Rev. Wright vs. Barack Obama

[Colossus_500]

If Sen. Obama wins tonight by double-digits, this whole ordeal will be put to bed:

The Painful Obama-Wright Debacle
May 6, 2008 - by Martha Zoller
pajamasmedia.com

“If I lose, it won’t be because of race. It will be because I made mistakes on the campaign trail. I wasn’t communicating effectively my plans in terms of helping them in their everyday lives. But I don’t think race is going to be a barrier in the general election.”

(Barack Obama on “Fox News Sunday:” 4/27/08)

Barack Obama didn’t have a good week. He lost the Pennsylvania primary in late April and then Rev. Jeremiah Wright took a “Magical Mystery Tour” through the media on the weekend after the primary. After the Bill Moyers interview on PBS, things looked a little better. Wright appeared lucid, calm and helpful to Barack. He made a few snide comments but overall it was a good performance. From there, the Obama campaign looked forward to what would happen at the speech to the NAACP and then the appearance at the National Press Club.

Barack Obama wasn’t fully aware of the impact of the “performance” of Jeremiah Wright at the National Press Club. He had been reading parts of it sent to him by staffers throughout the day. After returning to his hotel at the end of a long day of campaigning, he watched the replay.

I don’t know how he felt, but I would imagine that it felt as if he had lost his father again. Barack Obama loved Jeremiah Wright. He wrote about him and talked about him many times. When he described him in his speech about race in Philadelphia he said, “But the truth is, that isn’t all that I know of the man. The man I met more than 20 years ago is a man who helped introduce me to my Christian faith, a man who spoke to me about our obligations to love one another, to care for the sick and lift up the poor… I can no more disown him than I can disown the black community.”

Those comments in March are a long way from what Obama said on Tuesday about Rev. Wright’s performance. “They (Wright’s comments) certainly don’t portray accurately my values and beliefs. And if Reverend Wright thinks that that’s political posturing, as he put it, then he doesn’t know me very well. And based on his remarks yesterday, well, I may not know him as well as I thought either.”

What a painful statement to have to make.

I grew up in the Atlanta area and lived there when Dr. King was assassinated in Memphis, his funeral held in Atlanta a few days later. Dr. King preached the Gospel and pushed the envelope; he pushed America to better herself. It could be argued that no man or woman has pushed America towards her potential more than Martin Luther King. But it was never about separation, it was always about opportunity.

In the days of the Civil Rights Movement with Dr. King, the people with him were expected to dress and behave impeccably. They were not allowed to swear in public and certainly not in the pulpit. Barack Obama embodies much of that civility but not the maturity. The long good-bye that Obama said to Rev. Wright was a sign of immaturity, akin to a child who doesn’t want to leave an abusive parent. It’s hard to believe that Dr. King was not 40 years old when he died and the decisions and the integrity in those decisions demonstrated a maturity that very few men achieve in their entire life time.

For me, I am sorry this whole debacle happened. I’d like the election to be about issues, but the last few weeks have been about Jeremiah Wright. It is too bad that Jeremiah Wright only thought about himself and his hurt feelings. Obama needed to make this race about issues. Now it’s about other things. He said on Sunday to the Fox News Channel’s Chris Wallace that if he loses the election it won’t be about race, but it will be about strength of character and integrity and toughness. We need a leader, not a law professor.

There is still hope for Barack Obama as long as Michigan and Florida don’t get seated and he doesn’t have another Jeremiah Wright moment. Hillary Clinton, however, smells blood in the water and is not giving up. It doesn’t matter how many times Howard Dean and Jimmy Carter say this will be settled by June 3-it ain’t happening. Hillary Clinton’s motivation is power. It’s not money, fame or respect-it is power and she is not giving up. By the time the convention rolls around, she’s hoping that Barack will stumble again and she’ll be there to push him aside.

So in this very long campaign there is still plenty of time for more fireworks. There is no doubt that Hillary Clinton has some sad stories of her own and even more skeletons in her closet. Barack Obama is still a largely unknown quantity, especially in comparison to Hillary Clinton or John McCain. So hold on Indiana, North Carolina, Oregon and Puerto Rico, the parade is coming to you.

Martha Zoller is a political analyst and radio host. Her daily show is carried on WDUN AM 550 in Gainesville, Georgia.

[Dos Equis]

Part of the problem is Wright isn't letting this die but keeping himself in the national spotlight.  Looks like he enjoys it.  Wouldn’t surprise me if got a gig as a commentator before November.   

[Parker]

If Sen. Obama wins tonight by double-digits, this whole ordeal will be put to bed:

The Painful Obama-Wright Debacle
May 6, 2008 - by Martha Zoller
pajamasmedia.com

“If I lose, it won’t be because of race. It will be because I made mistakes on the campaign trail. I wasn’t communicating effectively my plans in terms of helping them in their everyday lives. But I don’t think race is going to be a barrier in the general election.”

(Barack Obama on “Fox News Sunday:” 4/27/08)

Barack Obama didn’t have a good week. He lost the Pennsylvania primary in late April and then Rev. Jeremiah Wright took a “Magical Mystery Tour” through the media on the weekend after the primary. After the Bill Moyers interview on PBS, things looked a little better. Wright appeared lucid, calm and helpful to Barack. He made a few snide comments but overall it was a good performance. From there, the Obama campaign looked forward to what would happen at the speech to the NAACP and then the appearance at the National Press Club.

Barack Obama wasn’t fully aware of the impact of the “performance” of Jeremiah Wright at the National Press Club. He had been reading parts of it sent to him by staffers throughout the day. After returning to his hotel at the end of a long day of campaigning, he watched the replay.

I don’t know how he felt, but I would imagine that it felt as if he had lost his father again. Barack Obama loved Jeremiah Wright. He wrote about him and talked about him many times. When he described him in his speech about race in Philadelphia he said, “But the truth is, that isn’t all that I know of the man. The man I met more than 20 years ago is a man who helped introduce me to my Christian faith, a man who spoke to me about our obligations to love one another, to care for the sick and lift up the poor… I can no more disown him than I can disown the black community.”

Those comments in March are a long way from what Obama said on Tuesday about Rev. Wright’s performance. “They (Wright’s comments) certainly don’t portray accurately my values and beliefs. And if Reverend Wright thinks that that’s political posturing, as he put it, then he doesn’t know me very well. And based on his remarks yesterday, well, I may not know him as well as I thought either.”

What a painful statement to have to make.

I grew up in the Atlanta area and lived there when Dr. King was assassinated in Memphis, his funeral held in Atlanta a few days later. Dr. King preached the Gospel and pushed the envelope; he pushed America to better herself. It could be argued that no man or woman has pushed America towards her potential more than Martin Luther King. But it was never about separation, it was always about opportunity.

In the days of the Civil Rights Movement with Dr. King, the people with him were expected to dress and behave impeccably. They were not allowed to swear in public and certainly not in the pulpit. Barack Obama embodies much of that civility but not the maturity. The long good-bye that Obama said to Rev. Wright was a sign of immaturity, akin to a child who doesn’t want to leave an abusive parent. It’s hard to believe that Dr. King was not 40 years old when he died and the decisions and the integrity in those decisions demonstrated a maturity that very few men achieve in their entire life time.

For me, I am sorry this whole debacle happened. I’d like the election to be about issues, but the last few weeks have been about Jeremiah Wright. It is too bad that Jeremiah Wright only thought about himself and his hurt feelings. Obama needed to make this race about issues. Now it’s about other things. He said on Sunday to the Fox News Channel’s Chris Wallace that if he loses the election it won’t be about race, but it will be about strength of character and integrity and toughness. We need a leader, not a law professor.

There is still hope for Barack Obama as long as Michigan and Florida don’t get seated and he doesn’t have another Jeremiah Wright moment. Hillary Clinton, however, smells blood in the water and is not giving up. It doesn’t matter how many times Howard Dean and Jimmy Carter say this will be settled by June 3-it ain’t happening. Hillary Clinton’s motivation is power. It’s not money, fame or respect-it is power and she is not giving up. By the time the convention rolls around, she’s hoping that Barack will stumble again and she’ll be there to push him aside.

So in this very long campaign there is still plenty of time for more fireworks. There is no doubt that Hillary Clinton has some sad stories of her own and even more skeletons in her closet. Barack Obama is still a largely unknown quantity, especially in comparison to Hillary Clinton or John McCain. So hold on Indiana, North Carolina, Oregon and Puerto Rico, the parade is coming to you.

Martha Zoller is a political analyst and radio host. Her daily show is carried on WDUN AM 550 in Gainesville, Georgia.

Wright, should have waited until AFTER the Election to speak...I also blame the NAACP for this as well. somebody dropped the ball, they knew he was going to say something, but this "old think" mentality of the NAACP didn't have the forethought to think this would affect the Obama campaign negatively.

[240 is Back]

Part of the problem is Wright isn't letting this die but keeping himself in the national spotlight.  Looks like he enjoys it.  Wouldn’t surprise me if got a gig as a commentator before November.  

wouldn't be that bad for obama actually.

the more you listen to this guy argue evidence - the fact the tuskegee experiments are real, for example - you start to realize some of his facts are correct.

[shootfighter1]

Again 240, using the Tuskegee observational study, which began in 1932, is not appropriate justification for his statement about the government injecting black Americans with AIDS or his racist comments about whites, or his sympathy statements concerning islamic groups, or the American gov pushing drugs on the black community.  The US government NEVER gave anyone syphilis.  There were no new patients after the initial group although the study wasn't made public until 1970.  The 399 individuals already had syphilis in 1932 and there was no good Tx until 1950.  It is an absolute travisty that the scientists WITHHELD treatment during observational studies when they suspected PCN could work for tertiary syphilis and there is appropriate outrage for this!  But making the leap to the gov injecting AIDS into black Americans several decades later is a much different issue!   
You are misguided to think this guy is justified in his bullshit and continued hate spreading. He feeds on conflict.  Sure, he has historical facts that are true and unfortunate.  These shaped some of his thinking but the above comments are not justified at this time.  Either is his arrogant and condescending style.

Separating Obama from Wright is good.  Justifying Wright is not.

[240 is Back]

Again 240, using the Tuskegee observational study, which began in 1932, is not appropriate justification for his statement about the government injecting black Americans with AIDS or his racist comments about whites, or his sympathy statements concerning islamic groups, or the American gov pushing drugs on the black community.  The US government NEVER gave anyone syphilis.  There were no new patients after the initial group although the study wasn't made public until 1970.  The 399 individuals already had syphilis in 1932 and there was no good Tx until 1950.  It is an absolute travisty that the scientists WITHHELD treatment during observational studies when they suspected PCN could work for tertiary syphilis and there is appropriate outrage for this!  But making the leap to the gov injecting AIDS into black Americans several decades later is a much different issue!   
You are misguided to think this guy is justified in his bullshit and continued hate spreading. He feeds on conflict.  Sure, he has historical facts that are true and unfortunate.  These shaped some of his thinking but the above comments are not justified at this time.  Either is his arrogant and condescending style.

Separating Obama from Wright is good.  Justifying Wright is not.

it wasn't 'made public' in 1970.
Word of it leaked to the press in 1972, so they had to stop it.
They didn't have a moral breakthru - they just got caught.

HIV was first documented in africa in a villiage where we were testing polio vaccines.
the same folks who got the shots, got aids.
maybe it was an accident, maybe the scientist fcked up and covered his ass.
but the govt refused to investigate.

Many people in the scientific believe the govt is responsible for Aids.  yes, wright makes a major assumption it was deliberate tested on black people.  Maybe it was only a coincidence that tuskegee and AIDs subjects were blacks.  I'm sure there are examples of whites being used for similar experiments. Can you list them?

[shootfighter1]

The Olso study was done on whites with syphilis and was the nearly same as the Tuskegee experiment (different in that it was not carried out long enough for PCN to partially Tx tertiary syphilis). The Tuskegee observation was started in good faith, to help the poor community and learn more about syphilis in 1932.  It was also sponsored by the Tuskegee University, a founded black university.  Did you know that one of the main original doctors was black and the head nurse coordinator was also black?  There was nothing wrong with the study until PCN was recongized as a viable Tx, around 1950.  These patients wouldn't have been fully treated after 20+ yrs with syphilis but the issue is that the scientists did not give patients the medication later in the study to stop the progress of the infection (also they never had the patient's fully informed consent...but that happened frequently back then).  As part of the backlash from this travisty, rules & regulations were put into place for all future studies.  Remember, this was even before the Germans and Russians were experimenting with all sorts of dangerous drugs on their own people and athletes.
 
No sensible person can argue for the Tuskegee experiment, but it is a completely different set of circumstances than AIDS.  Wright is stirring up conflict, which seems to be his M.O.  We can agree to disagree on Wright & this leap.  I will not approve of him preaching these messages to people that looked to him as a leader and I hope he doesn't infect more people with his hate and anti-American sentiment & other unfounded assumptions.

"Many people in the scientific believe the govt is responsible for Aids"....240, you better provided detailed references before you can justify this statement.  In all my yrs of science and medicine, I have never hear one credible person say this.  Your making a similar dangerous leap as Wright.

[Dos Equis]

"Many people in the scientific believe the govt is responsible for Aids"....240, you better provided detailed references before you can justify this statement.  In all my yrs of science and medicine, I have never hear one credible person say this. 

Agree.  Proof? 

[240 is Back]

Agree.  Proof? 

Lib.

[Option D]

aids started because a man screwed a monkey

[Dos Equis]

aids started because a man screwed a monkey

Not according to Rev. Wright. 

[24KT]

Actually penicillin as a treatment for syphillis was used during WWII, it was not discovered in the 50's. Some of the Tuskeegee men were infact inducted into the military, and many military doctors were reprimanded for treating them. They were told point blank that they were NOT to be treated.

Even if your premise was correct, ...it still shows at least 2 decades of neglect, and needless suffering, death, and infection.  That a government willfully allows the spread of a dangerous, highly infectious STD within their borders for 40 years, and willfully witholds treatment or attempt to curtail it's spread, ...when it has the means to do so... is appalling. It is not a stretch for some to believe that same government would allow the same to occur again.

[240 is Back]

aids started because a man screwed a monkey

Your proof?

[24KT]

aids started because a man screwed a monkey

So in the millions of years we've been on this planet (2000 if you believe some people's versions) it was in 1980 when some guy got the wild idea "Hey, ...let me screw a monkey?". With all the deviant behaviour that exists, ...I think someone would have thought of that one long before 1980

[shootfighter1]

Jag, you and I laid down the basic facts.  No disagreement, except there is no evidence to support Wright's claims with AIDS and it is not the same situation.  The government injecting AIDS into Americans is much different than withholding treatment in a study.  They both would be intolerable, but they are not the same.  In addition, after the Tuskegee exp became public with all the outrage, it would be completely illogical for the government to do something related but even worse.  I see the suspicion on some level but certainly not buying the justification, and without proof it was irresponsible and ignorant for a leader and influential man like Wright to preach this as fact to his followers (among all the other bullshit).  I do not agree and damn him for doing so.

[24KT]

Jag, you and I laid down the basic facts.  No disagreement, except there is no evidence to support Wright's claims with AIDS and it is not the same situation.  The government injecting AIDS into Americans is much different than withholding treatment in a study.  They both would be intolerable, but they are not the same. 

I'm not saying there is evidence, ...only that there is precedent, ...and as such it is not too far a stretch.
I'm not saying I agree with his views, ...only that those who call him a crackpot, do so with less evidence than Wright uses to assert his claims.

In addition, after the Tuskegee exp became public with all the outrage, it would be completely illogical for the government to do something related but even worse.

{cough} 2000 sElection {cough} 2004 sElection  {cough} Iraq  {cough} WMD  {cough} Iran {cough} WMD
{cough} Pearl Harbor  {cough} Operation North Woods {cough} 911   I guess you have a point... NOT! 

I see the suspicion on some level but certainly not buying the justification, and without proof it was irresponsible and ignorant for a leader and influential man like Wright to preach this as fact to his followers.

On this we can most definitely agree. 

[Soul Crusher]

Chicago’s Father Michael Pfleger Removed from Ministry Over New Sexual Abuse Allegations
Catholic World Report ^ | 10/16/22 | Jonah McKeown
Posted on 10/18/2022, 9:52:33 PM by marshmallow

St. Louis, Mo., Oct 16, 2022 / 12:50 pm (CNA). A well-known Chicago priest has been asked to step aside from ministry during an investigation into an allegation of sexual abuse against a minor.

Father Michael Pfleger, senior pastor at St. Sabina parish and a well-known social activist, will live away from his parish while the allegation — which he denies — is investigated. The alleged abuse occurred more than 30 years ago, the archdiocese says.

In an Oct. 15 letter, Cardinal Blase Cupich of Chicago said Pfleger has “agreed to cooperate fully” with the request to step aside from ministry following the allegation made to the Office for Child Abuse Investigations and Review.

As is required by archdiocesan child protection policies, the allegation was reported to the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services and law enforcement, Cupich wrote. The archdiocese has begun its investigation and “we will do our best to keep you informed,” the cardinal pledged.

“The person making the allegation has been offered the services of our Victim Assistance Ministry and the archdiocese has begun its investigation and we will do our best to keep you informed,” Cupich wrote.

St. Sabina pastor Father Thulani Magwaza will serve as parish administrator in Pfleger’s stead, Cupich wrote, and noted that until Magwaza returns from a visit with family in early November, Father David Jones will serve as temporary administrator.

(Excerpt) Read more at catholicworldreport.com ...