Obama: "There's a reason I haven't attempted to go into the particulars and denounce each statement"

[Leopolds Ghost]

There's a reason I haven't attempted to go into the particulars and denounce each statement.

And that is because he may go off and say something equally outrageous tomorrow, to which I will then be asked to respond.

As if I had control over the man. He is no longer even the pastor of my church.

And yet folks are demanding that I leave my church, that my family leave our church, as if it were Wright's church and not my family church.

As if there was abuse or cult-like practices going on or something. Do they accost their neighbors in this fashion when a pastor in their community says something or does something controversial and nasty?

Do they go up in arms when a pastor blames homosexuality for 9-11, or says New Orleans got what was coming to em, or encourages us to look to the end of days and actively hopes for war in the Middle East?

Do they demand the other 1,000 Trinity parishioners leave in this fashion, because Wright once preached there, and baptised THEIR children?

Is the stain of Rev. Wright's baptism somehow a scarlet letter on all our heads -- on those who went there -- on my children too?

Or do they expect Americans to pick their church like a new suit, based on appearances sake, the way elite Washingtonians who don't really worship the teachings of any major religion do?

People ask me what I heard when I was sitting in the pews, as if all of Rev. Wright's sermons sound like the clips we keep hearing.

Perhaps the Rev. is sounding a bit batty lately. After all, he's no longer an active pastor and he's seeking to protect his reputation, and he has done many honorable things in his lifetime of service to the church.

More likely he's making an ill-advised attempt to argue with the media about a handful of cherry-picked controversial remarks, more than a few remarks over the span of 20 years, that he never was forced to justify before, because nobody, including me, noticed when he said them.

I don't know about you, but when I go to church, most of what I hear about is the word of God.

There are a lot of controversial things said by a lot of controversial people in the Bible, and also by modern day religious leaders. But we don't cherry pick them and throw out good people with the bad. We try to look for the good in everything, and discount the bad and the mistaken.

In fact, my religion teaches us not to harp on the sins of other people who are known to mouth off about injustice, real or fake, until we have made a serious effort to correct the real injustices that exist.

And that is what I will continue to do in my campaign. Thank you.

[helderheid]

1. first K&R

[Kittycat]

2. Link?

[global1]

3. Here, Here - That Says It All.......

where and when did Barack say this? Is it being picked up by MSM yet?

[BlackVelvet04]

4. Yes, people did....

"Do they go up in arms when a pastor blames homosexuality for 9-11, or says New Orleans got what was coming to em, or encourages us to look to the end of days and actively hopes for war in the Middle East?"

Lots of people left Falwell's church and also quit watching and giving to the 700 club.

[jackson_dem]

5. Rev. Wright: "He is a politician. He has to say what politicians say."

His mentor/pastor is basically calling Obama a liar who will say anything to win. Ironic... Obama's chickens are coming home to roost.

[mcctatas]

19. ....

:boring:

[jackson_dem]

28. Do you know Obama better than his mentor/pastor for two decades?

[mcctatas]

31. I'm confused by team hillary...

on the one hand, Rev. Wright is an unhinged race baiter and publicity whore, BUT on the other hand, his word is gold when it comes to Obama's veracity. The usual reply when this seeming inconsistency is pointed out is something along the lines of "He wasn't my pastor"....

pick a meme and run with it, but quit trying to have it both ways....

[JackORoses]

30. so you don't believe anything Wright says

yet you take his word when its to your advantage?

[beachmom]

43. Ah, so TeamHillary has now coopted Wright, whereas not a few weeks

ago it was all about Obama's poor judgment in not leaving his church.

So which is it?

[thevoiceofreason]

6. K&R

I didn't even hide this one.

[jkshaw]

7. Ghost, is this Obama

talking or is it what you wish he were saying?

[Leopolds Ghost]

10. I wish n/t

[Leopolds Ghost]

25. Correction: I HOPE

He does have speechwriters, you know. But these are extemporaneous remarks.

Anyone with half a brain should be able to speak this way in public.

It is how we have heard Obama speak already. It is how we speak,
amongst ourselves.

But TV pundits are not trained to allow such folks on, uninterrupted.

[FlyingSquirrel]

8. Perfect.

The end.

[Tinksrival]

9. I remember you posted this before, right?

This is how you would respond?

[Leopolds Ghost]

12. No, but it sounds like me doesn't it?

That is because I am telling Obama what to say.

I am a terrible public speaker in real life,
so I am used to people not taking my advice
however. It's like living in a bad dream...

one where you are following around a group of people (friends)
and they are constantly leaving you behind and going off
in the wrong direction.

[splat]

11. Ghost, are you channeling or quoting?

[Leopolds Ghost]

13. See #12 n/t

[movonne]

14. This is good...

[Leopolds Ghost]

15. It is what I believe. And what Obama believes.

To paraphrase Jefferson,

I assure you that each word was not carefully, but deliberately chosen.

Preferably by Obama himself.



To inflame base intentions was definitely not the intent. To assist
Obama and all friends of the Revolution, who happen to stand in this
case against the forces of injustice, is.

One may assume that politicians will say only what they have to say,
thus intentionally debasing, as Poll_Blind and Larry O'Donnell pointed out,
the intended aim of statesmanship which is to empower the oppressed,
whom the educated are called upon to serve and represent.

[Armstead]

16. Instead of confusing us here, you should e-mail it to his campaign

It's a good statement. But you should have attributed to yourself.

In any case, I would suggest you send it to his campaign. I think all who support Obama should let his campaign know that we believe he needs to be more pro-active on this.

[Leopolds Ghost]

18. Notice how the recs dried up when they realized

Obama hasn't said anything like this yet

(translation: we must look to our Leader for guidance
and not the other way around.) He is still being too
handled and poll-tested.

The responsible campaign aides are reading sites like DU anyway.

Based on what I've seen in my own community I have faith that good ideas
tend to percolate upwards, after much violent resistance from the powers
that be.

E-mail submissions to the editor go into the rotating file,
especially if the editor is being paid big money to write such
statements himself.

Better to leave it unattributed as I've done.

If Obama has not issued statement of this sort, I assure you he soon will.

[KittyWampus]

20. it is good, LG. IMO, it'd get airplay.

[Leopolds Ghost]

26. Who should I forward it to?

I assume Obama will say something like this anyway.

After all, Obama's folks probably read sites like this, right?

And if it's any good, they'll pick up on it.

[calmblueocean]

17. This is really good.

I hope to hear Obama actually say something like this soon.

[Leopolds Ghost]

21. He must break free of TV-friendly poll-testers who clung to Kerry like mud underfoot in a bad dream.

That is because people are being paid BIG money to tell all the leading
candidates what NOT to say. Cf. Poll_Taker's great post about the Thing
that creates a national consensus about what is and is not acceptable to
say on the airwaves -- or at least what gets repeated.

They don't need advice from the likes of us -- with their income, and
their commitment to please the TV talking heads who would recoil at
such a statement such as this -- they might not accept it.

It is interesting to know that the most radical parts of Lincoln's
second Inaugural address were probably extemporaneous.

The parts about bleeding the South for every drop of blood shed and
every penny of worth extracted from an African slave,
because God is just and his wrath is terrible.

[anamandujano]

22. Another revision of his explanation. Why not.

How many does this make now?

[Leopolds Ghost]

24. Ask Lincoln to explain

this:

Fondly do we hope, fervently do we pray, that this mighty scourge of war may speedily pass away. Yet, if God wills that it continue until all the wealth piled by the bondsman's two hundred and fifty years of unrequited toil shall be sunk, and until every drop of blood drawn with the lash shall be paid by another drawn with the sword, as was said three thousand years ago, so still it must be said 'the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether'.

He had to spend four years refining his arguments and defending earlier
remarks that were so controversial, they tore the nation apart. Just as
the election of an honest man must needs tear a nation of sheep, run by
wolves, apart.

[quakerboy]

23. Fuckin A!

as it is said.

[Leopolds Ghost]

41. Thanks

[barack the house]

BRAVO!!! AMEN!!! EL PRESIDENTE !!!

[barack the house]

27. BRAVO!!! AMEN!!! EL PRESIDENTE !!!

[JeffR]

29. Beautiful,

Just beautiful.

[Ed76638]

32. I wish to God that he would say this shit today. nt

[MrSlayer]

33. I don't know that I would call Wright batty if I were Obama.

But the rest of it is well done. Obama should use this or something very similar.

[Leopolds Ghost]

35. Maybe not the batty part. On TV, they are calling him "Obama's leftist pastor"

And insisting that the problem with Wright's remarks is that they are leftist.

They are redefining leftism as that which Americans hate, despite the inconvenient absence of a Soviet enemy. Someone is operating by a playbook and you can tell by the dated nature of the playbook.

[Leopolds Ghost]

39. On the other hand isn't that what Obama just did?

My quation (which nobody on this thread has answered) is, must Obama "tack
to the right" to prove he is not a "hated leftist" or an "angry black man"
like Wright? Why is it OK to be an "angry white man"? Why can't Obama
just say something like in the OP? Will all future Dem candidates throw
anyone under the bus, including anti-war activists, etc. that they are
called upon to throw under the bus? Will it be deemed "brilliant strategy"?

[GeorgeGist]

34. If Obama wanted to hear the word of God ...

he wouldn't be sitting in Church listening to his pastor; he'd be listening to his soul.

[Leopolds Ghost]

36. It's a figure of speech.

I notice Obama seems to be ignoring the course of action suggested in the OP, getting publically angry at Wright. That will not help matters at all. I am sure his next step will be some big, dramatic Sister Souljah moment to prove that he is not a liberal.

[Leopolds Ghost]

37. So, when is Obama going to give these statements?

Or something remotely resembling it -- preferably on a venue other than Fox News?

[Leopolds Ghost]

38. Note that the OP is in total opposition to the Sister Souljah strategy

that most people, including DUers, and apparently Obama's team are now advocating.

That's the whole point.

My question (which nobody on this thread has answered) is, must Obama "tack
to the right" to prove he is not a "hated leftist" or an "angry black man"
like Wright? Why is it OK to be an "angry white man"? Why can't Obama
just say something like in the OP? Will all future Dem candidates throw
anyone under the bus, including anti-war activists, etc. that they are
called upon to throw under the bus? Will it be deemed "brilliant strategy"?

[Leopolds Ghost]

40. I guess the Wright issue is dead -- Obama has put it to bed by patting Wright haters on the head

Instead of saying something meaningful.

[book_worm]

42. Perfect!

[Left coast liberal]

44. Right on! I sent Obama $100 yesterday, he is still my candidate.

[Leopolds Ghost]

45. I still support Obama (or just about anyone vs. Clinton) but wish he could've said something like OP

Instead of angrily trying to prove that he is mainstream in Sister Souljah fashion.

The media will use this against him to push him further and further to the right by asking him to reject and denounce people close to him for being "non-mainstream."

[Leopolds Ghost]

46. Americas expected to have the sort of loathing for Wright thats reserved for Emmanuel-Goldstein type

figures. This is especially true of the media experts. They loathe
Wright "not just for what he said but the WAY he said it". And Obama
bought into this hatred. Apparently, anything that is said in a black
preacher tone of voice is instantly discredited, and anything said by
someone with a few crackpot beliefs is false by association, but only
if they are a black man. If one is black one must dissociate oneself
from that entire side of his culture to prove he is mainstream... one
cannot have any "ghetto" relatives, one cannot have dark skin or an
accent, etc.

Still not a single post on DU, not a single MoveOn ad, attacking Hagee
nationwide.