Obama has for years claimed that Wright was/is his spiritual mentor--not his associate or casual friend--HIS MENTOR! Now, of course, he claims Wright is like a crazy old uncle. That's quite a dubious fall for the reverend who facilitated Obama's awakening. I have little doubt that, during Wright's indoctrination of him, the reverend was speaking the same platitudes of America's path to hell. And I have no doubt Obama came to agree.

I saw this for the first time on Fox news yesterday and was completly outraged, he belongs to this church for 20 years ,I have been watching CNN and MSNBC all day and no mention of this ,why is this not being reported on those news stations

FYI: Google just wiped this link from their news headlines.

To me as a non-American all this seems nonsensical. I've always believed that America was and still is a country of equal opportunities. There are Americans for me, whether black or white, or something in between, or whatever. I understand the anger of black Americans which has accumulated over the centuries. I also understand their joy and huge pride of having a young, bright, forward-looking black guy running for president! But I wish I could once again feel about America as I did when it practically ended the bloody war in my country (Bosnia), which is why I feel passionately about Hillary Clinton. I as a Bosnian, as well as a lot of my fellow countrymen, have always felt that it was her who, indirectly, helped bring the peace to our country. I hate to see pundits downplay her very important role in the Balkans in the 1990ties. I also think Barack Hussein (and why leave his middle name out?) Obama is a fascinating figure in American politics and would make a great president. Since America is blessed to have these two fascinating presidential hopefuls, WHY bringing these ugly racial/sexist remarks and issues again and again? THEY ARE OF NO IMPORTANCE and distract you from what is really important. America, you don't need and you certainly don't deserve this. I hope you, Americans, do understand that you have a great responsibility ahead of you - your choice of president affects all of us. Please choose wisely for the good of all the people around the world.

Would someone ask Obama this question. If he wins who is going to give the religious sermon at the confirming ceremony at the capital building? Jeremiagh Wright? That should tell you all you need to know about Obama. If he dosnt invite Rev. Wright he snobs his spiritual leader and if he does it would be highly controvertial...so there you go. Ask.

ABC News is adding and deleting comments on this story and keeping the postings for commenters at 159 throughtout the entire day. This, despite the fact the rating shows it to be ABC's 'top story' the entire day!

Talk about media bias.

The public is bipolar when it comes to a black man crying racist and a white woman crying racist.

America does not pass a 3-strike law to put blacks away. America does that so that we can feel safer. Does the reverend suggest that we should be embracing criminals if they're gunning down folks or selling drugs on the street? Does the government do these just on blacks? No. If Asians or Latinos or whites are doing that, they're put away as well.

So, what kind of argument is this pastor "spiritual leader" all about? All he does was venting how blacks are behind in the societal curve. What he should have been doing is to encourage his flock to get ahead in a positive way. How shameful he is.

I HAVE BEEN SAYING ALL ALONG OBAMA IS A WOLF IN SHEEPS CLOTHING.

Thopught you might enjoy this sermon!!!!!!!!!!!!

I see nothing wrong about the Reverends remarks at all.

ughhhh Obama is just as much white than black lol.

So he won't be the first black president. Bill Clinton is blacker than Obama

I'm an Obama supporter but it seems like both Obama and Hillary's friends need to be locked in a cage until this thing is over. They are like your friends from the "hood" that accompany you to an upscale dinner party and yell from across the room, "What up my ni99a!!!" and embarrass the hell out of you.

People are comparing this to what CongressIdiot Ferrarro said but you have to understand: he is a preacher; she is a famous congresswoman who's comments were ironic given her own admission that she was only appointed due to get gender. And also nonsensical due to Obama's wins in white states like Vermont, Wyoming, Iowa and Utah. She will always be held to a higer standard.

The fact that this was mentioned on FoxNews is a perfect example of how much of a non-issue it is.

Congresswoman say something blatently racist; NEWS

Preacher says something racially bias; who cares.

No worse then what John Hagee says about Catholics and blacks. Let FoxNews blab on about that.

On a sidenote: If preachers are going to bring politics to the pulpit they need to start paying taxes to the Federal government.

Why did it take so long for this information to be reported? The relationship between Obama and Wright sounds far more influential, deep, and significant that that between Clinton and Ferraro.

American history is what it is. The Race issue is emotional and complex and is not the place for armatures including Jeremiah Wright or Hillary Clinton to try and solve. Important people have been working on Racism and Sexism in this country. One finding that has been agreed on is that these two evils are artificial labels to turn people from the serious business of nurturing their souls.

Is this A.H. Profiling?

The news media gave a huge amount of coverage to the endorsment of McCain by the Rev. John Hagee, who isnt even McCain's pastor. But yet the news media gives Obama a pass on this nut case. By the way the three strikes and you're out applies equally to whites as well as blacks. If blacks are more affected by it then they need to quit commiting crimes, duh..

To say that that the United States is controlled by rich white men seems to be stating the obvious to me.

This is from a while man who fully intends to be rich one day.

so wait, he's not muslim? lets see how the clinton campaign can call question to his religious background while at the same time claiming of these close ties his pastor.

...what happened to the issues in this campaign? the 'kitchen sink' has helped perpetuate divides in our country that these two historical nominees should be fighting against.

i'm a black man and all i can do is shake my head...WOW. Kinda lil too much

About time some news agency started reporting about this wacko that Obama listens to.

From article:
"...I completely disagree with this racist person, Reverend Wright."

Remember, when the politically correct use the term racist, they simply mean white Gentiles who discriminate.

It is a racial slur directed only seriously at White Gentiles. Racist = honky, or honky-ish.

So, the translation of the quote would be: "...I completely disagree with this honky-ish person, Reverend Wright."

As an Obama supporter I have to say this does give me pause - as any reasonable person should. HOWEVER, I find the general public tend to make way, way too much of what things are.

To prove my point, find your OWN email/IM/video records or seek in your memory, and I bet you could find SOMETHING that makes you look like a racist, sexiest, or unpatriotic - if you look close enough. Never made or laughed to a joke related to race? Never ever used the word "b**ch" in any context whatsoever? Never got frustrated and made overly critical comments about the country? (we hear people say, right or wrong, "Americans are fat and stupid" all the time).

Yes comments like these should be paid attention to. But we should think twice about dismissing a candidate based on a few inappropriate lines from a related person out of decades of public life.

Let's be reasonable and realistic, be critical but take things with grains of salt. If we insist on finding someone who has 0 controversial things, we'd probably end up with one who's all about political correctness but says nothing and does nothing.

I have a lot of friends who belong to alot of churches and not one of them agrees 100 percent with their ministers.
If Obama had hired his minister onto his campaign, it would be relevant, but he didn't. Enough said.

Obama is responsible to a little extent for what his preacher says.

Why does this minister want God to damn America? What would possess him to make such a hateful statement? This inner rage against America is something that has probably come through many of his sermons. How much of that hidden rage against this country has gotten inside Senator Obama? Rage that perhaps Senator Obama doesn't even realize fully. Our mentors influence us for good or bad and it will take a lot of deprogramming to delete these hateful sentiments from the Senators brain. Is there time for this deprogramming to happen before November, and who will the Senator turn to next to mentor him spiritually?

where is the qoute from the obamas preacher that 'white people are the skunks of the earth.'I will not vote for this obvious racist.

FINALLY!!! I have been concerned about this issue for months and wondered why no one in the media has had the insight (or is it the guts?) to point out Obama's massive hypocrisy - on one hand, he has chosen the anti-American, anti-white Reverend Wright as his close, long-term spiritual advisor, mentor, and friend and yet, on the other hand, he claims to be a great, fair, unbiased unifier calling for "one" United States of America. These are opposing perspectives that simply cannot be reconciled. I am very idealistic and wish I could believe that Obama is the man he says he is, but I just can't. All along, my instincts have told me that, underneath the calm, affable, upfront persona he presents while campaigning, there lies a far more conflicted and antagonistic man who is very clever at hiding his true views, opinions, and plans from the public (and maybe even from himself). And, contrary to his claim that he is above the usual politics, Obama is in fact extremely good at playing the political game (and the media) in insidious and manipulative ways. In fact, he's so adept at it that people are completely fooled into thinking he isn't doing it at all!

This is why I will not vote for Obama, why any person concerned for the future of this country will not vote for Obama: we do not know enough about him. We do not know what kind of president he will make. We do not know his agenda, his priorities.

We elected a president in 2000 who, like Obama, promised change with no substance to support the promise. In 2000 we elected a president who, like Obama, was an unknown quantity on the national stage. No one could have predicted just how bad Bush would be, the harm he would cause this country. I cannot risk putting our collective selves in the same position.

In over 40 years I have never voted for a Republican for president, but if Obama wins the nomination, it will happen this year.

and so the expose of the black community's racial bigotry begins. These are not poor illeterate inner city reprobates, but well to do middle and upper class citizens who actively support and promote the same racial intolerance that they so adeptly decry when it is directed at their black community. It is wrong in all cases, but is particularily evil and particularily dangerous to the nation when manifest in the form of a presidential candidate like Obama. It would be great if a black was elected president, but this black man has all the trappings of a bigot and a racist and, for the sake of the country, I hope he is never elected. Shame on him and shame on the citizens of this country who support him.

Any church I have ever gone to the minister tells us to get along with everybody, white, black, pink or blue as that is what it will be like in heaven. My first inkling of something wrong in Denmark was Michelle Obama's snobishness and comments of not supporting Hillary if she won the primary and other comments. Being a victim of reverse discrimation, I am not at all surprised as my experience showed me how much blacks really hate whites. Just the mere fact that both Michelle and Barack are where they are today proves that America has been pretty darn good to them. Hmmmm, I wonder where all the donations for his campaign have been coming from? Just 55 million last month alone. The supposedly rich white lady Hillary didn't raise that much! America better pick Hillary..............

It is sad that supporters of both Clinton and Obama are causing their own candidates headache. It is still our, the electorate's, duty to tune out the noise and make the right decision when we are at the polling booth.

Just like each one of us, our friends and relatives, as well as supporters, are individuals. They too have a mind and ability to think. Sometimes, their mind goes into a selfish state and think up selfish things and makes the body act it out. You have probably heard the saying, "you can pick your friends, you can pick your nose, but you can't pick your friend's nose". Just like that, you may be able to control what you say and do, but you can't always control your friend's speech and actions.

I go to a church where the pastor sometimes say those who don't attend service at that church are committing sin by not going there. I don't know how many in the congregation believe that, but I certainly don't believe it. But I still go to that church.

It doesn't matter which church you go to, and who your pastor is. What matters is what you believe, and how you see others. If you see your fellow citizens life as just as precious as yours, then, in my opinion, you are OK.

What do you people want? Do you want politicians to dictate what your religious leaders say?

Do you want politicians to be forced to continue to leave church after church until there are no churches left for them to go to anymore?

Because eventually, a religious leader of every religion says something that politicians will not agree with.

Why don't we just start a BLACK LIST of churches that invalidate candidates from office? Because that is what you people are suggesting if you say candidate is obligated to leave a church where a leader says something controversial.

Hillary needs to stay in the race until Obama is totally vetted. The Kool Aid will eventually wear off and everyone will get back to their senses. "Who is Barack Hussein Obama"?

Looks like the Republicans will have a great image issue to run on negative commercials should Obama be the Democratic nominee. Obama should have been more critical of this "Christian minister". Had anyone in the Clinton campaign said anything like this...the Obama-nuts would have been calling for their heads.

This is exactly what Ive been trying to warn all the people that are supporting Obama about. This guy is a Manchurian Candidate. He puts on an act to please everyone but in reality he has all these radicals surrounding him. His wife, his pastor, and William Aires (Weather Underground) His top foriegn policy advisor that resigned the other day wasn't versed in the Middle east or anything like that. She was versed in Africa. I hate to sound like a conspirocy nut but Obama just doesn't add up in my book. His pastor that he says just says crazy things he doesn't agree with is on his campaign staff. Thats why the man retired from the church last month. If the media doesn't cover this like they have Geraldine Ferraro, I'll know they are FOR SURE in the tank for Obama. Jeremiah Wright is a racist. Geraldine is not. She told the truth and a lot of people did like a white woman talking about him in a negative way. Do you really believe that Obama would be winning right now if he was a White Senator with 2 years in office and had only traveled to one NATO country and that was just a stop over to go somewhere else. The man has never been to Latin America and he thinks hes going to get and Hispanic vote? The Clintons have been pegged by the media as racist and the Obama campaign has just added the fuel to the fire. What black man or woman would have told you they were racist a year ago. NONE

OK, this is unsettling. We need to learn more about what Senator Obama considers "equality" in America. We are trying to elect a President,for crying out loud. I want to know everything there is to know NOW, not after I have voted. You know, I am trying to cut through all the media spin, the off-handed comments and the accusations and just focus on two people and their two resumes. Afterall, we are trying to hire someone to be the CEO of our country. Someone with experience, someone with fortitude, intelligence and whom will work really, really hard for every American out there. For anyone to say that race and gender are not factors in this campaign or in the US is to be, well, out of touch. So, that said, how do we look at these two people fairly (without filters for race or gender) and pick the best candidate to beat McCain and win back the White house? Race is a factor, as is evident when prior to Senator Obama's arrival on the scene, African Americans, showed a strong support for Senator Clinton. Then, almost immediately, 80+% of African Americans threw their support behind a candidate with less experience, and did so why? Hmmm. Also, there are many men (and women, oddly enough) who, when asked flat out if they would ever vote for a woman for President, say no. No reason, even if she had a better resume. So, that's gender bias. Ok, that said, we still need to cut through the clutter and the crap being flung by both sides and really figure out who we want to get things right and on track for our country. Just electing someone "likeable" who will "be a uniter not a divider" may just get us what we got last time someone said that (ie - Bush, for all you really young folks) - and is that worth the risk? Only each one of us can answer that for ourselves, after honestly researching the candidates' resumes. This decision and election is too important not to.

J, who posted on March 13th at 6:52 pm, if you don't learn how to spell, you'll never be a rich "white" man one day, then again, in this country, maybe you will...take a look at dragana's comments at 4:37 pm.

Let's all take a deep breath and remember there is not a black, white, yellow, red or any other race. There is only one race and that's the human race. We are all apart of it, so let's treat each other like brothers and sisters and stop the accusations of who said and who did what and who is a racist and who is not. Let's quit bickering and get along together as fellow Americans.

No one is responsible about what some one says, unless he public agrees, all of us,we listen every day some one we do n't listen, and pastor talks about thing related to blk people, it true American is super ignorant, the history of slave, been only country used nukes, Bush and sending troop to iraq without reason, responsible killing many ppl... so what

I agree with Sunny Florida (9:36 PM), " I want to know everything there is to know NOW, not after I have voted".

Now we have video clips from Obama's pastor. Lets see Clinton's friends' and pastor's shameful moments; lets see McCain's friends' and pastor's shameful moments.

We have seen Obama's and McCain's tax return. Now lets see Clinton's tax return.

We know helped raise funds for Obama. Now lets see how many of Clinton's fund raisers are in jail; lets count how many of Clinton's close aids allegedly committed suicide.

We know Obama doesn't have any white house records. Lets see the Clinton white house records. What's the delay in releasing them? Why did Clintons ask them to be with held for few more years? If it is for national security reasons, it should the homeland security or pentagon blocking the release of those records, not the Clintons.

There is no excuse for anyone to say this is unimportant. Senator Obama did not visit this church once, he attended and �listened� to this racist and un-American rhetoric for almost 20 years! Senator Obama has a close relationship with his mentor. Close relationships are important ex:[Bush/Cheney/Rove].

I am really sad about the state of our Democratic party. We should be unifying behind a candidate and not trying to knife each other in the back at every turn. This preacher is glorifying himself, knowing that the cheers are for him and not the truth of the Word of God. Any man who has to use the "n" word over the pulpit and slash another person is not a true shepherd, but he is the wolf in sheeps clothing. If people blindly follow they are responsible for their choice. I will make the best decision with the information I have, and rely on God to make the best choice for this country. I have been a Hillary supporter, but I am more concerned that we do not continue to let this country be runned down by a Republican party that has little concern about the struggles of my every day life. Don't get it twisted, whoeve wins our nomination as Democrats needs to gain the White House. I personally think Hillary has the experience we need, but I trust God more than a popular and electoral vote.

For heaven's sake! Rev Wright may be Obama's pastor, may have married him and Michelle and baptized the kids--but keep in mind that Obama is running for President, NOT the pastor! Rev Wright is speaking from the perspective of a man in late middle age who grew up with the Civil Rights movement spearheaded by Martin Luther King. His feelings of disenfranchisement from America arise from his experiences in the fifties and sixties. Remember segregation? Now remember that Obama is younger by about 20 years, educated at Harvard, educated and raised in large part OUTSIDE THE U.S., and you will be able to see that THEY ARE NOT THE SAME PERSON. You will not ANYWHERE find any rhetoric from Obama like this.

Signed: an Obama supporter who is 61, educated, lives in the Northeast and is white.

Hallelueah!

It's about time this racist with the Arabic Muslim name has gotten exposed! His angry racist wife, his racist preacher and all of those racists in the congregation where he "worships" who were applauding.
Notice the men in the video wearing the Nation of Islam inspired,Farrakhan designed uniform of the black suit, bow tie and black rims glasses cheering as this bigot spouts his filth.

Notice how Louis Farakhan supports him, how 90 percent of blacks in america support him based on his race, Ferraro driven out of the Clinton camp for speaking the truth, notice how his "pastor" and "mentor" seething with rage could barely be considered black based on his personal appearence ( Looks white to me, no wonder he's mad!)

Notice how Hussien Obama is considered black when in reality he is half white.......why is he considered black? He's not black enough in reality.

This country makes me sick with the pandering, hand wringing and political correctness that has permeated every aspect of a once proud nation. Just what we need while americans are dying in the middle east...a half white racist president with an arabic name.

Everybody....time to grow up! this is ridiculous and embarrassing and pathetic. If there was not so much at stake I would say it's also comical to watch with what desperation the media desperately digs for the dirt on Obama. Our soldiers are still being maimed and killed, our planet and way of life is threatened with extinction, and instead of a serious debate about the issues that need to be addressed, the media wastes time and energy on this idiotic vendetta.GET A GRIP!

Did anyone ever stop to think that maybe this man
fears for Mr.Obama ? Look at the other politician
that just got called the n word god knows how many times and death threats, and the public are giving him a hard time for say the n word in full, how pityful can people be towards a person of color,I am starting to think this country is very narrow minded.With no empathy whatsoever.

Rev Wrights comments were inflammatory and Senator Obama has both clearly and consistently repudiated such remarks. Is everyone so unaware as to not realize the long association between Senator Clinton and Ms. Ferraro; odd that very few seem to take Ms. Ferraro's comments as truly representative of Senator Clinton's thoughts. Rev Wrights comments seem to have hit a particular nerve stemming from typical American arrogance though. I have a deep love of this country and 9/11 was a horrendous tragedy but at the same time i am not so naive or filled with such hubris as to not realize that the past misdeeds of this country played a direct role in how this awful tragedy came about. Am i happy about what Rev Wright said? absolutely not but there is some underlying historical truth to his comments and choosing to be willfully ignorant about it or spinning it as something else doesn't change that fact.

Holy smoke. I am a Republican and was considering voting for this guy. I've been looking for substance that i could use to talk myself into voting for him; I don't like McCain or Clinton. You've got to be seriously mentally ill to think about voting Obama. If my pastor was spouting off like this I certainly would find another church. When you surround yourself with people like this then guess what - there is a high level of confidence that you believe in what they say or write...especially if you're continuing to attend their service for something like 20 years. Holy crap. It's like voting in a black panther or a Lenin. Scary. Wake up America; this Obama guy is a bad idea. You want change? This is it - but it is not a good change...it's a change to suicide and despotism. yikes.

"Let's quit bickering and get along together as fellow Americans."

That comment needs to be addressed to the Irreverend "Jim Jones" Wright and the one he "mentors".

Racism goes both ways. Just like the telephone. Why doesn't he call me? Well, I call Mr. Wright and say to him "you are a racist". "Don't you think there is at least one white person in the world that is worthy?" Or, are all white people, just bad, bad to the bone?"

My God, Mr. Wright, listen to what you are saying. You are not giving good advice to your church people. You need to stop and smell the roses and think about what your God is thinking about what you are saying these days about the candidates for President. You are full of hate. I am white, but I don't hate you. But I have a feeling that you hate me because I am white. Stop and do some thinking before you say more hateful words.

eco delsol

eco

At 7:16 PM ginnymci said: If Obama had hired his minister onto his campaign, it would be relevant, but he didn't. Enough said.

Well I have concerns about anyone who claims an obvious hatemonger like Wright as an advisor, but let's go with your criteria. Wright is not just Obama's pastor. Obama hand picked Wright to serve on his African-American Religious Leadership Committee which is helping Obama with his campaign. So even by ginnymci's very light standards, this is a relevant issue.

I had liked Obama before this, even though the anti-American comments of his wife gave me pause. Considering Wright has been this family's advisor for over 20 years, I now understand why she says some of the things she does.

I do not think I want a president so lacking in judgment that he deliberately exposes his own children to this type of ignorant hate and makes the hatemonger an advisor.

I go to synagogue but if a Rabbi were to be an extremist I would leave. I would not want my wife exposed to this nor if I had kids. When you pick a mentor of any kind you should have a rule of thumb that you must agree at least 80-90 percent which I keep to high 90s at least in my case. I mean if Obama gets questioned and states he doesn't, it makes no logical sense why he would attend a church that is in err of his beliefs and outlooks. This got him in trouble once to the point of meeting with head Rabbis in PA. This in turn of this preacher and people on the Obama staff.

Another very important thought is there is a level of BS in running for president. If you need to satisfy a group of people to win, than you will. So even if Obama denies said things I would question him just how I am or more so how people are. I mean ask yourself or your neighbor what they would do if they had a preacher stating things way off compared to your beliefs and what would you are your neighbor do? Leave, Stay? I think most would leave. If you have integrity you would or at least bring it as issue to them but many would not bring issue to a leader of a church or temple so most would just leave.

One thing I said a few weeks ago is consider one's past and consider your own and does it affect one's future and bias? Many people can relate to one who has been through many things but at what point is a person bitter and will affect running a country?

"Dis moi qui tu hantes, je te dirai qui tu es", the French always say this, "Tell me who you frequent, I will tell you who you are". Obama may control his appearance but he cannot hide his friend, Rezko, his spiritual guru, Rev.Wright, his wife's resentment toward the whites. Tomorrow we will see others. Obama has a complex personality, complex entourage, a duality problem. That means he cannot focus nor concentrate. He is a man with many faces, many hats. We don't want to add his enigmatic problems to our already chaotic country. He can argue but he cannot cut a decision.
I see that he draw his spiritual strength from his church. He cannot deny this. And that place seemed to be filled with hate toward their own country.

It's about time the truth comes out about Obama. The saying "If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck it must be a duck," sure fits here . All the signs have been there ,but no one wanted to believe that he is a wolf in sheeps clothing. I wonder how many people will still be deceived. But don't start throwing the vote toward Hillary too soon. You just may swat at a fly and eat the camel. I don't trust a woman who stays with a man that did what Bill Clinton did to their marriage. I don't trust her either.

Ignorance and racism are synonymous! America's greatest sin is slavery! You are delusional if you believe that America has been kind to African Americans. The most silent places during slavery were the churches in the south. Rev. Jeremiah Wright is exercising his Constitutional first amendment right that African Americans fought, sacrificed and died for. Any insidious ingrate that is too fragile for our cherished Constitutional freedoms for which so many brave people, including the Rev. Jeremiah Wright's, excluding yours, sacrificed, should find another country. Bon Voyage!

Chagrined,

The issue is twofold.

Rev. Wright preaches bigotry. His words are divisive. He shows no christian charity, respect or love for anyone who is not black.

Senator and Mrs Obama have free choice to associate with any church they want. The one they pick has a racist bigot as a pastor. That choice indicates either indifference to what he says or agreement. If they are indifferent then why to they remain part of the congregation? They certainly do not appear to repudiate their pastor's views. Rev. Wright is identified by Senator Obama's as his mentor. Does Senator Obama lead a double life? One for the general public and one for his fellow church members?

It's the United States that's a crazy old uncle, it's sad to observe the collective insanity that has brought two pro-dead-babies leftist extremist foaming-at-the-mouth Marxists to be the main presidential candidates. And on the right, we have a generally amoral moderate pretending he's a conservative.
It's sad to watch the discombobulation of America.

The reality is many in the black community feel much the same way as Obama's pastor. I think Obama and America need to face this issue head on. Ignoring it or denouncing it or rejecting it does not solve it.

This Rev. Wright is on Obama's campaign staff as his outreach coordinator to African Americans. Obama has given this man credit for his inspiration, the title from Obama's book was from a sermon given by the man. The Ferarro comment was essentially true. Even Obama has touted that electing a black man would be a sign to the rest of the world of America's progress. Andrew Sullivan wrote about imagining a the rest of the world seeing a "brown face" as the head of the nation as a good thing. Its great for Obama that he is half black when it benefits him. But if a white person says the same, they are racist. I guess its like a black person can call another black person a derogatory name, but if you are white, you must pretend there is no skin color at all. Ferraro didn't say a derogatory thing. She said it was good for him that he is who he is. Thats true isn't it?

Billy Graham's Anti-Semitic Views on Nixon Tape are "Chilling and Frightening"
New York, NY, March 1, 2002 -- The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) today called the anti-Semitic views the Rev. Billy Graham shared with President Richard Nixon "chilling and frightening even today, 30 years after the statements were made." ADL was shocked to learn from the just released tapes that the spiritual advisor to American Presidents believed and espoused age-old classical anti-Semitic canards.

Abraham H. Foxman, ADL National Director, issued the following statement:

We were shocked to learn that a man of the cloth and stature of the Rev. Billy Graham held anti-Semitic views and freely shared them with President Richard Nixon, as revealed on the just released Nixon tapes. Rev. Graham's assertion that Jews had a "stranglehold" on the country and that a second Nixon Administration "might be able to do something," is chilling and frightening, even today, 30 years after the statements were made.

It is shameful that one of America's most respected religious leaders and a spiritual advisor to Presidents believed and espoused age-old classical anti-Semitic canards.

The Anti-Defamation League, founded in 1913, is the world's leading organization fighting anti-Semitism through programs and services that counteract hatred, prejudice and bigotry.

HaS anyone seen this tape yet. PEOPLE SHOULD STOP JUDGING CANDIDATES BASED ON WHAT THEIR PASTORS SAY. PASTORS ARE THERE TO TALK ABOUT THE ILLS OF THE SOCIETY. THEY ARE LIKE PROPHETS OF THE OLD AND SAY WHAT THEY PERCIEVE IS WRONG IN OUR SOCIETY. I DON'T HAVE TO AGREE WITH ALL OF THEM. MY FATHER IS A PASTOR AND HAVE SAID THINGS THAT ARE NOT POPULAR WITH PEOPLE BUT THOSE THINGS ARE EVIL. PROPHET EZEKIEL PREACHED AGAINST THE SYSTEM IN ISREAL IN HIS DAYS AND WAS THROWN INTO THE VALLEY. PEOPLE ARE LOOKING AT THIS FROM A SECULAR POINT OF VIEW. PROPHET JEREMIAH IN THE BIBLE WAS CALLED THE WEEPING PROPHET BECAUSE HE SPOKE ABOUT THE SINS OF HIS PEOPLE. JOHN THE BAPTIST WAS BEHEADED FOR SPEAKING AGAINST AN ENTRENCHED POWERFUL SYSTEM IN ISREAL (KIG HEROD AND HERODIAS ADULTERY). JESUS DID CALLED THE PHARISEES BROOD OF VIPERS. JOHN HAGEE, HAS PREACHED FROM THE PULPIT TRUTH THAT SOME SECTORS OF THIS SOCIETY FIND OFFENSIVE. BILLY GRAHAM HAS ADVISED AND PASTORED MANY OF PRESIDENTS AND HE MADE THOSE COMMENTS ABOUT THE JEWS. WATCH ROD PARSLEY AND HIS ANTI MUSLIM WORLD SPEECHES. COMMON PEOPLE. PEOPLE WILL PREACH ACCORDING TO THEIR EXPERIENCE IN LIFE. IT IS LEFT FOR YOU AND ME TO TAKE THEM OR LEAVE THEM. OBAMA IS AN HONOURABLE MAN AND DOES NOT DESERVES TO BE DRAGGED INTO THE PASTORS WORLD.

Obama has listened to Rev. Wright for 20 years. He has taken part in services when Rev Wright recieved standing ovations from the congregation for damning the US. I do not see how the majority of Americans can condone Obamas tacit support of this racist preacher. If he is elected we can look forward to a withdrawal of US power and influence from the world scene. This man must hate the US or he would not sit quietly by and listen to Rev. Wright's vitriol and hatred of the US.

I may be wrong, but how is what this reverend said from the pulpit in any way christian? Christ was about loving one another and all being children of God. To promote hatred and racism is in no way something that should be preached from the pulpit. To attend a church for TWENTY years that preaches this kind of hatred says a lot about who you are as a person. Obama has to come clean about this issue. This is not why he sould not be president though. Can somebody tell me what his greatest accomplishment at the national level is? The man has no experience.

For those who have not lived the "Black Experience" maybe pastor Wright's words may sound controversial. Many Caucasians have blinded themselves to the history of America and the specific history of the injustices they have heaped upon others.

Pastor Wright'w words really echo the unspoken sentiments born out of more than 400 years of oppression that you don't just wipe away by saying we are all equal now.

Alon with allthe words describing what Pastor Wright says, I have not seen the one word that is most descriptive: TRUE.

If his words are true, and history shows that they are, then why are so many people so antagonized by a black man speaking a truth that is verified by history?

There is a racial double-standard that is in play here, and Obama is manipulating it. It is interesting that Obama can brush off the many bigoted and hateful comments that his pastor for 20 years, Jeremiah Wright, has made by saying that, while he attends Wright's church, he doesn't agree with everything Wright says. Is that so? Hmmmm, well if a white Republican presidential candidate attended a church who's pastor was an open member of the Ku Klux Klan, how far do you think that argument would go in the mainstream media today? That white candidate would be called a racist because of his association with a church like that. So why does Obama get a free pass? Bigotry is bigotry and it should be denounced and condemned no matter who is guilty of it.

If it's ok to continue to accuse Dick Cheney of being overly influenced by ties he had to Halliburton almost a decade ago, why isn't it ok to at least ask about the extent of this pastor's influence on Barak Obama's positions?

Barrack Obama along with his America hating wife and their America hating, racist preacher who HATE America and white people are NOT what America needs! VOTE FOR HILLARY!! Before it is too late. THIS is an OUTRAGE.

I agree with what Morgan Freeman said in an interview with Mike Wallace on CBS' "60 Minutes"...

Morgan Freeman says the concept of a month dedicated to black history is "ridiculous."

"You're going to relegate my history to a month?" the 68-year-old actor says. "I don't want a black history month. Black history is American history."

--Black History Month has roots in historian Carter G. Woodson's Negro History Week, which he designated in 1926 as the second week in February to mark the birthdays of Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln.

Woodson said he hoped the week could one day be eliminated � when black history would become fundamental to American history.--

Freeman notes in the interview that there is no "white history month".

When ask the question by Mike Wallace...How are we gonna get rid of racism?

Freeman replied..."stop talking about it."

The actor says he believes the labels "black" and "white" are an obstacle to beating racism.

"I'm going to stop calling you a white man and I'm going to ask you to stop calling me a black man," Freeman says.

Signed by an Independent who asks....

Who would you vote for if you were blind?

Do you honestly want Rev. Wright advising Obama if he gets into office? This is the same man who told Obama to run in the first place.

I could not beleive what I heard ,,It was awful-
from Obamas Pastor Wright. Of course Obama beleives his pastor,,,I would not vote for Obama now. I was going to VOTE for him, but no way in HELL would I vote for him now. The pastor is so full of HATE for our country & I am sure some of it has rubbed off on Obama. They have been friends for over 20yrs & he hates the USA. He needs to be put out of our country. I am a 74 yr old woman and I worked for the government for 20yrs. This man is crazy.
WE cannot vote for a man that is a friend of a man that feels this way about the good old USA.

obama knew this guy for 20 years. Now he claims he did not know this? His wife did not know this either? Obama did not know 'nothing' about rezko. Obama did not know 'nothing' about his 20 year long mentor bigot. And the nation is supposed to hand this guy the presidency because he claims his judgment is good? Sure.

Barack Obama is not just fortunate to be Black. He is fortunate to be a fortunate Black man. Throughout Senator Obama's career he has been more notable because of his success as a Black man. In November of 2004 the headlines did not read Barack Obama is the 50th U.S. Senator from Illinois. They read 'Barack Obama is the 5th Black U.S. Senator in History'. When he became President of The Harvard Law Review he was not heralded as the 105th President but the 'first Black president' of the review. Even the Illinois Senator himself said during the 2004 Democratic convention that his status is incredible, in part, because of the background of his African father. The notoriety of Barack Obama is due, once again, in part, because Barack Obama is Black.

Geraldine Ferraro is making the same assertion when she said Barack Obama�s success is due "in large measure, because he is black". Ferraro expanded upon this using herself as an example.

"Let me also say in 1984 -- and if I have said it once, I have said it 20, 60, 100 times -- in 1984, if my name was Gerard Ferraro instead of Geraldine Ferraro, I would never have been the nominee for vice president"

The New York Times has reported the Justice Department statistic that "an estimated 12 percent of African-American men ages 20-34 are in jail or prison ... The proportion of young black men who are incarcerated has been rising in recent years, and this is the highest rate every measured." Just for comparison, note that 1.6 percent of white men in the same age group are incarcerated.

So, let's see, to follow Ms. Ferraro's logic, the other 88% of African American men are being promoted to high public office Facts dictate otherwise. There are more African American men now in prison than in college and the employment rate for African American men has dropped to just over 50%. It's nigh on to impossible to get a job in this economy anyway, let alone when you have a prison record. Incarceration rates, unemployment and poverty are linked.

One only has to look as far as the studies of Jennifer Eberhardt, who explains:

how this prejudice may implicitly influence policy preferences and causal attributions, even in the face of the widespread belief that discrimination is an issue of the past. Race "influences us in unsuspected and undesired ways despite our wish to be egalitarian," according to Eberhardt. Her research has shown how 'subliminal priming'-flashing images of black males too quickly for conscious recognition-increases the speed with which test subjects recognize weapons and other images related to crime. Her work on lineups and sentencing suggests that "black defendants are punished in proportion to the blackness of their physical features."

Thistlethwaite's statement comes from a misunderstanding. She removes the context, that of a revered African American, the likes of Oprah Winfrey, Magic Johnson, or Cornel West. She removes the context, that of a Black man born of a White woman from Kansas and an African from Kenya. In doing so she lumps together every class of African-American into a simplified unit and forms an argument that is as (if not more) erroneous and willfully ignorant as the Reverend believes Ferraro's statement to be.

A shell game is being played and not one person is acknowledging the other side of the coin. There should be equal criticizing toward those who are irked by Ferraro's statement. Those people are guilty of sweeping race under the rug.

Addendum:
If truth should offend Barack Obama, Reverend Thistlethwaite, Nicole Belle, or anyone else of the same ilk then here are some other true "offensive" remarks they may find equally disgusting:
Barack Obama was lucky that he had virtually no candidate to oppose him in his run for the United States Senate in 2004
Barack Obama did hard drugs while he was younger and he refuses to say how much and for how long
Barack Obama was chosen to be an important African American speaker at the 2004 Democratic convention immediately after the African-American Harold Ford was chosen to speak at the 2000 convention.

Addendum 2 (Interesting Reading):
"Roots" and Race - John Harvard's Journal

I've read all of the posts on this blog and one comment that keeps being repeated over and over again is "what's the big deal? Other people belong to churches where their pastor may say something they do not agree with." This whole situation with Obama is completely different because the Obamas have been attending and listening to their hate mongering pastor for 20 years! Obama called Wright his mentor (teacher) as well as his friend and pastor for a good part of his lifetime. Do you really think that Obama just happened to miss every single one of Wright's sermons that had to do with condemning white people and this great nation? Obama did not distance himself from the church even after they gave an award to Nation of Islam's Farrakhan and he has made it clear he has no intention of quitting his racist church now. I know that if my pastor was condeming people of other races, I sure as hell wouldn't belong to that church so why is Obama staying? Now I understand Michelle Obama's comments after her husband began winning when she said for the first time in her life she was proud of this country. I may have voted for you in my primary Obama but I won't vote for you if you win the democratic nomination.

I'm so sick and tired and the race issue. It clouds the real issues...the things that REALLY matter.

We are not united...we are divided...and that's so sad.

What do you say we all graduate from junior high and move on to bigger and better things? Huh?

First of all, Wright did not condemn "people of other races". Wright condemned the wicked, those who do wrong against their fellow man. If anyone believes Wright is talking about them it is a guilty conscious at fault and not Jeremiah Wright.