Political Punch

People like MIchelle, white or black , it makes no difference; are so self righteous, that all they can do is trash everyone else, lecture everyone else. Michelle, and Obama might want to give a long look in the mirror, and search their own souls.

I am not impressed.

I think that so many people are over-simplifying the Obamas' relationship with Rev. Wright. Is he wrong? YES, in a lot of ways. Is his attitude full of irrational fervor, paranoia and hate? YES. Is any of it based on truth, proven by history? YES. Tuskeegee Experiments- Black men were knowledgeably allowed to progressively deteriorate from a disease that they thought they were being treated for by a government sanctioned, funded and managed clinic. The original breaking of the levees in New Orleans, not the Katrina version but the version where the government intentionally blew up the levees and flooded the Ninth Ward to protect the more affluent areas of New Orleans. Did both of these events happen? YES.
LOOK people. Obama is close to this man like family, but please name a single person that doesn't have a family member who harbors political, religious or just general life views that they don't agree with his or her self. I'm sure that plenty of the people jumping on the 'Obama is bad because he has a familial relationship with a person with bad views' band wagon have the exact same problem. I know for a fact that one white young man that I openly dated had family members that use the N word. Did he? NO. Did he agree with them using it? NO. If he did I'm sure he wouldn't have been dating me. But back to the main point, when you accept people into your family you accept the good, the bad and the ugly. You can't control family member's actions. And honestly, I side with Obama in his refusal to abandon one of the only paternal role models and mentors that he has had in his life. If he'd distanced his self from Rev. Wright too quickly people would have been complaining about him lacking loyalty. Because I personally mistrust anyone that spends years with a person and then denies that relationship because the other person has said or done something (excluding criminal acts of course) they didn't agree with or made them look bad for the blood sucking, mud raking press. The Obamas aren't necessarily bad people because Uncle Wright said some crazy things in his declining years. Or wait is that explanation only valid for white people and families?

Please forgive all the typos and grammatical errors. I was writing from pure emotion and while at work. Back to the grind...

As I type I am asking the Lord to guide my words.
Michelle's words struck so deeply in me--- not just because I find it to be identical to my experience, but also that she was willing to say it in front of "other" people. These are the conversations that black people are having in America and truth be told, these are the conversations that white, latino and asian people are having too, if they ever think about the subject-- at least they were in the highschool and colleges I attended. As a black woman who grew up in the Midwest as a daughter of two hard Christian working blue collar (and later college- educated) Southerners who lived through segregation and Jim Crow I have always been taught that love and tolerance is the key to change BUT that being realistic about the world I was facing was the only way to survive. When I was younger and came home crying because my white classmates had called me out of my name, told me my hair was nappy, told me I was too "white" to really be black, told me I was too smart to really be black, asked me if my mother was really my mother because she was "really dark" (which is funny because she's so not) or asked how I "got such long hair"-- when I came home and brought all this to my mother she said, "Do not hate people because they are ignorant. Pray for them. But do not succumb to their ignorance. You are not inferior. You are beautiful. You are smart and deserve to be here."
This is the message that is prevalent in most black churches. That is afrocentric. There are so many places where we are not represented-- in tv, in magazines, at school, in our jobs. In these places were are told our natural hair isn't professional, our music is ignorant, our people are to blame for their lot in life...the list goes on, and it is hard to not feel inferior. Afrocentric is not anti-white. It is a lesson in self-love. I have heard for years and continue to read that when black people want more people blacks in media, more blacks in representative gov't, more blacks in leadership roles, there is a contention of white people who say, "You want it so bad, then go get your own." But when we do, go get our own universities, churches, tv channels, clothing lines, music labels, magazines....it is called separtist and racist. The message in most of these black churches is not "no white people"-- I go to a church of more than 5000 and at least 1000 members are white-- the message is, "black people you can be yourself here." Now, we talk about hate speech-- It is HATE for what we encounter on a regular basis. It is not hate for the people who, sometimes ignorantly, radiate racism. Even at 25 I have encountered both blatant and systematic racism in the deep South where I attended undergrad and in the Midwest where I graduated from law school and attend grad school. In hick towns and metropolis'. And it makes me ANGRY-- but to avoid stooping to the level of my transgressors I vent in and to my circle of peers and in my church home. Rev. Wright's message is not one of HATE for white people as a whole. It is disdain for a culture of "white america" that continues to be stuck in the past. There is the same disdain for "black folks" who won't let go of that same past. Please don't pretend like you don't know (or haven't yourself) anyone who has every said "black people" in the context of something negative and did not mean ALL black people. I wouldn't call you or that person racist if you meant some black people. People feel comfortable doing that when they are with people of the same race because it is accepted and the context is understood. This is what Michelle was referring to. We all might have friends outside our race but feel more comfortable with those who are from the same "experience". This does not ring true for all people, but I for the vast majority of Americans is does. THAT IS AMERICA! Why is it exclusive to America---because we are such a melting pot. There is no nation in the world who COULD have so many segregate groups because the populations simply do not exist. The outliers would just join in with other groups. For most black people who are dealing in the present and seeing racism on a regular basis (and b/c of circumstances alot of black people don't) the need to talk about it is vital to our sanity. Michelle's comments are so true. I recently befriended a white guy at work. He's never really been around black people, even though he went to a college where at least 25% of the population is black. I am a very candid person and asked him straight out why he'd never had any black friends. He said, "I didn't think I understood black people and we (white kids) just had our own group. They (blacks) had their own group. The asians did too. It's like that everywhere." He even discussed having negative feelings about the white kids who hung out with or dated black people. Then I asked him, "Why do you like me. I'm black and I hang out with mostly black people." His response was, "I think if I knew more black people like you, I would have more (black) friends." Did he mean "educated", "non-ghetto" or those who don't seem "angry". "Yeah" he said. I thought for a second and said, "I do get angry, but I don't let it consume me- but believe me when I am in private I VENT!" It isn't fake or phony of Barack and Michelle to want change but also acknowledge reality. It isn't hypocritical for them to go to a place that has been the sounding board and a place to vent in the black community since blacks have been in America. It doesn't mean that they support EVERYTHING being said in the church, but it is understandable to me at least that they wouldn't run away from a few sermons because they made them a bit uncomfortable when they feel like it is one of the only places to where true understanding is attained. They didn't throw the baby out with the dishwater---. I know this is long. But is just saddens me that truth and candor such as Michelle's will never be understood by some people because it will always be taken out of context--- And this is because the context in where it is so "on point" is so far away from the context in which it comes off as condescending and racist. The only way to bridge that gap between the two worlds is to be OPEN and UPFRONT about it. If you don't want change--- please be honest enough to admit it. If you do, please stop condemning people for taking the makeup off and showing true faces. It is a humbling experience and it is scary and it will be for awhile if America is really going to be the great nation it could be---. But eventually WE can get past all of this-- and the "thems" won't be black people or white people (or asian, latino or those of middle-eastern descent)--- We will shake our heads in disgust and pity at THEM, those who were too ignorant and scared to confront the truth and work to move past it. And for the poster who is in your senior year in college--- you might have a mixed group of friends but there are both whites and blacks who wouldn't hang with you for that very reason-- they aren't racist-- they just aren't comfortable.

How can we have respect for someone who takes their children to a church that uses such hateful language both the old and the new.

Geez, Michelle, and I thought you said you were really proud of America. Just words.

How dare she lecture America. What arrogance! She and Barack chose to do nothing about the hate speech that was spewed by "Uncle" Jeremiah for years and years, and now they want to lecture America and say that we are ignorant?

I reject that kind of politics. And so will America.

Josie, one more point. The church is not only for blacks. But it is celebrating blacks. I realize that whites don't realize the amount of pain that still exist in the blk community. Some of it is related to slavery and Jim Crow. Some of it is self-inflicted. But there is a drive among black leaders- church and political- to promote black love and self love among blacks. This goes back to what Michelle said. We can not know this stuff about each other unless we talk about it.

Josie, I fully realize that the CLIPS that have circulating on the internet of Rev Wright are hateful. However, they are clips. I have listened to the full sermons associated with the clips. Rev Wright said some things in those clips that I do not agree with. However, some of the things were true. The much maligned clip of the 9/11 sermon turned out to be a beautiful sermon. He was quoting a former ambassodor when he talked about "chickens coming home to roost". The media showed that part- knowing that it would garner attention and anger people. But they did not say that Rev Wright was quoting someone. They did not show him praying for the victims. They did not show him calling for himself and the congregation to come closer to God and each other as a result of this "tragedy" (his words). Why is the media not required to report on the this story with balance and responsibility?

People can not assume to know this man or this church w/o doing some research. How many of us really want to be judged based on the actions of our worst days?

I I have learned so much from reading your varied posts condemning the so - called "race- baiting" Obama family. Wow, talk about over the top!!! First, this was a comment someone dug up from Jan. of 2008 - which explains not only HER previous shortcomings but something that should be fairly common of the students from Mrs. Obama's era; many of US,BLACK,WHITE, ASIAN,etc tended to segregate ourselves in public areas. ( i.e. dining halls,etc) Michelle is CORRECT! WE WOULD HAVE SEMINARS WHEN I WAS IN COLLEGE ABOUT HOW WE SHOULD ALL GET ALONG!! IT WAS SIMPLY AN ACCURATE OBSERVATION; AND YET SHE IS BEING ATTACKED!!! LET'S SLOW DOWN
AND TRY TO TALK TO EACH OTHER!! OH YEAH, AS IT WAS A FRUITLESS DREAM THEN; I GUESS YOU FOLKS CONTINUE TO MAKE THE POINT THAT IT IS INDEED HOPELESS; WHY
BOTHER, YOU ARE ONLY INTERESTED IN HILLARY WINNING! LIKE BILL CLINTON INFERRED, IF SHE'S THE CANDIDATE YOU WON'T HAVE TO DEAL WITH THIS RACE STUFF!

Michelle Obama is a racist and Anti-American. I would be too if I had listened to Rev. Wright for 20 years.

Stacey ,

If the church was devoted to White this and that, would that be racist? I think saying the US of KKK A is racist. I think saying that whites injected black people with AIDS is racist and crazy. Who would follow this man...no one I want as president.

I don't like McCain at all but I will never vote for Obama. I will protest against Obama if he is the nominee. He will make this country and this world just like the church he has attended for the past 20 years --hate filled. I know a lot of you Obama supporters would like that.

For the lif of me, I can't understand why every word a person says has to be scrutinzed and commented on. Is that was this country has become. It amazes me. I'm sick and tired if this whole campaign and can't wait till it's over. Things were good in the 90's when Bill was in office, however, this is not the 90's and jobs are not as plentiful as they were back then, at least not in Ohio. New jobs need to be created but how do you do that when every time you look up, another company is shuting down or the work is being sent to other countries. All you die-hard, so called patriots are full of crap. The U.S. is a great country, but it also has its problems. What is so wrong with someone pointing the problems with this country. Did it occur to you that just because things are going great for you, for others, it's not so great. Sometimes you have to look at life through the lenses of others, which most are not willing to do because do do so would mean you would have to admit that maybe some things need to change so that everyone can be properous and not just a select few. People are poor, not because they want to be but because the system is designed to keep them that way via poor public school systems to start. If everyone was properly educated, then you wouldn't have a need for social services and some of these other organizations that make a living off the backs of poor, under educated people of all races. My point is, don't think Hillary can bring back the good ole days of the 90's. They are long gone.

Peace........

Bill38112,
If the church that you attend is racially mixed- beyond having a few blacks or whites, then your church is truly in the minority. Both whites and blacks agree that the most segregated hour in America is 11am on Sunday.

Trinity's mission statement is about celebrating black people. The church is open to all people. Afrocentric is not racist. However, I am finding out that many white people think that any thing celebrating black people is anti-white. That is simply not true!

While Mrs. Obama is critical of an America where ethnic groups choose to associate with their own members, she has chosen to perpetuate this segregation by virtue of membership in a church community which promotes an Afrocentric agenda.

I believe most Americans belong to churches that have no racial identity codified in mission statements or any other religious tract. That's the America I live in. If the Obamas want to be my President and First Lady, they need to affiliate themselves with a church that represents the America we all want, not the America we want to leave behind.

To view people and situations critically is not demonizing. It's expressing an opinion. I think Michelle Obamo has a way to go in presenting herself as first lady material. For one thing, she really wasn't carrying off the 1960ish Jackie Kennedy look too well.

We need to look at the larger point. We don't understand each other because we don't spend time with each other. We directly or indirectly by our actions teach our children that they should stick to their own kind. If people continue to hang on every word- looking for something to demonize people over, we will never ever ever get to a point of unity. Isn't that the goal?

Anything, anything, anything to bring Michelle and Barack Obama down. The media and others will do anything... Yea, this is America, but I have forgotten how beautiful America is, because our racism and bigotry is just plain ugly. It has stained us to the core of our ignorance.
We love you Michelle Obama, because you are one of the most beautiful American women.

Conservative commentators believe in free speech for themselves. Everything Michelle Obama said makes sense, from the perspective of a black woman in America. They as (mostly old white) men like to complain about her comments but she's saying from her perspective. They seem to think free speech is a one way street. Frankly, more comments like hers and Pastor Wright need to heard.
Folks need to wake up.

This was from Jan. 08. At least since the Wright controversy, she's more reticent and cautious. On the You Tube link, in her typical manner, she chastises her listeners while offering the redemptive hope of her husband. Hopefully, her rhetoric will stay toned down.

If every time Barrack or Michelle Obama speak and it needs to be clarified, I really think they should learn to speak correctly. I do not understand why don't they say say the truth that they hate America and what it stands for and run on that!

They definitly do not know what the world is like, Go to france and live there unleass your a born Frenchman you are discriminated against, remember the riots, go to Iran, Syria and so forth unless your Muslim you are ostracized or worse. I am tired of hearing Obama defame America with his bumper sticker Change comment.

And if he does not believe in what his pastor said, then why is it that it seems everything he or his wife says is anti-American? (Or does he not know where his wife stands yet)

Ok. So only the Obama's can talk about race. Only the Obama's can help with the "race issues". Clinton mentions how she would not have had a Paster like Wright----suddenly the Obama camp yells at her for mentioning it--- HUH?.... No one else can talk about this stuff but them?..... One speech does not negate the issue. ( if that was the answer MLK's speech should have done it---NOT OBAMA's !!)...oh please...

Sick and tired - I am ammazed that people come to this country (35 years) and like the benefits from the country but refuse to become a citizen ...why not go back to your country if you are ashame of this country.

The more I see and hear of Michelle Obama the more I don't like her, is this really going to be the first lady, she needs to tone it down, she's just giving the election to the republicans.

Obama’s Pastor Slurs Italians in Latest Magazine:

Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr., pastor emeritus of Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago where Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) has been a member for two decades, slurred Italians in a piece published in the most recent issue of Trumpet Newsmagazine.

Rev. Jeremiah Wright writes of Jesus’ enemies: “(Jesus’) enemies had their opinion about Him,” Wright wrote in a eulogy of the late scholar Asa Hilliard in the November/December 2007 issue. “The Italians for the most part looked down their garlic noses at the Galileans.”

Wright continued, “From the circumstances surrounding Jesus’ birth (in a barn in a township that was under the Apartheid Roman government that said his daddy had to be in), up to and including the circumstances surrounding Jesus’ death on a cross, a Roman cross, public lynching Italian style. …

“He refused to be defined by others and Dr. Asa Hilliard also refused to be defined by others. The government runs everything from the White House to the schoolhouse, from the Capitol to the Klan, white supremacy is clearly in charge, but Asa, like Jesus, refused to be defined by an oppressive government because Asa got his identity from an Omnipotent God.”

Every issue of the magazine published last year included Wright’s column, “The Message,” in which he covered a range of subjects, including his views on other African-American churches as expressed in his April 2007 commentary “Facing the Rising Sun.”

“In a world that is controlled by white supremacy, in a country that is on its way to hell in a hand basket because of lying politicians, in a culture that still thinks ‘white is right’ and with young people who do not have a clue as to our story, our history, our legacy or our destiny, we still have African-American Christians who are more concerned about ‘bling bling’ than about freeing our minds,” Wright wrote.

In a nationally broadcast speech on March 18, Obama distanced himself from Wright by saying he “condemned, in unequivocal terms, the statements of Reverend Wright that have caused such controversy.” But Obama also said, “I could no more disown him than I could disown the black community.”

According to his federal income tax return for 2006, Obama gave the Trinity United church that year $22,500 in contributions.

The Clinton campaign has not commented on the controversy, but in an interview Tuesday with the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) said actions speak louder than words.

“He would not have been my pastor,” Clinton said. “You don’t choose your family, but you choose what church you want to attend.

“You know, I spoke out against Don Imus (a radio talk show host who was fired for making racially insensitive remarks about black female basketball players at Rutgers University), saying that hate speech was unacceptable in any setting, and I believe that,” Clinton said.

“I just think you have to speak out against that. You certainly have to do that, if not explicitly, then implicitly by getting up and moving,” she added.

Trumpet Newsmagazine started publication in the 1980s in Chicago and distribution expanded in March 2006 to several other cities, with broader circulation through subscriptions. On the magazine’s masthead, Wright is named as the magazine’s CEO and Wright’s daughter, Jeri Wright, is the publisher.

Requests for comments from Jeri Wright, the magazine’s marketing staff, and the Obama campaign were not answered by press time.

The last Trumpet to be published was the November/December edition, a double issue that featured a remembrance of “Pan-Africanist” Hilliard and a profile of Louis Farrakhan, who was the recipient of the Lifetime Achievement “Dr. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr. Trumpeter” award at the magazine’s 25th anniversary gala late last year.

Farrakhan has called Judaism a “gutter religion” and said Jews are “bloodsuckers,” as reported in The New York Times.

Trumpet Newsmagazine also included myriad articles and regular features geared toward the black community, ranging from health, parenting, music and the arts, to profiles of successful members of the community and tips on everything from dating to spiritual well-being.

Many political observers have said that Obama’s speech last week limited the damage of the ongoing Wright controversy, but others say the issue is continuing to hamper his campaign.

“I don’t think it’s going to go away,” Ralph Reed, a long-time conservative activist and political strategist who now runs Century Strategies based in Duluth, Ga., told Cybercast News Service.

“Because while Obama’s speech was thoughtful and eloquent, it didn’t address the central issue, and that’s why he would have someone as such a close spiritual advisor with such extreme views,” Reed added.

“Let me be clear,” Reed added. “I don’t think any candidate should have to answer for the theological views of their pastor, church or denomination. But (Wright’s) were not theological views, but political statements.”

“I think it’s more likely to be a serious issue in the general election, more than in the primaries,” Reed said.

I agree with you Sharon. This post seems to attract some of the most biased and unbalanced comments I have ever seen. There are so many haters. It is alright to hold your view, but can't you be less personal? My take on all this is as follows; Obama haters never had much to hate him for before, but now in the post-Wright era, anything goes!

We need a good spiritual black president, to help the black people. We need Obama and Michelle in the White house.

Ah a perfect couple made in heaven, with lots of common things, ALL TALK, NO ACTION. BARACK and Michelle. Both need to get a life, better yet why don't you donate some of that money you have been making! But please think twice if you plan on giving Rev. Wrights church. We will find out!

I wonder if it is possible that other people did not hang out with her group because they simply did not like the air of arrogance?

I am not an Obama supporter but based on the comment Michelle supposedly made in this article the conservatives are
attempting to turn it into something it is not. She is an African-American woman
speaking from her own perspective and experience and it's sad to think people are threatened by that in some way. I think all the candidates and their spouses have made some statements they perhaps would like to take back, that were misinterpreted or taken out of context and once in the media took on a life of it's own. You've had Hillary embellishing on her Bosnia experience and Borack taking claim to be a Harvard law professor and his parents meeting at Selma which turned out to be not true.

As long as someone has something to gain from racism, it will exist. Case and Point, Rev. Wright. He would gladly keep racism alive to remain relevant.

Am sure Cindy McCain can weigh in brilliantly! She seems to be smarter than her husband, who happens to be dumb as a rock! Ignorant Americans continue to support ignorant and dumb leaders! What does this mean to our country?

You guys really think that Barack Oboma is racist? You need to come down south where I grew up. You don't know what racism is.

smartprimate,

you are right that Obama does not offer any big solution to race matters. But would that even be possible? There is only so much a politician can do, and I don't think this is solved through legislation or government. He has sparked a debate, made people pause and reflect. To me, that is worth something.

But besides from that, he has a campaign to run, and there are many other issues to consider before deciding to vote for or against him.

How is it that the people on this blog that say that hate, hate speech, yet their words seem so hateful. That's really sad to me.

Mr and Mrs Michelle Barack Obama ( we all know who wears the pants in that marriage) attended Reverend Wrights church for 20 years. They have belittled the words of their pastor to say they are just sound bytes. It is not just a sound byte, it was unpatriotic and he preached it to a congregation of young and old alike. He gave this "major" speech,as the media likes to describe it, on race to defend his pastor and failed to acknowledge that such preaching is divisive and continues to feed the minds of more old and young black Americans against "typical" whites.

"Hencken: Why should any Hillary Clinton supporters believe any of the NBC,MSNBC or CNN polls. Their all bias for Obama. They are fake polls. Only Obama supports take those polls."

Tim Russert just announced the NBC, MSNBC "exclusive poll" as the only poll in America which shows Obama's unfavorable rating has not changed due to his pastor controversy.

The key of such NBC / MSNBC "Exclusive Poll" is that they are only calling Michelle and Ophra phone numbers.

Embracing stereotypes and ignorance ---that's America! Yes, anything negative is uniquely American, according to the Michelles of America. We do not live up to the black value system and the black theology as espoused by the Obamas' church, so we are sorely lacking in all that makes the Trinity membership human.
We need Barack Obama to save our souls
and Michelle Obama to raise our consciousnesses. They are what we have
been waiting for all our lives. Now that they have arrived, we should all rise up to the level they have, and will, set for us. Heil, Obamas!

Niels – interesting disputation but your conclusion does not seem to be supported = “Obama is trying hard to bridge the gap between races.”

He points to himself as the nexus of races... BUT provides little to try and bridge that gap which he so eloquently acknowledges. His last speech clearly identified the problem, but his conclusion was basically this... “you discuss it among yourselves, but I have a campaign to run.” Michelle does the same thing – she states the obvious but provides little in the way of solutions other than voting for her husband.

The Obamas have a problem. They like to get pedantic about race relations in this country, but their own personal conduct and choices reflect the divisiveness they decry. They had many choices in Chicago, but they chose and maintained Jeremiah Wright as their pastor. That choice speaks volumes as to their character.When someone incites an assembly with the hateful and bigoted language used again and again by Wright, you either lead them to a different message or you leave. You don't sit passively, as Obama did, while your friends and family absorb the invective.

I certainly won't be lectured by the Obamas. I find.their double standard offensive and I reject it. It is time to transcend the racial divisions in this country, not exacerbate them with the hypocracy and bigotry displayed by Obama and Wright.

Sick and Tired-Tell the pals to try the only thing they haven't tried, peace. It worked with Egypt and Jordan.

malthusian77-No. I'm male. If I'm Obama's mate we have no children and lose the straight vote immediately.

If Michelle Obama wants us to know the real truth about her diversity, comfort zones, and her view of America, let's see her senior thesis from Princeton.

If the thesis in question was written by Hillary Clinton, the Obama clan would be screaming for it to be released.

Niels,
well said!

I think many people can relate to what she was trying to say.

Dogsoldier: Michelle is no action? YOU try to run a job as a hospital administrator, raise a family, and support the next president of the USA!

Princeton?

So, where is the senior thesis?

Still under lock and key until November 5th?

Must be somewhere out of the comfort zone.

Sick and tired-Most Americans? Can we raise money to send you back? Just mention the paradise where you came from and we'll help you along your way and quick.

I came to this country 35 years ago as an immigrant. I never became an American citizen, because I have always been embarrassed by the behavior of most Americans. I find it bizarre that Americans would rather use their votes to get even with a Black man (Barak Obama), because he attends a church where a pastor made comments they don't like, than use their votes to try to keep a White man (John McCain) from sending their young people to Iraq to get their heads and limbs blown off. The war in Iraq has no benefits for Americans, but is costing Americans heavily in lives and money. I don't think there are any other people in the world as silly and petty as Americans.

Sara-Michelle comfort zone speech appears to be just that, a speech. In her own life Michelle stayed deep in her comfort zone. All talk no action. Just words.

Sen. and Mrs. Obama seem to have an interesting philosophical framework to explain race and its relevancy to the campaign. On the one hand they say the Obama candidacy is not about race, but on the other hand they say that we cannot get past it unless we are “ready for change™”; meaning that we should vote for Sen. Obama to demonstrate that we are past that.

Wow... that’s a stunning argument for the Obama Presidency; the audacity of the ontological argument. The election of a president because he is black is proof positive that Americans have moved beyond race. Conversely, if you accept that premise, if you vote against him, you do not want change and you are obviously racist. Now, that’s slick. You may browbeat liberal whites males with that argument, but Latinos, Asians, middle-of-the-roaders, and others who know better are going to bristle at that sort of illogic.

Michelle's remarks are more than correct. I don't think there are really very many of us who don't usually hang out with whatever group we're most comfortable with - it takes less effort. That is not any sort of "ism", but taking comfort in what may be bland company.
The idea of trying other flavors takes ssome effort, but could yield more eexciting results.
I think Michelle would make a classy First Lady.

Michelle is absolutely on the money. Most of us don't like being pushed out of our comfort zones. From my experience, that is more true of Americans than of people overseas. But when George Bush pushes both Americans AND our allies beyond anybody's "comfort zone," it is time to rethink matters.

dl-It either is or isn't. Read how you wish or twist to suit yourself. Up to you.

You Hillary lovers make me sick with all your hatred and ugly comments. As a white female over 50 who worked and raised a family, I am sick of hearing everyone say we have to vote for Hillary because she is a woman.

Well that experience thing of Hillary's did kind of fly right out the window didn't it? Hillary's old tune of being a poor, helpless, picked upon, victimized girl/woman is growing very tired and is certainly NO reason to vote for her.

Michelle will make a far better First Lady than Hillary. She is optimistic about the future, an intelligent, gracious, confident woman who stands on her own merits, her own 2 feet, and appears very confortable with who and what she is.

Unlike Hillary, Michelle doesn't have to feed some demon inside for power and control. I don't think she would ever try to claim Barack's time in office as her own experience.

I know Barack would never send her to a war zone. But ya know...I think I could understand if Bill had really sent the old battle axe to a war zone.

Dogsoldier that might be because the news reporters have met the candidates...there is those percentages of positive and negative to report on with the candidates.

In fact I would say Hillary's negatives are pretty good considering they haven't touched a single scandal in her history... and you have to admit whether you think that all her scandals were made up or not...that's weird.

Just because they have mroe to say positive about Barack might be because there is more...just the dem party is so sensitive because they have had to duck every year or two because a new Clinton "scandal or issue comes out....so we are ready to fight everytime someone says...well anything that might be hinting at anything that sounds like it's questioning "the lord and lady"...

I HAD RESPECT FOR SENATOR CLINTON UNTIL SHE MADE THE HYPOCRITICAL STATEMENT ABOUT HOW SHE WOULD HAVE HANDLED THE REV. WRIGHT SITUATION. YES, SENATOR OBAMA STAYED AT THE CHURCH FOR 20 YEARS. YES, I AM SURE THAT REV. WRIGHT HAS MADE INAPPROPRIATE STATEMENTS THROUGHOUT THE YEARS. YES, I AM SURE THAT THE GOOD QUALITIES OF SENATOR OBAMA'S CHURCH AND FORMER PASTOR OUT WEIGHS THE BAD. NO CHURCH IS PERFECT BECAUSE HUMAN BEINGS MAKE UP THE BODY OF THE CHURCH! WHY IS IT A STRETCH OF THE IMAGINATION TO VIEW REV. WRIGHT AS A MAN OF GOD THAT HAS FLAWS. DOES REV. WRIGHT NOT WRESTLE WITH THE FLESH DAILY LIKE ALL OTHERS WHO PROCLAIM TO BE CHRISTIANS? SENATOR CLINTON STATES THAT SHE WOULD HAVE LEFT THE CHURCH, YET SHE DID NOT DISSOLVE HER MARRIAGE AFTER HER HUSBAND'S INFIDELITIES (PLURAL) WERE PUT ON DISPLAY FOR THE WORLD TO SEE THE SAME AS STATEMENTS OF REV. WRIGHT'S. YES, I AM SURE THAT BILL CLINTON'S INFIDELITIES HAVE HAPPENED MORE THAN WHAT HAS BEEN DISPLAYED. REMEMBER, YEARS WERE BETWEEN THE INCIDENT WITH JENNIFER FLOWERS AND MONICA LEWINSKY. IT SEEMS THAT BILL HAS A PATTERN! APPARENTLY, SENATOR CLINTON FEELS THAT GOOD PARTS OF HER MARRIAGE OUT WEIGHS THE BAD, THEREFORE, SHE HAS CHOSEN TO STAY WITH HER HUSBAND FOR OVER 20 YEARS. SENATOR CLINTON STATES THAT WE CAN NOT CHOSE OUR RELATIVES BUT WE CAN CHOSE OUR PASTORS. SOMEONE NEEDS TO SEND HER THAT MEMO THAT YOU CAN ALSO CHOSE YOUR SPOUSE. SHE CHOSE TO STAY WITH HER HUSBAND AND THAT IS OKAY. AMERICAN MEN AND WOMAN MAKE THAT CHOICE EVERYDAY. I DON'T THINK ANY LESS OF HER FOR MAKING THAT CHOICE. I THINK IT IS A RESPECTABLE CHOICE. IT IS JUST HYPOCRITICAL TO SAY THAT SHE WOULD HAVE MADE SUCH A DIFFERENT CHOICE WITH THE REV. WRIGHT SITUATION. RATHER IT IS POLITICS OR A PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP, COMPLEXITIES ARE INVOLVED!

Deirdre-Election newswatch proves you wrong. Read-Sen. Barack Obama has led the race for good press and Sen. Hillary Clinton has lagged the farthest behind. From Dec 16 through Jan 27 five out of six on-air evaluations of Obama (84%) have been favorable, compared to a bare majority (51%) of evaluations of Mrs. Clinton.

She is married to a guy who is the embodiment of the opposite of this truncated speech edited into a 30 second sound bite again...
If you don't think this is exactly the America I grew up in and still live in (I live in NH and there isn't any black people in sight as I drive downtown everyday) but yet when I lived in Los Angeles for a while...or Roxbury MA... or the predominantly Russian Jewish neighborhood I lived in New York...

That was America...

Once again...you all sound like Fox that you are not right wing conservatives...

America is wonderful because of the diversity of people...but America has the burden of diversity of cultures ...that's all she is saying...

and she is saying we can change that and like Sen. Obama's parents bridge the divides.

I think that is awesome... so you conservatives can go blow it out your butt if you don't agree with what she is saying it's the truth.

You are all just playing FoxNews/Hannity politics...

Goodness, how much handwringing can we do about race discussions. We have been discussing, debating, forming policy, throwing money, educating, and creating holidays regarding this issue for 50 years, with a lot of positive results. Who are they kidding…. Most people have got the race message by now, and have made significant and real changes. Mrs. Obama’s pastor however has not figured it out, so the assumption is that the rest of America hasn’t dealt with it. She might want to change her church so she isn’t so blind about the changes that have happened in the last 50 years, regarding race. Enough of the "we need more race dicussions" tripe!!! We need to find another church, if it is stuck in preaching the race ideology's of 1935. Hey, It's 2008 and (Bitterness) is not a virtue or an identity for a church, which appears to be motivated by a bitter pastor with a bitter congregation.

I wish that Obama and Michelle had pushed themselves out of their comfort zone in the pews of Wright's church.

I don't see anything racist in these comments. I don't believe that Ferraro's were racist either.

I wish Obama's campaign had never started painting people with that brush, I guess they didn't understand that the paint comes in all colors.

Talking about Rush Limbaugh: I think his description and analysis of Hillary's current strategy as an 'Operation Chaos' (= to create as much confusion as possible about party rules, MI and FA, delegates, well, about the whole election process) is actually very good, and sharper than what the MSM generally offers us. It is amawing that the MSM still reacts to Ickes, Wolfson and Singer as demanded by these superspinners.

I don't see anything racist or UnAmerican in here comments...and I'm for Hillary!

Geraldine-Well, princess, the reverend Wright, Obama, and Michelle seems to be doing a magnificent job of messing up their own campaign with help from Hillary.

"Because sometimes it’s easier to hold on to your own stereotypes and misconceptions. It makes you feel justified in your own ignorance. That’s America. So the challenge for us is are we ready for change?"

That is African Americans, they feel justified to keep racism alive and blame everyone else for their problems in every day life. They damn well should be ready to change, Change their attitude and hatred for others that they are blaming. They each need to take responsibility for their actions and their lives and live in the 21st century. That nothing in this life is going to be handed to you, you have to work and earn it.

A vote against Obama is a vote for America.

chgo921: You said, "...I think a lot of the political “outrage” over this story and the Rev. Wright issue is due more to finding a reason NOT to support a particular candidate."

This black American has never needed to "find a reason" not to support Barack Obama for president. Something about him has made me uncomfortable from the very first time I watched one of his PERFORMANCES on TV.

If the Democrats are foolish enough to nominate him (which I doubt), he will lose big time in November.

MattOhio-Reverend Wright, the gift that keeps on giving.

Has anyone read Michelle Obama's Princeton thesis? Then you should!

I think her comments fit with her church. I was for Obama till I read his book.
Dreams from my father In chapter 14 page 293 he talks about setting in church and listing to write preach about "Hiroshima' hm sounds familiar and also talks about how he agreed with the church creed page 284, I think he is still not being honest. I have the book and read it myself.

They attened a church that did not share a love for other races for 20 years......He said he never heard words he felt were bad but in his book he said he knew Wright was contriversal.

Obama lied read and compare to todays news..Speech on Race

To those who are trumpeting Clinton teem up with Barack. She says he not ready to be president. She can not be VP
She is unfit to be VP after her RACE BAITING she divides this country plus she Lies about nonsensical things.Ducking and running sniper fire, NAFTA. and a host of other problems