JoB
i watched the Bill moyers interview with Reverend Wright in it’s entirety when it was aired… it was a good interview.
i didn’t hear or read the National Press Club speech…
though knowing what i know about Reverend Wright and his take on the differences between the black communities perspective on religion and the perspective of the mostly more affluent white community… and his long standing involvement in the struggle for equal rights for blacks… and the true community activism he spearheaded through his church… i don’t think i would be surprised by anything he had to say…
and from his perspective.. i might even agree with a good deal of it..
as for Andrew Sullivan’s re-framing…
“That was a very impressive, clear and constructive re-framing of the core message of his candidacy; and a moment given to him by Wright. No one will ever be able to say that Obama threw his father-figure and pastor under the bus.”
Well that is one way of putting it:)
So.. Walfredo… are you saying that Senator Obama sat in this man’s church for 20 years and never heard his sermons? Because it wasn’t just one, you know… the context those sound bites came out of reflect the reality of Reverend Wright’s world view… from his perspective an extremely patriotic world view…
Imagine Reverend Wright thinking that America was ready to hear the worldview of his black american church… a very political church… a church that prided itself in making a difference in it’s community.
If Reverend Wright’s message was so opposed to his own.. what was Senator Obama doing in that church?
what did he think the good Reverend was going to do when he was portrayed as an unpatriotic bigot? Sit back and listen to those sound bites for the next 6 months or so… Did Senator Obama really think that Revened Wright should stand by while his reputation… the reputation of a man who spent his life in entire life working for his black constituency in his church .. the man who helped further a young Barak Obama’s political career… was irrevocably ruined?
He did what Senator Obama would not do for him.. he tried to explain his views and clear his name… He tried to actually put an end to being slandered nightly on national news…
and look what that got him…
repudiation from Senator Obama… Reverend Wright called him a politician. Oh my. Those are fighting words ;->
“He has more sincerity and integrity than the vast majority of politicians, more honesty, and more resilience in a very tough spot.”
really?
i noticed that he was not willing to give up the political advantage of his membership in the church that Reverend Wright built… He thinks he can have it both ways
I don’t think throwing his minister under the bus and repudiating him is is going to play well with his black constituency… or faith based middle america who might have actually understood Reverend Wright better after his interview… or with the part of middle america that Senator Obama categorized as falling back on their religion and their guns… or even the more intellectual portion of his liberal backing…
i think he just committed a large enough foot in mouth gaffe that even his supporters might take a second look.
it really is too bad that he is primarily just a politician after all…