hmmmmmmmm. food for thought. i hope that's the case! I am fairly confident though. Obi knocks em outa the sky like King Kong. I have to remind myself to just let this K-Wrap play out. Let the man do his job.
ou! Didn't he look "Presidential" when he addressed the last Clinton smear with the ex Generals and Admirals at his side? Walked up to the podium, shook all their hands on the way there, and addressed the nation, so to speak.
I loved it! I'm bettin' Hillary didn't.

I'll concede you may have a point, Bob; however, it bothers me that he's been a member for some 20 years, and claims he never heard, or even heard of, any of Wright's hateful, vitriolic exclamations. Any one who has ever been a member of any church knows that this is just not possible, unless you join, then never attend.

"Oh, did you hear what Brother Wright said last week? He was really fired up!"

That is the rule, not the exception in any church. Members pass around what has been said to those who weren't there. It's called proselytizing, and the bible requires it.

I admit that the thought flitted through my mind that at least they wouldn't be talking "Muslim" any more, but it's also very convenient for HRC that the short attention span of the viewing public has been shifted away from Geraldine and on to Jeremiah... And ain't no one talking about Parsley & Hagee.

I completely agree, especially after reading Obama's address to the whole deal. It's the perfect defense! A boring unobtrusive church does nothing to stop the barrage of "Barak's a Muslim" whispers flying about. But a Church that stated some controversial things firmly yanks everyone's attention in a totally different direction, and then all he has to do is say. "Yeah, I don't agree. But that's where my kids were baptized I didn't want to leave there." And everyone nods, damage control done, and no one can argue with any credibility at all that he's not a Christian. Fantastic politicking. This guy plays the game like a pro.

Great analysis. I hadn't thought about it like this, but I think you're right. It's an excellent "defense" (more like offense) against you-know-who's fear-mongering campaign.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S7eAnx6Vxrs

**********************************************

If we want to look at a Rev. Wright Sermon? Let's look at the one Obama claimed mattered to him: 'THE AUDACITY OF HOPE’ sermon audio....

From Politico.com (03/13/08), A Wright Sermon [http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/0308/A_Wright_sermon.html ]:

A very different side of Jeremiah Wright: A reader sends over a link to the recording of his now-famous sermon titled "The Audacity to Hope." [http://mp3.christianity.com/mp3/mp3repos32/MMYSEES/317_60682_JeremiahWright__TheAudacitytoHope82A.32.mp3 ]

If we want to talk about what INFLUENCED Obama to be who he is today? If we want to talk about WHERE he comes from? Don't look at the most radical of sermons his pastor has given in the last couple years! Look at the one sermon that Obama has cited as influential. THIS ONE. Spoken over TWENTY years ago. And it is complete 180 degree turn from the sermons the media has been playing. If the media wants to play those radical clips that have NOTHING to do with Obama, they have a right to let people know that the sermon by Rev. Wright that they keep referencing, the sermon that introduced Obama to Christianity and influenced his life, was NOTHING like that.

*************************************************

Excellent theory. If you're right, all I can say is "Well played".

Wow; great minds do think alike! I like your theory. I woke up this morning not really that worried. I think what is going to happen in the next couple of months will be very interesting. Rev. Wright will be interviewed. THAT is going to be great. It is, after all, not really about Barack..it's more about what is happening in the black community and the churches and the lack of dialogue ( but not any more!) between races. Nobody said growin up is easy, but I think America just hit puberty!

Did none of you hear the part where he said he NEVER heard the things Wright said; he never even heard OF Wright saying them? I really don't give a rat's ass what Wright said - he's a nutbar just like Hagee and all the others. What I do care about is the fact that Barack obviously and blatantly lied about whether or not he knew about the statements.

Once again: you can't be a member of a church and NOT hear about what the minister said, even if you weren't at the service where he said it. It's impossible! Other people will make sure you know about it! Church members are some of the biggest gossips in the entire freakin' universe!

I think you're making a good point Baja. You couldn't be a member that long and not have heard some of the rhetoric. I mean, would any of us patronize any establishment that was run by someone that said such disagreeable things? Probably not. We'd leave and go find somewhere else to bring our business, or our worship, to. So I think a good question is "why did you stick around so long and are you still a member?"

His answer to that is:
"The statements that Rev. Wright made that are the cause of this controversy were not statements I personally heard him preach while I sat in the pews of Trinity or heard him utter in private conversation. When these statements first came to my attention, it was at the beginning of my presidential campaign. I made it clear at the time that I strongly condemned his comments. But because Rev. Wright was on the verge of retirement, and because of my strong links to the Trinity faith community, where I married my wife and where my daughters were baptized, I did not think it appropriate to leave the church."

"When these statements first came to my attention, it was at the beginning of my presidential campaign. I made it clear at the time that I strongly condemned his comments. But because Rev. Wright was on the verge of retirement, and because of my strong links to the Trinity faith community, where I married my wife and where my daughters were baptized, I did not think it appropriate to leave the church."

I don't know how often and how many times it has to be repeated before some of you understand. I'm not railing against him for staying; I'm not railing against him for what batshit crazy Jeremiah said.

Some of these things were said less than a week after 9/11/2001. Does that date have any significance to you? Perhaps you've neglected to remember that Obama was not running for President back then? Perhaps you think he didn't hear about it until over five years later? Perhaps you've been drinking too much kool-aid?

My entire point in all this is the fact that he told bald-faced lies when he denied knowing about this shit until "at the beginning of my campaign." Not possible, not in an urban black church, or any church, for that matter. What, was he walking around with his fingers in his ears, chanting "la-la-la-la, I can't hear you"?

For shit's sake, at least try to get into touch with reality for a few nanoseconds.

BTW, I'm still most probably going to vote for Obama; I just wish he'd be more honest about this crap.

Baja - I, for one, DO understand what you're saying and I agree with you (although I'm of an age where I no longer expect much honesty from public officials). When I posted that, it was in response to Nano's legitimate question of: "why did you stick around so long and are you still a member?"

I still think that, when he heard these speeches, sermons or whatever, he could have just left the church. I don't see the attachment, perhaps because I tend to poo-poo religion. I couldn't even tell you where I was baptized, or even if I was.

He could have just left. What's the line from "Steel Magnolias"?

"God doesn't care where you go to church, just as long as you show up."

I see what you're getting at Baja, that you feel like he's not being truthful about it. I think, though, that the whole situation absolutely demands spin, and spin is never about the truth. There's just no easy way to say "yeah, I've heard him say stuff like that before, but I didn't want to leave because blah blah blah..."
Bob's assertion that perhaps the campaign is controlling the spin from the beginning, going on the offensive instead of having to react defensively, diffusing it before it can become a campaign issue, is probably right on the money. If anyone in the Clinton camp decides to make it a talking point, the Obama camp gets to respond with "We've covered this already. Senator Obama willingly came forth with this issue and it's dead and buried, blah blah blah"

It is masterful. The whole thing will probably be forgotten by the end of next week.

Sigh...you'te probably right on the money, Nano. It's really disappointing, though. I've been voting for four decades now, And this time I really, really thought we were gonna have a chance to vote for someone who wasn't just the lesser of two poor choices (two evils). Oh, well, maybe before I die...

I don't give a shit what a church leader said yesterday or five years ago (no offense religious folks). This is a 24 hour media issue. Was Barack attending some private meeting where these things were discussed as strategy? I doubt it, but I don't care. I don’t think Obama is ready to confront any of the things that Wright said at this point in the campaign (The Republicans will bring it up later). The fact is Obama is dealing with scrutiny that no other (including "the woman") would have to deal with simply because he's black and part of the black community. Especially after Katrina/Levee breaks, some in that community think a lot of shit about this country that might unsettle a lot of people, but few would question their right to think it. I know people that go to some evangelical (mostly white) churches and there is crazy shit spewed against us (the liberals) every single week, yet some of them still consider themselves left-leaning, and have a take it or leave it attitude because the benefits and family atmosphere of the church is more important. I don't agree with this at all, but as long as we're stupid enough to demand our leaders are “good Christians” this is the kind of shit we're going to have to deal with. Would it be better if it was a white church talking about hating gay people and taking their rights away? Because I can tell you half the people that are so "shocked" (probably present company excluded) are the same people who were told to get out and vote to defeat the liberals in 2004 because two men having the right to put on commitment rings while entering a legal union sanctioned by their god would destroy the country. All I am saying is I don't give a shit about anything that has to do with private worship, because if we were grown ups in this country we wouldn't give a shit about who anyone worships or prays with, or what is said in the pulpit as long as it’s not about destroying the separation of church and state. Some of the same folks call women murderers for fucks sake, and as stupid as I think they are, they have a right to think it and talk about it until they try to take my right away. Would I consider voting for a person that attended one of those churches? If he/she had the willingness and courage to completely denounce those sentiments publicly, probably, especially since the point has been made that the church is moving in a different direction, and there are many members who disagree with the old man. I am an atheist, I disagree with most things militantly religious, so I am used to having to ignore the ravings of one person and assume that the thousands of people who attend their place of worship aren’t always in agreement. I don’t like it, but that’s the way it is. If you want to talk about what’s publicly said in a church as being potentially dangerous, that is a huge can of worms that America is not ready to talk about without ripping it apart.

I assume when this comes back up in the general, arguments based on and compared to current world behavior will be brought to examine whether or not Rev. Wright was justified in his proclamations or not, and no matter the narrative, the 24 hour masked media will act as though it came directly from Obama’s mouth.

Inbno, it's very interesting..I have had the news on for about an hour and not one word has been spoken about Wright. Seems the networks and cable got their rabies shots over the weekend.

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