Voters differ sharply on flap over pastor

Dereck Cummings is an openly gay man and a former Jehovah's Witness who says he isn't in the habit of judging other people on their lifestyles or religion.

[jfr]

Nice article.

[Ray Gorak]

If you believe Obama, then I am the POPE. He is nothing but a smooth B.S. artist who does not tell the people his true beliefs. He LOVES to hear himself talk. Talk is cheap. His record in the Illinois senate proves that he shys away from many issues. How many times did he just vote present? That shows me that when the chips are down he has NO backbone. Heaven help us if he ever is elected president. I bet all the previous presidents would turn over in their graves.

[HuggyBear]

The situation with Obama and his pastor shows a lack of judgement on Obama's part. His speeches have just been a feeble attempt to cover that fact and more than anything it showed that he initially lied when he said he never heard any of those speeches when he attend church services for over 20 years. So now we have a politician that has poor judgement and lies. Almost sounds like Bill Clinton doesn't it? If you want to vote for him that's your choice but remember that you have to live with it for at least 4 years.

[reza santorini]

Trinity Church is now supporting the Hamas organization and the destruction of all of Israel.

Thank you Mr. Obama for telling the Jews that you support them and how they have supported Blacks. You have failed to tell the Blacks that, and the KKK and the general population.

Nice speech to the Jews. Nice speech to the Whites.

Why aren't the speeches the same.

[Brothaman]

The Rev is old school. He can't let go of the past, partly because it's painful but mostly because it sells better than "can't we all just get along?" Anger is easy...push the right buttons and you can get people stirred up. The Rev needs the controversy to feel relevant.

[Depot Jim]

If this was a White Republican running for President and that person had a pastor like Wright the Liberal News Media and Left Wing Liberals would have run that person out of town. The main stream would had this story on the front every day. Talk about a double standard.

[ejhickey]

The video of Dr. Wright preaching hatred of America is as compelling as the video taping of the Rodney King over a decade ago. Even more troubling was the easy way Senator Obama slipped into the racial stereotypes of the past when he referred to his grandmother as a "typical white person". I am concerned that Senator Obama has a racial bias that he is not telling us about and that he cannot transcend race. There is an old union song titled "Which Side Are You On? I am afraid that Senator Obama has already picked a side but hasn't told the rest of us. One cannot be part of the solution is one is also part of the problem.

[Reality]

Ray Gorak wrote:

If you believe Obama, then I am the POPE. He is nothing but a smooth B.S. artist who does not tell the people his true beliefs. He LOVES to hear himself talk. Talk is cheap. His record in the Illinois senate proves that he shys away from many issues. How many times did he just vote present? That shows me that when the chips are down he has NO backbone. Heaven help us if he ever is elected president. I bet all the previous presidents would turn over in their graves.

I wasn't aware the Pope now lived in Indiana.

[Tim]

Remember John Kerry? He was the 2004 Democratic presidential nominee, lauded by his supporters for his intellect and his nuance, as compared with the simpleminded George W. Bush. Having lost the election, he decided to sit out the 2008 contest. He recently endorsed Barack Obama, and earlier this week he sat down with the editorial board of the Standard-Times (New Bedford, Mass.) to make the case for his candidate.
It's a real jaw-dropper. ABC News's Jake Tapper sums it up:
Kerry said that a President Obama would help the US, in relations with Muslim countries, "in some cases go around their dictator leaders to the people and inspire the people in ways that we can't otherwise."
"He has the ability to help us bridge the divide of religious extremism," Kerry said. "To maybe even give power to moderate Islam to be able to stand up against this radical misinterpretation of a legitimate religion."
Kerry was asked what gives Obama that credibility.
"Because he's African-American. Because he's a black man. Who has come from a place of oppression and repression through the years in our own country."
An African-American president would be "a symbol of empowerment" for those who have been disenfranchised around the world, Kerry said, "an important lesson for America to show Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, other places in the world where disenfranchised people don't get anything."
One obvious question: What do the events of this week, involving Obama's own church, tell us about his ability to "stand up against" a "radical misinterpretation of a legitimate religion"? Nothing very encouraging in this columnist's view, but many observers view Obama much more charitably in this regard than we do.
What is really striking about Kerry's case for Obama, though, is that it rests on what may be the crudest stereotyping we have ever observed. Commentary's Abe Greenwald has a chuckle over Kerry's racial stereotyping of Obama:
Where is this "place of oppression and repression" in which Obama has suffered "through the years"? Hawaii? Harvard? The Senate? We should find out immediately and do something about this horrific crisis.
But Kerry isn't just stereotyping blacks. He is stereotyping Muslims too. And he is drawing an equivalence between American blacks, a racial minority in one country, and Middle Eastern Muslims, a religious majority in a whole region.
Never mind that, as Greenwald points out, "Arab Muslims [are] none too happy with their black countrymen in northern Africa." Never mind that in some African countries, notably Sudan and Mauritania, Arab Muslims still enslave blacks.
To Kerry, it seems, all "oppressed peoples" look alike. The man has all the intellectual subtlety of a third-rate ethnic studies professor.

From Wall Street Journal
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1206115532438...

[Reality]

ejhickey wrote:

The video of Dr. Wright preaching hatred of America is as compelling as the video taping of the Rodney King over a decade ago. Even more troubling was the easy way Senator Obama slipped into the racial stereotypes of the past when he referred to his grandmother as a "typical white person". I am concerned that Senator Obama has a racial bias that he is not telling us about and that he cannot transcend race. There is an old union song titled "Which Side Are You On? I am afraid that Senator Obama has already picked a side but hasn't told the rest of us. One cannot be part of the solution is one is also part of the problem.

Everyone has a racial bias to some level. It's whether you recognize it and how you deal with it. I believe Obama recognizes his and doesn't let it affect his decisions. Anyone who claims they have zero racial bias is lying. We are all products of our culture and racial bias is in our culture (especially news & Hollywood.)

[Karen]

Is it any wonder why Chicago Tribune is reporting record losses? It has become the Obama Kool Aid express. Obama didn't confront race headon, he got caught lying, and got on his high horse and lectured us. He used the term typical white person, not exactly healing words. Obama is a fraud, has aligned himself with bigots and racists, and his wife is equally offensive. The censorship on behalf of Obama by the liberal media is going to come back to bite the lunatic left-wing. People no longer trust newspapers to be fair, and are flocking to the internet for the truth. As Chicago Tribune lays off more and more UNION workers, it will see its ridiculous bias and partisanship, and outright censorship and lies, on behalf of Obama will be its downfall.

[White guy]

Hasn't EVERY republican candidate for the last 30 years had some member of the clergy supporting them that had some hate speech out there? Either it was the gays, or the Muslims, or doctors that perform abortions. Is this really any different? Those that think so are using bad logic to hide the truth - they are racists that can now hide behind this situation instead of facing the truth. Hope it make you all feel better. I can understand Rev Wright's anger at a society that still treats a huge portion of its population as second class citizens. If you really research the church this man started you will also see that much good has come out of it. Are you all willing to judge a man on a few minutes of anger without looking at the good he has done? Have none of you ever had a strong opinion that has offended someone? Sorry - I just don't believe that there are this many 'perfect' people out there. Are you all willing to have yourself judged by your worst moments caught on video?

[RFB-IL]

Ray Gorak wrote:

If you believe Obama, then I am the POPE. He is nothing but a smooth B.S. artist who does not tell the people his true beliefs. He LOVES to hear himself talk. Talk is cheap. His record in the Illinois senate proves that he shys away from many issues. How many times did he just vote present? That shows me that when the chips are down he has NO backbone. Heaven help us if he ever is elected president. I bet all the previous presidents would turn over in their graves.

I hope the rest of the voters in Ind.(if that is where you are from) feel the same way you do. I have said from the very beginning obama is not what he seems. The real obama will come out if he is elected president, and then heaven help us all. But, it looks like some of the real obama is starting to show despite his trying to put on a fake front.

[RFB-IL]

Brothaman wrote:

The Rev is old school. He can't let go of the past, partly because it's painful but mostly because it sells better than "can't we all just get along?" Anger is easy...push the right buttons and you can get people stirred up. The Rev needs the controversy to feel relevant.

That still doesn't excuse attending his church and having him as a spiritual advisor for 20 years.

[RFB-IL]

Depot Jim wrote:

If this was a White Republican running for President and that person had a pastor like Wright the Liberal News Media and Left Wing Liberals would have run that person out of town. The main stream would had this story on the front every day. Talk about a double standard.

If obama gets the nomination the republicans will run him out of town, and hopefully the country.

[RFB-IL]

Reality wrote:

<quoted text>
I wasn't aware the Pope now lived in Indiana.

He doesn't, and neither is obama believable, just more lies.

[RFB-IL]

White guy wrote:

Hasn't EVERY republican candidate for the last 30 years had some member of the clergy supporting them that had some hate speech out there? Either it was the gays, or the Muslims, or doctors that perform abortions. Is this really any different? Those that think so are using bad logic to hide the truth - they are racists that can now hide behind this situation instead of facing the truth. Hope it make you all feel better. I can understand Rev Wright's anger at a society that still treats a huge portion of its population as second class citizens. If you really research the church this man started you will also see that much good has come out of it. Are you all willing to judge a man on a few minutes of anger without looking at the good he has done? Have none of you ever had a strong opinion that has offended someone? Sorry - I just don't believe that there are this many 'perfect' people out there. Are you all willing to have yourself judged by your worst moments caught on video?

To answer your question about Wright, yes I can. I am considered opinionated by many people, but I don't spout racial garbage to thousands of people. Can you give examples of the clergy for other presidents speeches, or are you just justifying obama's racial connection to Wright with more fabrications, like he is so good at doing?

[J-Jackson]

White guy wrote:

Hasn't EVERY republican candidate for the last 30 years had some member of the clergy supporting them that had some hate speech out there? Either it was the gays, or the Muslims, or doctors that perform abortions. Is this really any different? Those that think so are using bad logic to hide the truth - they are racists that can now hide behind this situation instead of facing the truth. Hope it make you all feel better. I can understand Rev Wright's anger at a society that still treats a huge portion of its population as second class citizens. If you really research the church this man started you will also see that much good has come out of it. Are you all willing to judge a man on a few minutes of anger without looking at the good he has done? Have none of you ever had a strong opinion that has offended someone? Sorry - I just don't believe that there are this many 'perfect' people out there. Are you all willing to have yourself judged by your worst moments caught on video?

The question is not about Wright its about a very personal friend and supporter who wants to be president.You cannot believe the Rev.has had no influence on Obama after being with him for twenty years.Do you really want this guy in the White House??

[Mike-Indianapoli s]

The Choice:

George Bush's claim that the terrorists attacked us because they hate our freedom.

or

Jeremiah Wright's claim that our past military actions (overt and covert)have bred these attacks.

Reminder: Bin Laden cited the U.S. military base establishments in the Saudi Arabian Muslim holy land as his motivation.

[Clarence]

If someone kills someone in front of many witnesses, but makes a great speech in front of a jury, saying I didn't really do it. Does that make the killer not a killer, or a good speech giver. Rev. Wright is a racist, and Obama had him as his mentor for 20 years. Does giving a speech make Obama not a racist? No Barack Hussein Obama is a racist!