The Obama Preacher

I'll tell you what. That preacher sure did rile up a bunch of folks. I myself found it quite amusing. This is an obviously intelligent man who has used his God given talent to spread the Word.



I found a lot of what he said offensive but I also found a lot of what he said disturbing.

Disturbing because it made me think what is it that disconnects reality from politics. Rev. Wright obviously was speaking in a political capacity when he condemned US policy. He spoke in a political capacity when he condemned US action in WW2. All of these things are open for debate and there are those who have differing views from my own.



The part that made me pay attention was the 9/11 conspiracy rhetoric and the HIV genocide.

I will concede that Rev.Wright is not the first person to expouse this stuff but I began to wonder if this was a view of Rev.Wright's true feelings or if he had completely gone over to the side of politics and abandoned his theological message. Let's examine these two paths.



If this was a true representation of his feelings I go back to my original question of the seperation from reality.

Listen, the American Government has done a lot of things wrong throughout history, we ain't perfect. But let me ask you a couple of questions.

1. If the US Govt was capable of pulling off the 9/11 attacks and being able to effectively keep the entire effort from anyone then you have to look beyond the Bush administration for blame. An operation of that magnitude is not dreamed up and put into action in the period between march2001 and Sept2001. So if this was already in the works then you have to blame Clinton because he was in power long enough to put it all together. If Bush is so stupid and Clinton so smart then why are these conspiracy theorist so quick to give a Machiavellian intellect to Bush on only this one effort. Brilliantly played George.
The HIV argument is so historically inaccurate that it is almost laughable. Ignoring facts doesn't offer different truth, it just offers one the ability to say whatever they want without worrying about accuracy.
The one thing great about America is that you can say whatever you want without recourse from the Govt. But I will say that you can expect that the American people will react and decide whether this type of speech is rewarded.
This rhetoric also offers at least one answer to the question of "What was Michelle Obama thinking, when she caused such a flap?"
If she has been listening to Rev.Wright's view of America for twenty years then it is no wonder that she has not been proud of America in her life. Rev.Wright offered nothing but slander against America.

2. The entire set of soundbites was Rev.Wright using his influence and station to enter the political arena. That is the most likely idea because I watched the soundbites and Rev.Wright read most of the inflammatory remarks word for word from his notes, which means it was a carefully crafted, with each phrase chosen beforehand in order to illicit the most effective response. In other words it was a political speech. That is fine, but just remember that if you are going to claim a faith based pedestal, your feet get dirty when you step down in the mud of politics.

All of this fails to answer the biggest question, "Will this affect Barak Obama and his campaign?"

Well, yes!

I hate to say it but this was his Howard Dean moment. "Yeeeeeeeeeeh"

If the race becomes about race Obama loses. America is ready to elect a black president but they are not ready to elect a black president cut from the mold of aging civil rights activists.
Whether those activist from the 60's want to believe it or not, America is different today.
Race is not the centerpiece of the American struggle. We have moved past institutional segregation and the opportunities for advancement for all people is there. Just look at Sen.Obama and tell me that it isn't. Here is a black man, with a muslim name, who rose to having a legitimate shot at becoming president.

Racism still exists in people's hearts both black and white. You can not change that. That is also part of freedom of speech.