Friday, 05.02.08
Wright for President
Bill Pugliano/Getty Images
Obama denounces Wright
29 April 2008
Marc Ambinder embeds Obama's press conference denouncing Wright and contextualizes it.
Jeremiah Wright, SOB
28 April 2008
Ross Douthat calls Rev. Wright's press conference "self-aggrandizing sabotage."
To describe Jeremiah Wright as charismatic is to understate his extraordinary magnetism, which drew Barack Obama to Christianity twenty years ago. Sure, Wright is a divisive figure, but he's a uniter as well -- embracing gays and lesbians as well as militant Black Muslims, and building a kind of rainbow coalition of the excluded, which inspired Obama (and countless others) to go forth and perform good works. In turning on his pastor, Obama claims that Wright has changed. Could it be that Obama has changed?
For a politician on Chicago's South Side who ran against former Black Panther Bobby Rush for Congress in 2000, a close association with Wright made a great deal of sense, fiery sermons and all. Obama continued to stand by Wright during his 2004 Senate campaign, depicting him as a powerful progressive voice - and indeed, it seems clear that Wright's message of self-help and self-rule shaped Obama's views concerning the essential importance of democracy and an engaged citizenry. Then this year, after conservatives made an issue of Wright's far-left sermonizing, Obama stood up for his pastor, offering a thoughtful defense of the folk traditions of the black church. It was only after Wright criticized Obama, suggesting that he was being hypocritical and insincere, that the candidate decided his pastor was beyond the pale. This suggests a strange solipsism and thin-skinnedness that seems unbecoming in a potential president.
Which is why one wonders if Jeremiah Wright might make for a more interesting presidential candidate. Just as Abraham Lincoln condemned America for its grave sins while calling for the nation to live up to its highest ideals, Wright's willingness to forcefully attack American injustice doesn't mean he believes the country is beyond redemption. As a pastor with long experience in a distressed corner of the country, he would bring a unique perspective to Washington. In foreign policy, he would align America's interests with those of revolutionary states in the Third World, perhaps shaking up the geopolitical environment in constructive ways. Wright's trusted comrade Louis Farrakhan might play a key role, perhaps as defense secretary. On the domestic front, one can imagine Wright building bridges to small government conservatives by calling for sweeping decentralization, the better to empower neighborhoods and churches.
This is a very different vision of American life than anything we currently have on offer, admittedly, but at the very least it's far less vacuous than the Obama campaign's constant drumbeat of hope and change for hope and change's sake. Imagine a debate between these two very different men, one that would force both Wright and Obama to clarify the convictions that separate them.
How his rhetoric playsSlate V hosts a video of Rev. Wright's press conference with real time reactions from voters. |
Too lateNoah Millman argues that it matters not whether Obama denounces Rev. Wright -- their relationship is what it is. |
The Wright moveNoam Scheiber writes that Obama now has the right enemy -- his erstwhile reverend -- and wonders if Wright has damaging information he'll strike back with. |
He isn't wrongRuth Conniff says Wright is correct about many things he said during his press conference, though his remarks are too hot for white America to handle. |
Wright gets angryLate Night with Conan O'Brien offered a fanciful interpretation of Wright's recent remarks. |
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Yup, Reverend Wright is a "uniter" alright. . . I am really starting to wonder about The Atlantic these days.
this is funniest thing I read today. reihan needs to stop coming up with wacky scenarios.
finally some interesting ideas to shake up this stolid forum a bit.
thank you, I'll have some more please
Barack Obama and Jeremiah Wright are my neighbors on Chicago's South Side. I have had to deal with upper middle class mixed race people (both Barack and Jeremiah Right are not "Black" they are mixed race "colored") in my South Side Chicago community gathering power for themselves by exploiting the anger and frustrations of authentically poor Black African Americans.
Jeremiah Wright is a classic race baiting demagogue who also acquired a lot of really bad Leftist destruction causes from the 70s.
Yeah, Liberation Theology - the effort by the Marxist thugs in Central America to try to get some "Christian" credibility to the movement, didn't work real well then or in Jeremiah Wrights Afrocentric Liberation theology scam in my South Side of Chicago neighborhood.
The people that posted respectful commentary on the Demagogue Wright, maybe they should review his sermons that....
"Jesus was a poor Black man oppressed by rich White Italians - THE ROMANS"
OK, so we are supposed to treat this with respect?
Jesus Christ was not a poor Black man oppressed by evil rich, White Italians and Jeremiah Wright is not poor, not Black (he is very light skinned, colored", America has not oppressed him, he has led an easy, rich life, a life he would not have led in his sacred African Motherland.
Come on folks, let's stop letting con man, hustlers, criminals have an easy go of it. The press should have outed this raving racist, demagogue, con man a long time ago and maybe helped Barack and Michele Obama escape this cult.
I'd love to see President Wright's proposals for education reform. Give Wright this much credit: he at least seems to believe his own rhetoric. What does Obama believe?
Yeah, to be on the side that assassinated Archbishop Oscar Romero was the christian thing to do.
Death Squads don't make convincing harbingers of freedom, democracy and christian values
Hey Peter
Americans do not have to choose between just Right Wing Salvadoran Death Squads or Extreme Left Wing Salvadoran Marxist thugs - trying a Liberation Theology spin to try to get their totalitarian cult a better "Christian" name then say their comrades in the Khmer Rouge, Stalin and Beria's NKVD.
There are other choices Peter, I don't need the Central American liberation theology brought to my Chicago neighborhood in the form of some non Black, Afrocentric demagogue, hustler Jeremiah Wright.
We have lots of other choices that are "American" - try Anglicanism, add some or a lot of Bill Cosby, Thomas Sowel, Motown, maybe some Dixie Chicks, AFL-CIO of the great 1950s, I'll even toss in Hoffa's Teamsters Union if you want to get a bit more "out there", fight for the (American) workers.
Jimmy Hoffa and the Teamsters did FIGHT for American workers, they didn't get into treason like Liberation theology and start hanging out with nut case, hustler, demagogues like Jeremiah Wright screaming that America deserved 9-11-01.
Hey Pete, I lived in New York City - those 300 great New York Fireman and the folks fleeing the flames to fall to their death -t hey didn't deserve to die, Al Qaeda's cause was/is not a good one Pete.
Now I am an open minded, very reasonably tolerant American man, I don't tolerate such nonsense/treason. Not here not anywhere.
You want to support the program of Al Qaeda, The Sandinistas, Rev. Wright's Afrocentric liberation theology, hate whitey rants, please do so someplace else...
Maybe North Korea or some Taliban held caves in Afghanistan. Just understand if you go this route you will not be enjoying all the plus comforts of the pampered idiot Left in America, hanging out in Jeremiah Wrights new posh pad in Tinley Park IL - not exactly getting down there and sharing the pain of the poor brothers in the Hood.
Only in America.
The thing is America did choose to support the right wing death squads. And Al-Qaeda doesn't need any extra support. The U.S Government, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan decided the jihadis were actually freedom fighters and made sure they never ran out of money. Blowback's a bitch. But i'm glad you're open minded and reasonably tolerant.
P.S. Kim Jong-il says to say hi
Hey Pete let's discuss this in my extended neighborhood, Jeremiah Wright's neighborhood on the South Side of Chicago. I am sure you are an environmentalist, so leave the car behind and take public transportation - take the Dan Ryan mass transit line, it's OK - you can start late at night. Be sure to take along all of your idiot PC political theories, be sure everything is up to date, don't get caught spouting PC causes like the Sandinistas, Mugabe, ANC stuff - that's not current. No instead push Jeremiah Wright's Afrocentric Liberation theology.
When you get surrounded by the Gangster Disciples, be sure to tell everyone in an earnest, sincere voice that you aren't in any way RACIST. That you support Jeremiah Wright, Liberation theology, think America and the White Race are the cause of all the evils in the world throw in a few hip phrases like "Blowback's a bitch". Be sure to tell the Black Gangster Disciples that you aren't in any way Racist, that you hate America, hate White people, think that Blacks and all third world people of color have been oppressed by White America, oppressed by the rich White 1st World "A world in need, oppressed by greed".
And when the Black Gangster Disciples (not really a political, progressive revolutionary force, more like a straight out Black criminal street gang) responds by beating your pathetic, cowardly PC White ass, beating and stabbing you in to a bloody mess, when they submerge your cowardly White ass body with foul substances - some so vile that I can not describe them on The Atlantic Magazine forum - your mind will slip in to unconsciousness to end the horrible pain, you might notice in your last moments of consciousness a White guy sitting in the train not being bothered by the Black Gangster Disciples, you will notice this White guy smiling.. that White guy will be me.
Have a nice day Pete.
First, have to link this. Watch one of the out of context sermons repeatedly plastered on T.V., but this time plus the important before and after sections, here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QOdlnzkeoyQ
Now some counter-points to the ranting of Mr. Ellis:
"not Black (he is very light skinned, colored)"
What an arrogant thing to say. Because he is half black and hence "lightly colored" he apparently isn't black? Who are you to decide whether someone is "legitimately black" or not? I'm quite sure Wright's community accepts him as a black man and the fact that you're repeatedly trying to somehow bring him down as not being black enough shows you are just trying to smear him with petty labels as opposed to having any clear headed legitimate talking points. I especially find this humorous coming from a white man who somehow thinks just because he has visited some tough places in town he has a clear understanding of the social-economic issues that underly the African-American community of which Reverend Wright plays a role in.
"Hey Pete, I lived in New York City - those 300 great New York Fireman and the folks fleeing the flames to fall to their death -t hey didn't deserve to die, Al Qaeda's cause was/is not a good one Pete.
Now I am an open minded, very reasonably tolerant American man, I don't tolerate such nonsense/treason. Not here not anywhere."
Another non-fact perpetrated by the right wing. Whenever there is criticism of past American action and how that has contributed to the climate of hatred of Americans in the Middle East so many conservatives take this to mean that somehow people are excusing Al Qaeda for the horrible acts they committed, that somehow we agree that what happened was good or just etc. No where does Reverent Wright say that, no where does Peter say that, and no where does any critic of American Foreign policy in the Middle East say that. If you knew anything about Al Qaeda, or Osama Bin Laden, or rise of terrorism in the Middle East you would know that all of that hatred stems from a few very simple facts. 1) The presence of US military personal and bases in the Middle East, especially Saudi Arabia and 2) the continued blank check of support the US gives Isreal in its dealing with Palestinians (and the terrorism that still takes place there). The underlying issues of these two facts are very complex and I'm not going to pretend to know them all (or talk about what I do know). Simply put, the hatred in the Middle East is not something that developed over night, its not something that happened for no reason, and its not something that the US Government had no part in creating. Understanding the causes of that and seeing what we as a nation did wrong to drive so many to become fanatics is key to fixing the problem, simply ignoring it and pretending the US has somehow been angels abroad isn't going to fix anything.
Finally, to your last post...what a long, nonsense ridden, irrelevant rant. You created a hypothetical situation with a hypothetical (and very violent) outcome. I'm sure you were proud when you thought up that 3 paragraph masterpiece.
John Ellis, I'm glad I could help you reach orgasm. What a sad, lost man you seem to be.
Eavesdropping on an honest & impassioned discussion between Obama & Wright is a wonderfully provocative idea and it would be fascinating. Though some might describe the event as worryingly elitist. Of course, it could clearly never take place on a commercial network in the U.S. and you may need to travel far and wide to find a moderator in the North American media who does not still equate patriotism with Pax Americana. I was not certain these people were still employed in the U.S. media so the proposal by Mr Salam makes a truly welcome change. The reaction to the Wright/Obama spat has offered an unhappy spectacle of discomfort and confusion from the Obama camp. Barack's seemingly easy willingness to jettison long-time friends (remember Sam Power?) has not shown his most attractive side during this period. Though first prize for over-reaction to this issue would still need to go to the Atlantic's own Daily Dishwasher ("calculated, ugly, repulsive, vile display of arrogance, egotism, and self-regard"). When self-righteousness reaches that level of abusive shrillness it can't be a good thing.
Rise up...above the divisions.
What do you believe...how did you come to believe it?
Political theory = deceitful science.
The more you learn, the less you trust intuition.
Does truth = intuition?
Ed makes some perfectly valid points about US Middle Eastern policy, America's failure to pursue a fair, neutral "America First", non aligned policy in the Arab/Israeli conflict now Muslims vs Israel conflict. he sites the following to explain, if not excuse the 9/11/01 Al Qaeda attacks:
"1) The presence of US military personal and bases in the Middle East, especially Saudi Arabia and 2) the continued blank check of support the US gives Israel in its dealing with Palestinians (and the terrorism that still takes place there). The underlying issues of these two facts are very complex and I'm not going to pretend to know them all (or talk about what I do know). Simply put, the hatred in the Middle East is not something that developed over night"
OK, sure - there is a lot of validity to what you say here. But what do you want me to do?
Take on the whole American Jewish lobby, AIPAC, the Neo Conservatives? I am doing my best to stand up to vicious hate Whitey Black (and not so Black in the case of Jeremiah Wright and Barack) race baiting demagogues in my extended South Side of Chicago neighborhood. You want me to take on THE JEWS.
:-) LOL
I don't think so.
And to be honest, the Arab, Israeli conflict shouldn't be much of an excuse for my Black and somewhat Black, but not really Black African American neighbors here on the South Side of Chicago to lead decent, productive American lives. We live in America, not the Middle East, Jeremiah Wright should just shut up about foreign affairs, he's not helping anyone in the Middle East or Africa or for that matter, not helping anyone here in the USA especially Chicago.
Hey Pete - you got smoked, taken down by a street smart, blue eyed White guy living free on the S.S. of Chi'town.
:-)
Certainly our nation has been guilty of injustices. But how can anyone claiming the US government developed the HIV virus to weaken the black population be in a position to judge and "attack American injustice"? Wright is either incredibly credulous, or a simply a liar.
I, too, find Wright to be reasonable, even likable, though not presidential material, which isn't to fault him, but to acknowledge the reality of the job for which Obama is qualified. Salam's criticisms of Barack derive, not from facts, but pure speculation about his motives.
Thank you Reihan. That was a gust of fresh air.
I think Reverend Wright was righ when he said:
"We took this country by terror away from the Sioux, the Apache, the Arawak, the Comanche, the Arapaho, the Navajo. Terrorism! We took Africans from their country to build our way of ease and kept them enslaved and living in fear. Terrorism! We bombed Grenada and killed innocent civilians, babies, non-military personnel. We bombed the black civilian community of Panama with stealth bombers and killed unarmed teenagers and toddlers, pregnant mothers and hard-working fathers. We bombed Gadafi's home and killed his child. "Blessed are they who bash your children's head against a rock!" We bombed Iraq. We killed unarmed civilians trying to make a living. We bombed a plant in Sudan to payback for the attack on our embassy. Killed hundreds of hard-working people; mothers and fathers who left home to go that day, not knowing that they would never get back home. We bombed Hiroshima! We bombed Nagasaki, and we nuked far more than the thousands in New York and the Pentagon, and we never batted an eye! Kids playing in the playground, mothers picking up children after school, civilians - not soldiers - people just trying to make it day by day. We have supported state terrorism against the Palestinians and Black South Africans, and now we are indignant? Because the stuff we have done overseas has now been brought back into our own front yards! America's chickens are coming home to roost! Violence begets violence. Hatred begets hatred and terrorism begets terrorism."
Great, His first mission can be to meet his cousin Yunis and talk World Peace and Never attribute to malice what stupidity can explain on either side of the pond. I respect the Office of the Presidency, and my Wincester also, to protect the truth of this Country which some have given all. They demand Justice, Honor, Liberty. I am to old now for Service and many have served in my family and I thank them for there sacrifice. I convey to my Elders gratitute, who my Wife now cares for since she resigned from her work to care for them now the best we can, that there generation made so much progress for free society's, and my Children do now the truth. Yes the Nazi killed my grandmother sisters, and my Mother inlaw conveyed in oral tradition of the trail of tears of that evil. Evil is real. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever!(Heb. 13:8.)Curse, or Blessing America Grow up and do your part. Learn to think for yourself's before somebody thinks for you. Who can do the Job? Genesis 17.1-20 spells it out. As for my promise? Genesis 22.17 I will indeed bless you….. gate of your enemies. Think for yourself's and ask who do you think you serve. I pray not to go back but forward. You can think what you want but you pay for it and leave me alone to move forward.
Wright should go home and serve whatever he wishes
"but he's a uniter as well - embracing embracing gays and lesbians as well as militant Black Muslims, and building a kind of rainbow coalition of the excluded"
So what, to date have we leaned in social excanges? Tolerance is one thing and wise, reality is another.
They point to others in there pressured view. Unity does not solve. Respect for people to co-operate, to assume full responsibility for their actions, to face the risks and costs their decisions entail and nothing else ever will. Color in my view is Gods humor and lesson. Who are my Children of the Covenant? That will sort it out, and that whats history is. Fragments for facets to deception for the sheep feeding. Reason it out for yourselfs. His word warned us. I do believe in peace. Do they? Its just noise from Wright, below is real.
CNA STAFF, Apr 14, 2008 / 09:17 pm (CNA).- A high profile Muslim cleric and Hamas member of the Palestinian parliament gave a sermon last Friday in which he declared that soon Rome, “the capital of the Catholics” will be soon overtaken by Islam.
Yunis al-Astal, the cleric in question, told his listeners that “Very soon, Allah willing, Rome will be conquered, just like Constantinople was, as was prophesized by our Prophet Muhammad. Today, Rome is the capital of the Catholics, or the Crusader capital, which has declared its hostility to Islam…”
The diatribe was aired on Hamas' Al-Aqsa TV and predicted that Rome would become "an advanced post for the Islamic conquests, which will spread though Europe in its entirety, and then will turn to the two Americas, even Eastern Europe."
"Allah has chosen you for Himself and for His religion," al-Astal declared, "so that you will serve as the engine pulling this nation to the phase of succession, security and consolidation of power, and even to conquests through da'wa and military conquests of the capitals of the entire world.
According to FOX News, Al-Astal preached last June that it was the duty of Palestinian women to martyr themselves by becoming homicide bombers.
The more the press diddles about subjects like Wright, flag pins, college escapades, and ignores the issues that should be at the heart of this election (war, economy, climate, education, healthcare, etc. etc.) the more the republican strategists smile. God this is depressing to see. Depressing but not, sadly, surprising.
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omg,i don't think anyone would vote for wright! obama's message is about hope, wright's message is about holding grudges! wright should go back to church, he's 15 mins of fame are over.
Posted by karlacn | May 2, 2008 4:30 PM