Sen. Barack Obama will deliver a major speech about race in Philadelphia tomorrow that he said would explore his relationship with Chicago pastor Jeremiah Wright and the wave of controversy it has stirred in his presidential bid.
“I am going to be talking about not just Reverend Wright, but just the larger issue of race in this campaign, which has ramped up over the last couple of weeks,” Obama told reporters after a town hall meeting here. According to aides, he was up until 3 a.m. Monday working on his remarks.
Wright, who recently retired as pastor of Trinity United Church of Christ on Chicago’s South Side, was Obama’s spiritual guide when he became a practicing Christian during his 20s. He presided over Obama’s marriage to Michelle and baptized both Obama daughters. But Wright, a fiery preacher, has come under heavy media scrutiny for a series of racially charged remarks he has made from the pulpit, and Obama has played defense on the issue since Friday.
The controversy over Wright’s comments, which includes video of Wright saying that blacks should say “God damn, America” and that the 9/11 attacks were America’s chickens coming home to roost, will be ideal fodder for Republican attack ads in the general election, so Obama needs to tamp this down right now.
Giving an address on race and religion at this particular moment is a smart move. It plays into Obama’s strengths — he is indisputably a great speaker. (His performance will undoubtedly make a mockery of Mitt Romney’s silly, robotic presentation on Mormonism in Texas last year.) And if the speech is effective it could accomplish two things: It might cauterize the issue of Wright’s comments in the general election, and it could ramp up his support in Pennsylvania, thus staving off going negative against Hillary Clinton for another week, at least.
A talk on race and religion in general will not help much. People know he is on the defensive. Barack Obama is in serious trouble if a spotlight shines on his particular THEOLOGY. See:
http://miraclesdaily.blogspot.com/
Regarding miraclesdaily - WOW. Once again, my distrust and disdain for those who think along these lines is urgent and strong. Amazing how some “christians” can fabricate these misconceptions and pervert the truth. They must be terrified of losing their influence.
SERMON
The Audacity to Hope
Jeremiah Wright
http://tinyurl.com/yp5xqm
READ IT
It’s not hard to find audio and transcripts of entire sermons on of Rev Wright the web. I’ve read and listened to them. They aren’t racist, anti-American at all. Sometimes Wright talks about oppression and pain, usually with reference to the history of racism in this country.
Don’t base your whole assessment of his preaching on the 45 seconds of clips shown on TV, and some vague sense that there are “hours” more.
I’m telling you now, I’m not seeing those other hours, and I’ve looked pretty hard. Everything else I’ve seen or read has been pretty focused on Jesus, and applying the lessons of Jesus to daily life.
Getting yourself pastored for 20 years by a radical hater shows bad judgment. Lying about it when asked by the media shows dishonesty. Now we know the real reason why you refused to wear a flag lapel pin and why your wife has never before been proud of America. If we take you at your word, you spent 20 years in the company of a man, and never once figured out that he was a virulent racist. A president of the United states cannot afford to be that obtuse. Request for presidency denied.
–klqtzz
I heard this particular clip, and it sounded to me like Wright was saying that god should damn America for the unwarranted violence it has perpetrated. Condemning needless violence seems to me to be an admirable thing to do, and a quality one should look for in a president. (Sorry if I’ve offended anyone who voted for Bush.)