Political Punch

On the other had this is all true.

Like it or not many over 45 voters, patriotic voters and many blue collar voters will vote against Obama now and in the general election.

Obama has the Wright problem, Hillary has the delegate problem.

What a mess.

Let's talk about something of substance like which candidate is getting the most lobbyists money and which candidate will work to create jobs for Americans.

Left, right, or center, the one thing that is required of any president is that there is loyalty to the United States of America. No, I am not a conservative but rather quite left wing. And, no, this has NOTHING to do about the race issue. On that score, his address was fine. BUT, Obama is "white washing" this issue...understandably. Remember, it took the lifetime of Obama's wife to say that she -- for the first time in her life -- to be proud of America. This is quite consistent with the comments of Rev. Wright...although he may not be proud of America. Given the strenght of Obama's ties to Wright, isn't he being rather dishonest? He knows Wright's political views quite well. No surprise. They are NOT separable from Obama's respect for all of his other qualities. Unfortunately, Obama uses his rhetorical skills to pretend this is not an issue. How sad.

Rev Wright never said anything about hating anyone, this has gone to far. In fact he spoke facts as they pertain to the black experience. Tuskegee experiment and Katrina alone give the average American reason to pause.
However he is an ex Marine who served his country have you?

Obama is very lucky these issues were vetted well before the general election. Only the 30% of right wing fox news lemmings will believe that Obama is whatever they want to believe. Obama will win the general election in a landslide because McBush can only get that 30% of the nut jobs who like Bush's policies.

Whether the MSM likes it or not, the Rev. Wright story will NEVER go away.
It does not matter who brings it up, it's a story that is here to stay because it demonstrate Obama "superior judgment", remember?

We are still awaiting the other story - the real relationship between Obama and Tony Rezko.

If Democrats think that the Wright issue is dead because NPR, CNN and MSNBC try very hard to bury the story, they are in for a rude awakening.

All it would take for Republicans and the swiftboat people is just a couple of political ad in the general election, and the Americans will be repulsed.

If this was Hillary's pastor of over 20 years that said something like this, the media and the Liberal wing of the party would have asked her to step down.

Remember, we still have not heard the true story of the relationship between Obama and Tony Rezko. Rezko created Obama and bankrolled his candidacy.

In the earlier debate, Obama categorically stated that he only did 5 hours of work through his church with Rezko.
Stay tuned.

This whole thing with insinuating Senator Obama as a racist, unpatriotic, or un-American will eventually get stale. Have at it though while it's hot and continue to be ignorant as Mr. Economy turns blue in the face.

The only way Barack Obama wont win the democratic nomination by the way is if he ends up in jail...period. There is no way anyone less than God will wrestle this away from him. Once that happens, the dust will settle, then we can take another look @ all these head to head polls republicans are having out of body experiences over.

The super delegates SHOULD consider the Wright controversy in regards to Obama's electability in November. It is a serious factor. It will be the centerpiece of the Republican campaign against him. Regardless of what many liberal Democrats think, most swing voters as well as many Democrats will not vote for Obama due to his relationship with Wright. Why isn't the Clinton campaign allowed to discuss this? Why is only Obama allowed to discuss the issue? The "typical white person" comment will be long remembered as well, I'm sure, and not in a positive way.

Obama is a hypocrite. He calls for Imus to be fired, Trent Lott to step down and then doesn't hold himself to the same standard. Hell the media doesn't even hold him to the same standard. If Hillary Clinton did one of the things Obama has done this week, her career would be over. Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton would be marching in front of her house within the hour. Where is Jackson and Sharpton's outrage over what has happened this week? I'll tell you were it is. It's being saved for the Don Imus's of the world and Trent Lotts (white people) If we are suppose to be equal then there should be equal punishments for the crimes.

Get it through your heads people. OBAMA DOES NOT HATE WHITE PEOPLE !!

This country is riddled with people that want and need him to hate whites to justify their own deep seeded prejudices.

I mean the real question with the Rev. Wright issue is does Obama hate white people?

To some of us it is painfully obvious that he does not.

Obama should publicly apologize for endorsing this un American racist preacher who Obama considered his mentor for 20 years. After that Obama should drop out of the race, he is not fit to be the President of the United States. Hillary is the one, she always was and always will be.

Give me Colin Powell, give me David Paterson, give me Harold Ford, Jr, give me anyone of color for President, but please not someone who belongs to a separatist church, who publicly embraces its racist minister after condemning our Nation, while at the same time he publicly shames his own white relative and refers to her as a 'typical white'. The more I know of Obama, the more I realize the contradiction of the man and his message. This is not bringing people together. This is not unity. This is not the change that we seek. This IS a man conflicted. This IS someone whose core values say one thing while his politics say another. This IS someone who should be in a therapists office and not the oval office. America, we've come too far to have to settle for this. We can do better. There ARE better choices that one can make for ourselves and for this country.

Democrates against Obama taking to the streets, check for a rally near you soon.

Rome is burning, the country is going down in flames and all we are allowed to do is to swoon over Obama's politically expedient speech and talk about race, race, race and nothing else. The guy is a disaster for this country. The Clinton campaign would be doing Obama and all of us a big favor to get the Wright controversy out there for everyone to see and judge for themselves before it is too late, because the Republicans are saving it for October.

Bill Clinton invited Rev. Wright to the White House when he was going thru his sorry about Monica ruse.

LBJ gave Rev. Wright a Commendation.

Ask Hillary about Doug Coe and The Family.
A secret Christian cult.

Keep pushing it Hillary. Did Obama not make the most of the Ferraro comment? He even included it in the most historic speech in history.

I'm amazed that anyone thinks Obama lied about whether he was in church or not for the statements in the clips. He quite clearly said he hadn't heard those statements. He's never gone back on that. He HAS said he heard things that could be considered controversial, but that's not the same thing! That's like saying that someone who says they've never seen Bad Boys 2 but who later admits to having seen a Will Smith film must have been lying.

I'm amazed that anyone thinks it's appropriate to reach conclusions based on a few clips chosen for their controversy. Go and view the context. Think about it! Go and view and read the many, many, sermons that weren't even slightly objectionable. Go and learn about Rev Wright's life. Don't speak from a position of ignorance.

And that said, I'm amazed that anyone thinks it's appropriate to judge someone by their pastor's occasional outspokenness. I guess no-one doing that is planning to vote, since by those standards - not only must the candidate be perfect but so must be everyone they've ever associated with - Clinton and McCain are both ruled out along with the rest of the human race.

I'm starting to wonder if the real question here is, "is America too dumb to elect Barack Obama?"

George Snyder,
have you watched the full sermon? If not, you don't know what you are talking about.

I challenge you to go and do so and then come back and say that the context doesn't matter.

In this case, it makes all the difference in the world.

Too bad I am not running for any office otherwise WHITEWATER would be back in the news, MONICA would be another very prominent issue and as for HILLARY'S Experience? HA!

Here is an honest opinion: Copy, paste and read this honest take from
Frank Schaeffer who wrote...

"Obama's Minister Committed "Treason" But When My Father Said the Same Thing He Was a Republican Hero"

Hipocracy at its best by the Clinton campaign.

I hope the Clinton campaign push the Rev. Wright story because the media certainly won't touch it. They love Obama and are apologetic and dismissive of anything that he does. If Clinton had received even some of the help that Obama has received from the media, then she would already be the Democratic nomination. To make up for this unfair treatment, the Clinton campaign has had to justifiably use other methods to stay in the race. This process should be up to the people of America to decide, and that most definitely includes FL and MI, and it should not be up to the media to choose the candidate for the people as they have done.

Joseph Wilson??? Come on, people, you guys must only read the New York Times. This clown lied his way through the "Plame-Gate" episode, wrote a book and made lots of money, and even got his wife to write a book, and his story was virtually ALL LIES!! How can you put any faith into this guy? Even the Washington Post apologized for the way they kissed up to him originally. Testifying under oath to the Senate changed his story a whole lot, and exposed him as the fraud he is, but the Times never carried that info to their readers, so I can understand why some of you still believe in him. What a joke!!

As far as the Obama/Wright connection, as a 58-yr old white guy, I don't take TOO much exception to Obama sticking by his pastor. I also believe that, since Obama can refer to someone as a "typical white person", that give us white guys the right to refer to someone as a "typical black person", right?

Yeah, right, see how far that gets the first white politician or journalist who starts doing it.

What happens if we change just one fact - Wright is a non-Black - and keep everything else the same. We would still have the same questions about Obama's character and judgment: why does he keep this relationship? why did he not do something about it? why did he keep silent for over a year? why does he perpetuate Wright's teaching to the next generation such as his kids?

So the reality is that Obama'speech is to deflect the attention to the fact that he has not answered any of the questions; he is also arrogant to take on the holier than thou attitude to judge and lecture the rest of America as racists and throw his grandma and the blacks under the bus with "to denounce Wright is to denounce the blacks"...This issue has nothing with Blacks, it is all about Obama's character and judgment.

Thank god that the election isn't actually being held at this blog.

The reaction to his campaign alone proves what his experience has shown him. There are indeed white people who are afraid of him simply because he's black. He treaded a line of appearing like a 'safe black man' rather than an angry one just for those people.

Fortunately, there are many many more atypical people of all colors who are not afraid. And actually find it bizarre that some of any kind are.

Meanwhile, this whole mess about Reverend Wright could have been avoided if Fox and Chris Wallace had simply told the truth.

Lets see, can Hillary drop out as a democrat and decide to run as an independent?

Can you imagine the outrage that would have erupted if Hillary Clinton, John McCain, or Ralph Nader had spoke of the "typical black person?"

How about if any of the other Presidential candidates had talked about how non-blacks are "bred" in a manner similar to what Barak Obama said about white people?

Where does it say that Barak Obama or his pastor get a pass to disparage other races in speeches without being held accountable for their actions?

UpAndWay wrote:
>>It really doesn't matter what Hillary's "surrogates" are saying. Obama told everyone to look at the elephant in the room then to politely ignore it. Sorry dude, you can't have it both ways anymore.

When did Obama every tell everyone to politely ignore it? I thought he said we need to look it square in the face and politely deal with it. Personally, I (as an Obama supporter) hope that race is brought up every day and discussed every day in the media (including Rev. Wright and Obama's relationship with the United Trinity Church), every day, every day, every day, until people are sick of it and finally start discussing Iraq, health care, the recession, illegal immigration, Big Brother, the next several Supreme Court appointments, abortion rights, and some issues that affect our lives (at least my life) more than what some retired pastor said years ago, and the "judgement" (what a nice, warm, vague, fuzzy criticism) Obama didn't show by leaving the congregation.

Many in the media are rhapsodizing over Obama’s speech. They are saying that this is a speech that will be studied for years. Maybe so, but not for the reasons they think. The speech was nothing more than a slick way of changing the topic. Not only that, the speech used rhetorical techniques in a cynical attempt to soften the image of Rev. Wright, and limit the damage he is doing to Obama. For example, Obama uses a technique called “moral equivalence,” which attempts to equate a greater sin with a lesser one, thereby reducing the impact of the greater sin. He equates disavowing Wright with disavowing his grandmother, hoping to demonstrate that it would be wrong to disavow Wright for his racist and anti-American comments, just as it would be wrong to disavow his grandmother for her racist comments. However, the two sins are not equivalent. Wright is a public figure, who bellowed out his comments to a large audience, while the grandmother’s comments were private. Moreover, he attempted to balance Ferraro’s comments against those of Wright. Once again, the comparison should fail, because Wright’s were loud, unmistakable, intentional, and could not be interpreted as anything but what they were. Ferraro’s comments, on the other hand were racist only if interpreted as such, and Ferraro clearly stated that she did not intend them to be racist.

For my part, I would like to see the records contained in the Obama passport files, and I think requesting such is fair and reasonable.

Hillary Clinton has been forced to provide her daily schedules while she was first lady. The Clintons have been investigated with a microscope by Ken Starr.

Axelrod now whines on a daily basis for his timetable for the Clinton tax and financial records.

Now, we need the same time of treatment of Barak Obama and ALL of his financial records (FULL Rezko disclosure), not just a chosen few.

We need Barak Obama's daily schedule and detailed records of every activity since entering public service.

We need Barak Obama's passport records to verify where he was and what he was doing at specific times important to national security.

We need Michelle Obama's senior thesis to confirm her acknowledged past positions versus her claimed present positions.

We need fair and equal treatment.

With the amount of political campaigning and posturing that goes on in the Trinity United Church of Christ (Jeremiah Wright), perhaps the validity of their tax-exempt status needs to be investigated by the IRS.

The IRS has a toll-free number whereby individual citizens can report suspected evasion of taxes or violations of tax laws.

And, yes, that goes for any church that wants to get into politics and/or political fund raising.

Everyone knows that Obama’s sticking up for Rev. Wright is wrong, wrong, wrong. Here are a few more reasons.

1. Obama says that it is unfair to pick out three or four video clips, and say that these represent the views of Rev. Wright. This would be a fair comment IF these clips did not come from videos being sold by the church. Apparently, the church thinks these are Rev. Wright's greatest hits. In addition, the fact that the church is promoting these particular videos says that the church supports the words spoken on these videos. So, why is Obama still a member?

2. Obama says that we should consider all of the good works of the church, including its work for the homeless and for HIV. Once again, this is a fair comment. However, let's put it in context. One would hope that all churches perform such good works; but they do so without also spewing anti-American rhetoric. In addition, if we look at some houses of worship in the Middle East we are going to find congregations involved in good works for their people, but we are also going to find virulent anti-Americanism. Good works in a church do not cancel out anti-American propaganda.

Obama made a tactical mistake. He has put race and hate mongering on the table as a legitimate issue. As a Clinton supporter I'm thrilled at his speech. Now he can't complain anymore that people bring up race. That's the danger in trying to CYA, you give permission for the issue to be examined.

It really doesn't matter what Hillary's "surrogates" are saying. Obama told everyone to look at the elephant in the room then to politely ignore it. Sorry dude, you can't have it both ways anymore.

No one has to try to tie Barak Obama to Jeremiah Wright. Barak Obama has tied himself to Wright and his idealogy quite well all by himself.

Over 20 years attendance and membership at the church led by Wright does that very well for the Obamas.

I find the meanness and the arrogance of the array of reactions to this whole controversy to be very disturbing. People are not thinking about the essence and the implications of their Wright-centered comments on Obama and how those implications indict each of us as 'guilty' or at least 'subject' to the exact message of his speech on race this week. Fine. Hate the candidate and don't vote for him, but be responsible and listen to the speech and truly analyze how you, as an individual, can make a contribution rather than being a detriment to the society that you'll be a part of well after November and the general elections.

How can people, in good conscience, be so dismissive? I am a black man in America, but I'm bound by a higher obligation to be truly cognizant of how I treat and interact with ALL others.

Obama's a fraud. He's been listening to Wright for 20 years. And now that he's in trouble he's trying to throw everything he can at Clinton. He's not any different than any other politician. He's not going to unite anything. He'll only cause further divides because of the controversy he sparks. He's naive and the interviews and speeches he gives smack of the arrogance of youth. If he gets the nomination and makes it to the general election, Clinton supporters won't vote for him. Michigan and Florida have been disenfranchised by many this year. The DNC, state party leaders and yes, and the candidates, primarily Obama, who dragged his feet in making a decision. This is evidence that he puts his own self interest above that of the people. A recent poll in Florida showed that democratic voters there will not vote for either nominee in the general if their primary votes are not counted. Finally, Republican swing voters, independents and undecided democrats won't vote for Obama after the Wright and Rezko controversies and the ensuing coverage of both. What does this equal? McCain in the Whitehouse. That'll shut everyone up.

Pastor say wild things to get the point across ,think shock jock. Also my Grandmother still fear white people and i use to get mad but it not there fault it was the old models and thinker.I wish people would understand that as being black we teach peace toward other but does dont practices it on each other. We would be morality wrong to treat people as less but do have differences as a people and race. We can act like are pain or discontent is not real because we dont protest and rage against the machine but were the credit for repeatedly peacefully solving the problem. We have only been free for like a generation or so. Seek understanding

It is a good ploy to get this debate over on race now rather than in October.
I am sure this will work toward Mr. Obama's favor. After all, Mr. McCain was easy to beat before and may still be easy to beat later.
Is Mr. Richardson in the very short list for VP? Obama/Richardson may balance the change and experience but will it further inject racial divisions?
I am sure lot more questions will arise.

I see increasing pressure on Mrs. Clinton to quit. Some journalists, columnists, and politicians are implicitly expressive about this.
With Florida and Michigan out of the equation, and NC, OR and possibly Puerto Rico, not to mention some top undeclared SDs in Mr. Obama's favor, does anyone know or think that Mrs. Clinton has a chance?

Could the racial divide, expressed publicly more than ever, be transcended by Mr. Obama and his folks?

Quite an interesting election!

I'm using the picture of Bill Clinton with Reverend Wright and Bill and Hillary with Tony Rezko as desktop photos on my computer to remind me what a reckless liar and devious person Hillary Clinton is.

These are nothing new. Every American should have know or have gone through them, expressed their views, show their angers and some choose not to support her because of her husband's fault. That's fine. At the least, her books were wide open and her records were there to be scrutinized. Otherwise, you wouldn't able to list so many of them. Anyway, blaming the sins of a husband on a dutiful wife is not a normal man should do. I just rammed a car infront of me yesterday while my wife talking to me over the phone. Do I blame her for distracting me? Come on, I'm holding the wheel and my foot was on the pedal! Of all the sins of Clinton, Monica Lewinsky example is the most unnecessary to be brought out again. Do we need to blame her too? Clinton era was over, get over it. It is Hillary now or maybe, Obama.

This is the very same thing that Barack spoke about racism. Reading these postings clearly shows the same closet racism here. Most or all the posters here who are trying to tie Barack to Jeremiah Wright and trying to make excuse for Hillary are at work and if they work with any minorities will laugh and might even sit in a cafeteria and talk to them but once they are back at their desk come out and post all this racist garbage.

these are not examples of "pushing" the story. They are simply well-stated facts that point to the lack of judgment and electability of Barack Obama.

You clinton supporters The have so many secerts and owe other big favors, Obama is not a leek the MAn has always been hontest . IT is to bad WE are afraid of change , I guess you all want the same mess we are in , HE is the Only canidate that can get us there . WE are no longer in the 90,s however I guess you did not fully understand the Man speech - I see on here how many of you feel the way he spoke about this is so sad

Joe Wilson and Lanny Davis should be ashamed of themselves because they know the facts - Rev Wright's remarks in issue were NOT said when Obama was present, when he learned of them a year ago Wright was already retiring from the Church, during his 30 years Wright was NOT known as a fringe pastor but as a widely respected on nationally, with black and white clergy and ministries, his church has white members and white visitors and its hierachy is mostly white, and Obama condemned the remarks in question. So, stop race-baiting and misrepresenting the facts and being small minded and lets get to the big issues.

The Rezko campaign donations to Obama they said it was donated to charity. What charity? Rev. Jeremiah Wright?

Haha -

more and more people who watched the whole Wright sermons where some of the snippets came from now say this pastor is nothing less than BRILLIANT.

I tend to agree with that. This one amazing preacher, and can't blame NOBODY who is attached so such a follower of Christ.

Where are Clintons tax records? Who donated to the Clinton library? Who donated to the Clinton Foundation? Where are the records? Between the library and the foundation, it involves 1/2 BILLION DOLLARS!! Where are those records? Why the delay on the phone logs? TWENTY THOUSAND PAGES of phone logs! How can I decide if I can vote for Clinton or not if I don't have this information?

King Whitney Jr Stated... Change has a considerable psychological impact on the human mind. To the fearful it is threatening because it means that things may get worse. To the hopeful it is encouraging because things may get better. To the confident it is inspiring because the challenge exists to make things better.

But we should all remember: those words spoken by Senator Obama:

"The choice in this election is not between regions or religions or genders. It’s not about rich versus poor; young versus old; and it is not about black versus white.

It’s about the past versus the future

You guys are good... with the whole he should release his travel records...

gang most of them had to be already...

do you understand the security issues with this? No?

People he may have stayed with living in countries with political upheaval... individuals he met as a child... addresses of those people? addresses of his grandmother? sister? social security numbers for a potential president of the U.S. of A.

Knowing schedules and locations of where they go when they go to those countries?

More than anything here is a candidate who common sense tells you is at risk...and someone is looking into those files...
but go ahead do the typical "C is for Clinton" campaign...and make look like something insideous is going on.

and you wonder why your candidate has such high negatives.

One party could be saved if Hillary Clinton defects to Republican Party.

So now CNN is taking a closer look at the Rev Wright's sermons, why is ABC not doing the same thing instead of having Brian Ross do a biased report, taking words out of context.

People, the whole sermon that is the issue of controversy is available in its entirety to be scrutinize. If you haven't watch all the videos, please stop commenting about it. The speech was taken out of context. He was quoting Ed Peck, the US ambassador. You would be surprise that the snapshots provided were intended to do exactly what its doing. Please do your research and stop blogging on issues you are not knowledgeable about.

So Sen. Clinton is going to try and convince the superdelegates and the country

1. the Michigan and Florida voters were disenfranchised by Sen. Obama even though when it mattered she signed on to the deal and only when she was losing she wanted them back...screwing up any kind of reputation all dems had because her candidacy meant more than the party.

2. That she is more electable because no one will vote for Obama because of her team throwing the kitchen sink at him. Yet the whole country knows that she threw the kitchen sink at him and he is still almost tied with her from Polls after his worst scandal...that doesn't come close to her worst scandal.

Not to be too sarcastic but...
Yes ...oh the superdelegates are going to jump on that... that's a wining cause and candidate who they want their name attached to.

"Hope and movement forward" or "Fear and crappy old self serving politics".

It's funny to hear Clinton harp on about her good judgement given the pattern revealed in the recent First Lady documents. Bearing in mind that she is a lawyer, that her husband had a long history of infidelity and therefore was not to be trusted, she still maintains she knew nothing about the sex going on with Monica a few doors away from her office, and that she believed him when he denied it. Anyone who has spent years with a partner has some idea when they're not being truthful, especially with BC who has 'tells' all over his face. So she's either lying over and over again in print, on TV, or she has awful judgement. Either way it's enough to disqualify her for the Presidency.

Mattohio: That's a good idea. They want to know everyting there is to know about Hillay from income tax to what she had for breakfast. What do you think the picture of Obama in african grab means? What does it tell us about him.

Obama like most people who are biracial are usually at the short end of the stick when it comes to people. He is half white and half black. It must of been hard on him with identifying what group he belongs to. He was not accepted as black and he was not accepted as white. I think his pastor helped him to identify what group would accept him the most. This happens to be his church. it gave him a sense of identity. He could not get it from his father since he left when Obama was young. His white grandfather served as one role model and his pastor served as another. I admire him for choosing what he thought made him feel comfortable.People look at him as African American but it true sense he is BIRACIAL white and black. He had the best of both worlds.

The Rev. Wright issue, for better or worse, does speak directly to the issue of Judgment.

Obama's entire campaign is about having the right judgment on day one!

How can anyone assert that the Rev. Wright issue is not relevant at this juncture in the campaign?

I believe that if Mrs. Clinton had as incendiary an issue as does Obama with Wright, Obama surrogates would be "pushing" it as well.

What's good for the goose is good for the gander.

Obama supporters, this is primetime. Get used to it.

Obama has given America a real choice: if we want, we can elect a man committed to unity, one who comes out of the black tradition as represented by Jeremiah Wright, but, in contrast to the pastor of his own church, is ready to shed all that righteous (and self-righteous) anger. If Obama wins, Wright and his fellow liberation tradition leaders, such as Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton, will begin to fade. This evolution is one of the things Obama means when he talks about moving forward. If he loses because enough whites are incapable or unwilling to admit that Wright does indeed represent a MAINSTREAM black church culture, then the gap will remain.

Aren't you tired of it? Aren't you ready to move forward?

Vanessa, could you please, please, please, find some new material. You must be a political neophyte if you think your assertions will gain any momentum.

Anyone still thinks that Obama is electable is in denial.

I voted for him in the primary, but he can forget about my vote in the general election if he is nominated.

Doles

All those "taken out of context" reports on Wright's story are coming from disrguntled people like Obama, Roland Martin, Sharpton, Jesse Jackson and you....

I find the meanness and the arrogance of the array of reactions to this whole controversy to be very disturbing. People are not thinking about the essence and the implications of their Wright-centered comments on Obama and how those implications indict each of us as 'guilty' or at least 'subject' to the exact message of his speech on race this week.

Fine. Hate the candidate and don't vote for him, but be responsible and listen to the speech and truly analyze how you, as an individual, can make a contribution rather than being a detriment to the society that you'll be a part of well after November and the general elections.

How can people, in good conscience, be so dismissive? I am a black man in America, but I'm bound by a higher obligation to be truly cognizant of how I treat and interact with ALL others.

Mr. Obama's Philadelphia speech, in spite of its eloquent passages expressing his hope for better racial relations in America, is a mastery example of literary subterfuge, the broadening of the scenery whereby an object of inquiry becomes blurred and lost in the background, or more bluntly, the escaping of a slippery fish from a pond into a lake to hide in a wider expanse of water.

His speech is essentially a sophisticated lawyerly defense of Rev Wright's sin on the basis of self-defense. While Mr. Obama's understanding on the root causes of America's racial problems is quite apt, he attempts to portray that it is Rev Wright's racial circumstance, and it alone, that had led Rev Wright, with the inevitability of the fixed trajectory of a massive asteroid hurtling toward Earth, to castigate America and its other race with repulsive profanities. Thus, by Mr. Obama account, Rev Wright is a victim of the circumstance that he couldn't have avoided.

Mr. Obama states: "The profound mistake of Reverend Wright's sermons is not that he spoke about racism in our society. It's that he spoke as if our society was static . . . ," an apt analysis in view of his campaign slogan of "change" that will surely move the country out of the "static" stalemate under his leadership, but the truth is more tragic and personal.

Rev Wright, in spite of Mr. Obama's defense, is not a victim of his circumstance, the circumstance of his race, but of his own hubris, of his own failure to keep hope and faith in what is good in America and other fellow race. While racism still remains in American society, America does not espouse racism as a creed, and while racism still lingers among some white, not all white are racist. The sin of Rev Wright is that he lost his faith and hope in America.

And Mr. Obama's profound mistake in his defense is that Mr. Obama still sees America and its white race from the identity of an angry black intellectual who assiduously, in spite of his bi-racial background, and unlike many bi-racial people who refuse to identify themselves with a race, cultivated his black identity at the exclusion of his white heritage, which he laboriously exorcised out of his soul, as his 1995 autobiography testifies.

His line, "I can no more disown him than I can disown the black community," clearly indicates where his loyalty still lies, to his intellectually cultivated vision of the unified black community, the community that men like Rev Wright mistakenly and pretentiously claim its leadership. But black community, like the white, are far more diverse, far less united than advocates of each race purport, except under the common American value espoused in our Constitution and the sense of patriotism for the land where our families and friends live, of which Rev Wright so flagrantly savaged.

For many black, Mr. Obama's mention of Rev Wright and the black community in the same vein in his own defense grossly misrepresents the entire black community. Indeed, to them Rev Wright represents the past, the past that black community must depart, as much as the white community must from its lingering racism. And Mr. Obama's defense of Rev Wright harks back to that unfortunate past, just as his conscious attempt to identify himself as a wholly black person (perhaps until recently) by abandoning his white heritage harks back to the grievous divisions of races precipitated by each individual's conscious attempt at finding racial identity.

The dismal truth of his speech is that he failed to understand, while acknowledging the damaging nature of Rev Wright's pronouncements to America's racial relations, the obvious fact that Mr. Obama's unflagging support of Rev Wright (that he is like Mr. Obama's family member, that he cannot be disowned) has done further damages to racial relations and will continue to do so.

This is the sin of Barack Obama: he stood there by Rev Wright while the Reverend was caught up in his pride as a stirring preacher, a vainglorious social critic, spewing out his tirade decrying of the injustice of the whole nation, of an entire race, and he said nothing, did nothing, and to this day Mr. Obama still stands by Rev Wright and does nothing, notwithstanding his speech, except to keep his faith in the Reverend.

It is an admirable act of friendship fitting for a private citizen, but it is an act unbecoming of a US president, for he must stand, not by his friend who failed his hope and faith in America, but by his country and all its people. This, in spite of his rhetorical eloquence, Mr. Obama failed, no, refused to do. His speech did neither heal America's racial problems nor of his own. Instead, many Americans increasingly perceive him as part of America's racial problems, not the solution he wishes to present himself. Indeed, Mr. Obama, unwittingly, has become a racially divisive man, the Democrat's November Bogeyman.

When people say "Obama is unelectable" they are just parroting the Clinton line. If Obama WERE unelectable, he wouldn't be ahead in the delegate count.

If Clinton wins the nomination, I'm voting for McCain. Her tactics are completely below the belt & show yet again what a divisive influence she is.

Bravo to Obama for an eloquent, thought-provoking speech on race. Bravo to Richardson for throwing his support at a time when it's needed most.

Wake up, America. Hillary cannot win the Presidency. SHE'S unelectable and McCain will have a field day with dredging up all the skeletons rattling in that closet.

I am very certain that the Hillary Clinton Campaign has been behind this Rev. Wright Issue. I am very certain that they are behind the Obama Passport fishing witch Hunt.
Let look at the evidence: The same thing was done to Bill Clinton in 1992.
The Clinton Campaign mentioned things about Obama's Travel experience about the same time these folkes were snooping into his Passport document.
When will you and your campaign Stop hurting the DEMOCRAT Hillary?
Let the Justice Department do a very good investigation as to who is behind this witch hunt.

Has anyone heard yet that the 9/11 statements that everyone is so upset with are not from Rev. Wright, but quoted from a former ambassador to Iraq who served under Reagan??????????
Now, as the lady on SNL used to say "Discuss amonst yourselves".

Senator Clinton suggested, yesterday, that if Florida and Michigan are not counted by Democrats, the nomination process and candidate may not be conisdered legitimate.

If Barak Obama is given the nomination (yes, given) Hillary Clinton may simply take her support from the illegitimate Democrats and proceed towards November 4th on her own.

Speaking of November, where are the Michelle Obama papers from Princeton? Since we have learned so much about the former first lady, we need to know everything there is to now about a potential first lady.

Or, should we just refer to the liturgy of Reverend Wright?

Thanks Jack. People deserve the truth. THAT is truly Clinton's biggest fear ...she's like the wizard behind the curtain in the Wizard of Oz...always afraid that someone will jerk the curtain back and show the world who is really at the helm....and how very flawed she really is.

Hillary, there are a lot of us who think that the majorirty of superdelegates are just hoping that you would wake up one day and quit so they don't have to do the dirty job themselves. A lot of them are your old friends who probably know deep down that you are not fit for the job, despite what they may have said to your face. You are not your husband. Just look at Bill Richardson, one of those friends who have finally plugged up the courage to do the right thing. They want you to get the hint now!

Good. Maybe Obama can take this photo and show it to Wright, next time Wright abuses the church for political speeches against the Clintons and in Obama's favor. That is, if Obama is capable of telling anything to Wright at all, unlike his stance towards Ferraro, Imus, Bill Clinton, Ed Randell.... Totally shameless.

The latest opinion poll reveals that Senator Clinton is now leading Senator Obama nationally and in the critical primary state of Pennsylvania. Senator Obama continues to lose support as the controversy over his relationship with Jeremiah Wright, his former pastor, intensifies. A new Gallup tracking poll shows Clinton with 48 percent support nationally, compared with 43 percent for Senator Obama.

A new CNN poll shows Clinton with a commanding lead now in the state of Pennsylvania. Senator Clinton has 52 percent support and Obama 39 percent. That Pennsylvania primary will be held of course on April 22 and meanwhile, little doubt which candidate liberal activists are supporting.

Among the most liberal of the liberals, Barak Obama is ahead of Senator Clinton by an amazing percentage, more than 50 percent. The results come from a straw poll released by the ultra liberal "Take Back America" organization. Obama had 72 percent; Clinton 16. Teddy Kennedy will be pleased, but Massachusetts may not.

"Are you more patriotic than Obama?

YES I AM. Is Obama even Patriotic at all?

any other question?