black man stealing my show"

Sounds like the kind of "witty" mocking that we witness from DUers in GD-P every day.

I'm glad that Obama sees how low this is and I would hope that DUers could learn from his example.

[hlthe2b]

8. This is why religion should be a PERSONAL matter... period

Damn it, this is why there must be separation between church and state... The cross corruption is getting ridiculous.

[murielm99]

9. All our Democratic candidates should ask people of faith

and their religious leaders to refrain from bringing up anything related to their elections in church. We need to keep our hands clean and our churches separate from government. Maybe there should be something in the party platform condemning this sort of thing.

We have complained for years when the wingnuts do this. Let them be guilty of it, and not us. Over Christmas, I had an argument with my father about this. He refused to see that the wingnuts were guilty of this at all. He put the blame on the black churches, who, he said, always supported Democrats. I was astonished at the racism of his argument, and I wondered where he had picked it up. I suspect Fox News. I thought I had gotten him to stop watching that.

I do have to note that if a pastor had done this on Clinton's behalf, DU would be at Defcon three. It just doesn't get nearly the attention when an Obama supporter makes a boo-boo. Selective outrage.

[wellst0nev0ter]

38. Bad Precedent There

I don't think people are going to be happy if politicians direct what the pastor can and cannot say in their own churches.

[durrrty libby]

10. BO hangs with and is influenced by a bunch of filthy bigots

There is no denying it

He has been friends with this priest for 20 years

[ingac70]

13. That priest is white. n/t

[durrrty libby]

14. So what the fuck difference does his color make?

Nasty shit bag bigots come in all colors and Bo attracts them like maggots to shit

Says so much about him

[Divine Discontent]

16. Dl, question for you

when Obama is named the nominee, you're going to support him on here, right? I guess if not, we won't be hearing from you at all about the GE.

I love your colorful sayings - maybe you'll transfer saying them about the true enemy of America and the working class, poor, minority, women, GLBT, and countries of the world scared of being attacked by the warmonger John McCain.


We will see that from you, right?

[ingac70]

18. No you won't...

this dude is a troll.... he'll be getting his pizza soon.

[Divine Discontent]

19. it's just the amount of vulgar hatred he has for Obama

that I would certainly expect to see even 1/100th of it about McCain or the GOP and I don't see it... It's a shame that people like that are aloud to stick around here that long. What an extremely mean spirited person they are, the comments are always so nauseating (maggots to shit that Obama attracts, for example)

[ingac70]

17. So the white priest is bigoted to whites...

whatthefuckever . :eyes:

[tidy_bowl]

46. Are you saying that....

...a person cannot be a bigot towards their own ethnicity? Of course one can. A bigot is a bigot and the sad problem is that Obama seems to know quite a few of them, for quite a long time.

[wanpete]

25. I bet any of us have associates, more than 2, maybe even family members, who don't share our views

I wouldn't want anyone to judge me solely on the basis of two people that I know, even family members. Judge me on my actions and how I conduct myself. Let's be real and rational here. All this pastor stuff is really getting ridiculous and Americans are tired of the media spending hours on pastors, and not enough on the economy, healthcare, senseless war, and where our country is headed. Let's not feed into this insanity any more please.

[hokies4ever]

32. With a few of the loony trolls yet to be tombstoned on here

each of us could be linked in this game of association to discredit us. :rofl:

[ingac70]

12. That guy isn't a minister at his church...

he is a parish priest at the local Catholic Church, and guest speaks sometimes.

[skyounkin]

21. Yeah- stupid person saying something stupid publically....

Of COURSE it's Senator Obamas fault!

Now a guilty confession- except for the "I'm white part" I thought Hillary was thinking the same damm thing when she was getting her ass handed to her on Super Tuesday...."This is mine, I'm entitled, I'm due, It's my turn.......Who the fuck is this piece of shit junior Senator thinking he can take away from me whats rightfully mine!!!"

"I expect this to be over by Feb 6th."- heh- Newsflash Senator Clinton- It. WAS!

[lligrd]

22. Who Cares? And, A Lot Of People Do Think That What He

said is true. Actually, aside from the black and white part, I think he is right.

[ingac70]

23. "OH DAMN, WHERE DID OBAMA COME FROM? I'M WHITE, I'M ENTITLED"

That is exactly how Queen Hillary is acting. Of course he could have left out the white part and said "I'm married to a former Pres., I'm entitled"..... she's scummy on so many levels.

[Indenturedebtor]

27. True true, but somethings just aren't meant to bring to show and tell... n/t

[wellst0nev0ter]

39. Of Course, She Is A Hard-Working WHITE American

stones, glass houses and all that.

[Blaq Dem]

49. True, if you scratch out the word "white"

I agree, Hillary does feel entitled to the presidency. I don't think it has anything to do with color nor gender. It may not have anything to do with her husband being a former president. Hillary is a very ambitious woman who stops at nothing to get what she wants. She's beginnning to sound more like George Bush when it comes to the FL and MI delegates situtaion. It's either her way or the highway. We don't need that.

[wanpete]

24. This Father's comments were inappropriate and hateful, and definitely do not belong in the pulpit

It is apparent to me that he was looking for some attention at Obama's cost. Anyone who says they support Obama and go off like this is highly suspect in this youtube, Fox news Obama-hatin' time. It may very well be time for Obama to distance himself from Trinity. If they continue to sabotage his effort to unite, the ties that bind may have to be severed.

I'm tired of all of this foolishness. It's time to focus on improving this land and making it better for us, all of us, and our future generations to come. I know that Obama has that vision.

[DeeDeeNY]

29. Too bad his church can't stop videotaping sermons

Or just temporarily stop until November.

[bigdarryl]

30. thats my problem who the heck keeps video taping and sending them to news organizations

[hokies4ever]

31. Controversial maybe, but he does have a point

Obama did interrupt Hillary's coronation by making sure that the nomination wouldn't be over by Super Tuesday. :rofl:

Also, didn't this sermon happen 2 days after Hillary's assassination comments? Sounds like that was his motivating factor.

[noonwitch]

36. I don't have a problem with Obama's association with TUCC, but the preacher is wrong

I'm sick of the media trying to tear Obama apart because of what preachers at his church preach, but that doesn't mean I like what this preacher said about Hillary-it's untrue and unfair. The media has been putting words in her mouth that she never said, and misinterpreting the ones she does say.


Don't think the media is not going to get even nastier with Obama once he gets the nomination. They are only building him up so that they can have that much more fun tearing him down at a later date.

The Ayers connection, imo, has far more potential to damage him than the comments of a couple of wacky preachers. By today's standards (and by most americans' standards), the Weatherpeople were/are terrorists, not the revolutionaries that they considered themselves to be in the 60s.

[Vinca]

33. It's more than a tad ridiculous that Obama must apologize

for a guest pastor at his church. You better hope the guy who picks up your trash doesn't flip anyone off because you'll be on the hook for an apology. This is just stupid. (The guest pastor, by the way, only said what many of us have been saying, only louder.)

[Ghost of Tom Joad]

34. So how is

this different from late night comedians and SNL? Is Obama responsible for them as well?

[zanne]

37. I've had thoughts similar to Father Pfleger's

I don't think Hillary expected Obama to be such a force in the Primaries. She thought she had it made.

[LeFleur1]

40. See, That's the Way It Is

For Example. If you hang out for a long stretch with a bunch of drug dealers, watching them, listening to them, socializing with them, when the police come they will haul you in. Whether or not you were actually dealing in drugs. It's the old Birds of a Feather Flock Together thought.

Of course Obama isn't responsible for what these people say. My question is, Why does he feel the need to listen to them, watch them, socialize with them? Aren't there any Christians in his neighborhood who preach love, not war?

[FredMertz]

41. How can Sean Hannity stay a Catholic when a priest says something like this? n/t

[damntexdem]

42. Well, no wonder he's being attacked for his sermon: he told the truth in church!

[Contradistinction]

43. Yep

I thought it was funny. I can't wait to see McCain distance himself from all the freaks he endorses. Wait...That's ok.

[Igel]

44. Yes, he's a doofus.

A highly respected doofus, one that has been invited to Trinity Church more than once, and a friend of the new "moderate" minister there, Moss every bit as much as he was Wright's friend. But not necessarily Obama's personal friend, so it doesn't matter.

The guy that makes it ok for Obama to continue at that church, the guy that Obama respects, Moss, invited Pfleger and warmly introduced him. It's Moss' judgement that's skewed, maintaining the status quo that Wright implemented. But it's not Obama's. Respecting a person with piss-poor judgment doesn't reflect on your judgment in the least. So it doesn't matter.

Until recently, Obama's site listed Pfleger as another spiritual advisor. I assume Moss is listed; haven't checked. But it's not a problem. We see change, the kind of change we want ourselves to have always been. When something's embarrassing, it vanishes. Change I can dig.

Even the fact that Obama used his position to get Pfleger a $100k federal earmark for a youth center--a worthy project, to be sure, firmly demonstrating Obama's view on the wall of separation between church and state--doesn't matter. Of course, it's not like other churches couldn't have used the money for a youth center: I wonder how many other churches got such grants, because if Pfleger's is the only one, that's a huge coincidence. Couldn't be anything else, of course. And, granted, $100k is a lot of change, but that's also change I could dig, and piddling for the US government, and everybody else does it. So, really, it doesn't matter.

There's absolutely no connection between Pfleger and Obama. Apart from Obama's sitting in the pew while listening to Pfleger's kind of "prophecy". Funny, though: Prophets preached to the people they were calling to repent, not to people that already believed their message. It's why the Old Testament prophet's were pretty much dispised--not cheered on--in his own country.

[ryanmuegge]

47. There goes that McClellan story, folks.

Imagine how much money GE's profits if McCain gets elected and they have an excuse to kill the employer-sponsored health care system in favor of a $2,500 tax credit (yeah, I'm sure that'll be enough to buy coverage for somebody who has a pre-exisiting condition).

McClellan's name will never be mentioned by anybody other than Olbermann, Maddow, and Abrams again. And the other cable news channels, of course, will never mention it. FOX may, but they won't mention the substance of the allegations, but they'll just trash McClellan as a person, attacking him ad-hominem.

[Peace Patriot]

50. Does it occur to anyone here that this is WHY Obama wants to be a peacemaker?

I mean, it's kind of like someone educated in rightwing Catholic schools who grows up to have a passionate, undying, absolute dedication to the First Amendment. Someone like me. I was raised on all that religious and political propaganda, and then one day I realized that, in "the land of the free, home of the brave," I didn't have to believe it. I could believe what I wanted to believe. I could go to other sources and find out the truth. And my right to free thought and free speech is the FIRST LAW of this land.

So, maybe Obama got his fill of listening to anger and resentment--no matter how righteous it may have been--and what formed in his soul was a devotion to PEACE, HOPE and CHANGE. He's heard it all, and he is determined to bring us together, despite our differences, to put our broken country back together.

Similarly, children with parents who fight a lot often grow up to be peacemakers and diplomats. They don't like being caught in the middle--and develop skills to head off conflict and promote understanding. Or one child in group of squabbling siblings becomes the diplomat, the go-between, the designer of peaceful compromises.

Blaming Obama for something that happens in his church is like blaming a child for his parents' actions or views. It is not fair. What is important is what me makes of HIMSELF, no matter what he has listened to, or tolerated. You can't control what others say or believe. But you can learn from it. And that seems to have been what he did. He learned from it. He might not have that desire to be a peacemaker if he had listened to religious pablum all his life--nothing controversial, nothing stabbing, nothing angry, nothing real--just as I might not have the devotion to free speech and to the separation of church and state, that I do, if I had not been raised on rightwing religious propaganda. That education made me value the First Amendment. And it may also be that Obama's exposure to black anger is the very thing that causes him to value peace.

[goddess40]

51. For every Wright or Pfleger there are hundreds on the other side

Our local churches have been playing right wing politics for years. That damn liberal media!