And should it?
Reverend Wright: “God Damn America. It’s in the Bible.”
Senator Obama: “He’s like an old uncle who sometimes says things I don’t always agree with.
Brian Ross did the report for ABC News.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zWvxTUy47Fk]
It’s troubling to see the sermons by Wright to a captivated group of parishiners. It is doubly troubling to hear that this modern day Hitler is
the spiritual mentor to someone running for prez.
Oh well, I am sure Barracks “Hope a dope” defense
will continue to serve him well with the left. After
all, he brings such renewed hope to all us lost souls.
Why can’t the Dems find someone electable?
I think Obama’s association with Wright is the beginning of the end for his campaign. Even though it was a short clip of what this guy was saying against America, and the fact that Obama feels this guy was like an “uncle” to him, this will stick in the minds of the voters, as well as the delegates and Super Delegates. As was stated in a news interview, because of this association with this pastor, watch and see super delegates supporting Obama begin to shift their support to Clinton. No matter how hard Obama tries to shake this association, it won’t happen. This has broken Obama and in the last interview I saw of him, he looked broken and almost ready to throw in the towel. Barack Hussein Obama will probably have to wait another 4 years to run against the incumbent, Hillary Clinton for President.
Will this hurt Obama? It probably will to a small extent. Should this hurt Obama? No, it should not. But being that there is the 24/7 cable news outlets that harp on news items like this ad nauseum, this will stay in the fore of the news cycle for some time (especially if Hannity and O’Reilly have any say about it).
I read that Hannity said Obama should step down from his Senate seat over this. If that’s true, is Hannity going to ask McCain to step down over the remarks of Rod Parsley, his spiritual guide? Will Hannity even bring it up with McCain? Will Alan get a chance to bring it up with McCain?
As far as I’m concerned all this holding a candidate responsible for what someone else says is going too far. We’re no longer discussing actual issues that affect our citizens this election cycle. The 5th anniversary of the Iraq invasion is coming up and Gen. Petraeus just came out and said that there “has not been sufficient progress by any means in the area of national reconciliation”. Instead we’re getting distracted from what’s really important because of what a candidate’s spiritual advisor has said in the past. It’s becoming ridiculous.
sky @ 7:35am: “I’ve got to say, I’ve heard the same or worse from right-wing fanatic preachers. “God’s going to judge America for the slaughter of innocents (abortions)” Has everyone forgotten all that? Very, very down on America_ from a conservative point of view. Babylon the Great, and all that.”
True. To go further on this route, has anyone read the lyrics to a song sung by a choir at last fall’s Values Voters* debate? It is sung to the tune of “God Bless America”. Below are a couple of stanzas that aren’t much different from Wright’s saying that God should damn America because of some of the things our country has done.
Why should God bless America?
She’s forgotten he exists
And has turned her back
On everything that made her what she is
Why should God stand beside her
Through the night with the light from his hand?
God have mercy on America
Forgive her sins and heal our land
*Btw, I take great exception to the right wing acting like they are the only voters who have values that are important to them.
When I heard this lunatic pastor spewing such hatred toward the United States and especially white people, I was completely revolted!! To think that Obama has been a devoted follower of this maniac absolutely appalls me!! I actually voted for Obama in the NJ primary, but you can rest assured that I will do everything in my power to spread the word as to what he is REALLY all about! Boy, did he have ME fooled!!
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It sure won’t help, and it helps even less that the ABC clips do not show Wright drawing any distinction between the Washington power brokers and the ordinary working people of “white America.”
And if this is what passes for “preaching the Gospel” then the IRS should definitely be looking at the tax-exempt status of the “church.”
March 13th, 2008 at 6:52 pm
Will it, I don’t know. Should it? Absolutely not.
By the way, do people have any idea how many churches/pastors endorsed George W. Bush like he was the Second Coming? No one questioned their tax-exempt status.
March 13th, 2008 at 7:24 pm
Okay, now that I’ve watched the clip… I’ve got to say, I’ve heard the same or worse from right-wing fanatic preachers. “God’s going to judge America for the slaughter of innocents (abortions)” Has everyone forgotten all that? Very, very down on America_ from a conservative point of view. Babylon the Great, and all that. I was steeped in that, as a Christian kid. We never had American flags in our churches. Why? “Because we’re citizens of heaven.” If anything, the radical right is worse, America -hating wise. Or at least they were before Bush and 9/11. Now we’re supposedly “God’s chosen people”.
March 13th, 2008 at 7:35 pm
It actually does bother me, I won’t lie. The fact that Senator Obama not only looks up to this man, but has been attending his church for 20 years and titled a book after one of his sermons shows that he must agree with Wright on SOMETHING, and probably quite a lot. Why else would he still attend this church for such a long time?
I know that if I was a Christain and my pastor was saying such ridiculous things, and giving lifetime achievement awards to Louis Farrakhan, I would stop attending services, and distance myself from the pastor. Obama has not done that, and I find that rather concerning.
March 13th, 2008 at 8:17 pm
This does irk me slightly, but only slightly because I it seems Obama is able to separate his political life from his spiritual life.
Go to this website
http://friendlyatheist.com/2008/03/13/barack-obamas-faith/
March 13th, 2008 at 8:48 pm
Who is this man? He is only getting recognition because he is Obama’s pastor. I thought we were suppose to keep Church and State separate. We took prayer out of schools. We now have to say Happy Holidays instead of Merry Christmas. Since a black man is running for President and is leading in delegates, his pastor now plays a role in politics.
March 13th, 2008 at 9:27 pm
I think the most immediate concern of political relevance is Wright’s criticism of the Clintons, since Hillary Clinton is his main primary opponent.
March 13th, 2008 at 9:33 pm
WE the people were led into a war[in IRAQ] by a man who said “we need to fight them over there,so we dont have to fight them here” are these words of truth /justice&the will of the people?? and who was it that said “Iraq has WMD” we must dis arm/invade?
Need I say more?
If we are going to hold a MAN to what HE says & hold him and his associates acountable….WE THE PEOPLE HAVE BIGGER FISH TO FRY !!! this pastor is not costing the american public BILLIONS by what he says/does even if his aproval rating is just over 23%
March 13th, 2008 at 10:19 pm
Hannah Strange
John McCain, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, has been called upon to renounce a church leader he considers his spiritual guide for urging a Christian war to destroy the “false religion” of Islam.
A number of prominent US weblogs demanded he reject the support of Reverend Rod Parsley, of the World Harvest Church of Columbus, an influential televangelist and political figure who campaigned alongside him in the run up to the Ohio primary.
On February 26, a week before the Ohio vote, Mr McCain appeared at a campaign rally in Cincinnati with the evangelical pastor, who praised the candidate as a “strong, true, consistent conservative”. With Mike Huckabee, a Baptist preacher, then continuing to snap at his heels, Mr Parsley’s endorsement was a boon to Mr McCain’s efforts to knock out his last remaining challenger and win over social conservatives. Standing side-by-side with the minister, Mr McCain hailed him as a “spiritual guide”.
Since then, the writings of Mr Parsley have attracted attention from political commentators. Several have noted that Mr McCain’s Democratic rival, Barack Obama, was forced to publicly denounce and reject the support of Louis Farrakhan, leader of the Nation of Islam, after he received unsolicited praise from the controversial figure.
The leader of a 12,000-member megachurch, Mr Parsley has written several books detailing his fundamentalist views, including the 2005 Silent No More. In this contentious work, Mr Parsley castigates homosexuals, abortionists, the entertainment industry and civil libertarians before turning his attention to the perceived threat to the United States from Muslims.
In a chapter titled “Islam: The Deception of Allah,” Mr Parsley speaks of Allah as a “demon spirit” and urges “war between Islam and Christian civilisation”. There is no difference between violent Islamist extremists and moderate Muslims, he argues.
“I cannot tell you how important it is that we understand the true nature of Islam, that we see it for what it really is,” he writes. “In fact, I will tell you this: I do not believe our country can truly fulfill its divine purpose until we understand our historical conflict with Islam.
“I know that this statement sounds extreme, but I do not shrink from its implications. The fact is that America was founded, in part, with the intention of seeing this false religion destroyed, and I believe September 11, 2001, was a generational call to arms that we can no longer ignore.” [London Times, March 13, 2008].
One wonders whether Mr. Sean Hannity and other Conservative commentators will be as vociferous in their condemnation of Senator McCain’s “attachment” to such a religious extremist, as they have been to the preacher of the Church which Senator Obama is a member?
Personally I have no preference for either candidate, however I do firmly believe that there should be parity in both reporting, and in comment.
March 13th, 2008 at 11:28 pm
I’m surprised I haven’t heard that Parsley is Bush’s spiritual adviser.
March 14th, 2008 at 1:33 am
all the white people that are saying the Rev is bad can not walk a mile in any black men shoews,,,,,
March 14th, 2008 at 2:07 am
Well it’s not good. I had no idea what his pastor had actually said. I have to be consistant here. I was completely repulsed by people like Jerry Falwell and even though I can actually agree with some of what this man says, for the most part I think he sounds very extremist in his views. It’s all about anger and rage although I think some of those feelings are justified. This isn’t going to play well at all though, especially if some of this bothers someone like me and Barack should be questioned about it. I hope he has some good answers. As Alan says, it’s possible that Barack does not agree with such statements and finds solace and wisdom in other views and sentiments that his pastor has espoused. I don’t know. But this will definately not play well across the country.
Guilt by association. I understand that. But I can put myself in Baracks place and if my priest, rabbi, minister, or whatever mentor I had was that radical in his views and a bigot as well I would stop associating with such a person. I just would, simple as that.
This guy makes Al Sharpton look like Billy Graham.
March 14th, 2008 at 2:09 am
This is definitely the beginning of Obama’s end. Even you, Alan, can’t use your superior debating and reasoning skills to rationalize Obama’s 20 years of listening to this man and somehow not being influenced by his America hatred. The same goes for his wife who on the surface at least seems as angry as Rev. Wright.
March 14th, 2008 at 4:40 pm
I do have to admit that this irritates me. This is exactly the same thing as those on the right do – using the Bible to justify all sorts of craziness and we can’t confront it from a theological standpoint.
March 15th, 2008 at 8:30 am
When I heard this lunatic pastor spewing such hatred toward the United States and especially white people, I was completely revolted!! To think that Obama has been a devoted follower of this maniac absolutely appalls me!! I actually voted for Obama in the NJ primary, but you can rest assured that I will do everything in my power to spread the word as to what he is REALLY all about! Boy, did he have ME fooled!!
March 15th, 2008 at 11:31 am
sky @ 7:35am: “I’ve got to say, I’ve heard the same or worse from right-wing fanatic preachers. “God’s going to judge America for the slaughter of innocents (abortions)” Has everyone forgotten all that? Very, very down on America_ from a conservative point of view. Babylon the Great, and all that.”
True. To go further on this route, has anyone read the lyrics to a song sung by a choir at last fall’s Values Voters* debate? It is sung to the tune of “God Bless America”. Below are a couple of stanzas that aren’t much different from Wright’s saying that God should damn America because of some of the things our country has done.
Why should God bless America?
She’s forgotten he exists
And has turned her back
On everything that made her what she is
Why should God stand beside her
Through the night with the light from his hand?
God have mercy on America
Forgive her sins and heal our land
*Btw, I take great exception to the right wing acting like they are the only voters who have values that are important to them.
March 15th, 2008 at 3:14 pm
Will this hurt Obama? It probably will to a small extent. Should this hurt Obama? No, it should not. But being that there is the 24/7 cable news outlets that harp on news items like this ad nauseum, this will stay in the fore of the news cycle for some time (especially if Hannity and O’Reilly have any say about it).
I read that Hannity said Obama should step down from his Senate seat over this. If that’s true, is Hannity going to ask McCain to step down over the remarks of Rod Parsley, his spiritual guide? Will Hannity even bring it up with McCain? Will Alan get a chance to bring it up with McCain?
As far as I’m concerned all this holding a candidate responsible for what someone else says is going too far. We’re no longer discussing actual issues that affect our citizens this election cycle. The 5th anniversary of the Iraq invasion is coming up and Gen. Petraeus just came out and said that there “has not been sufficient progress by any means in the area of national reconciliation”. Instead we’re getting distracted from what’s really important because of what a candidate’s spiritual advisor has said in the past. It’s becoming ridiculous.
March 15th, 2008 at 3:27 pm
I think Obama’s association with Wright is the beginning of the end for his campaign. Even though it was a short clip of what this guy was saying against America, and the fact that Obama feels this guy was like an “uncle” to him, this will stick in the minds of the voters, as well as the delegates and Super Delegates. As was stated in a news interview, because of this association with this pastor, watch and see super delegates supporting Obama begin to shift their support to Clinton. No matter how hard Obama tries to shake this association, it won’t happen. This has broken Obama and in the last interview I saw of him, he looked broken and almost ready to throw in the towel. Barack Hussein Obama will probably have to wait another 4 years to run against the incumbent, Hillary Clinton for President.
March 17th, 2008 at 12:22 am
It’s troubling to see the sermons by Wright to a captivated group of parishiners. It is doubly troubling to hear that this modern day Hitler is
the spiritual mentor to someone running for prez.
Oh well, I am sure Barracks “Hope a dope” defense
will continue to serve him well with the left. After
all, he brings such renewed hope to all us lost souls.
Why can’t the Dems find someone electable?
March 18th, 2008 at 10:10 am