Obama's appearance on Imus Nov 22 2004
here

missing a final minute or so when the affiliate cut away on the clock.

True enough, but Obama could claim some consistency. He condemned his own old friend Wright and disassociated himself from the man- just as NBC cut ties with Imus. Even- Steven, he could argue with some justice.

I think the Wright controversy is way over-blown. The press wants to sell ads, and nothing draws attention and controversy (and thus ad revenue opportunities) like playing the "race" card. The white press is among the biggest players of the "race" card in America. During the Hurricane Katrina crisis they painted the most dire picture, (babies raped, gunslinging 'gangstas' shootingup the Superbowl, and other garbage) because they could easily make a spectacle of blacks, and spectacle sells.

Thus the smug pronouncements of the mainstream press about moving "beyond race" are IMHO so much hot air. They are among the chief enablers of Sharpton, David Duke etc etc., and the chief enablers of numerous pieces of shallow journalism on race, and gender too by the way (ie. like the bogus "Super Bowl battering" stories). Race controversy sells, and the white press loves it.

Obama spent way too much time on the issue. Seems he could not resist using the time as a "teaching moment" for America about race. One of his comments is that we still need to "talk about race." Well we have had plenty of "talk." Under Bill CLinton we had a flown blown "race panel" for "dialog." Just what did that accomplish? Has it cut high incarceration rates? has it cut a high school dropout rateof over 40%? How much mo "dialog" do we need?

It would not be hard for diligent investigators to dig up ugly statements on race that white ministers have made over the years. You can bet that Bill Clinton's and John McCain's former pastors made a few back in the day, but I don't see anyone going back in time to resurrect those and run it on the talk shows. Mitt Rommney's Mormon Church openly discriminated against blacks for decades, telling them until compratively recently that they were "cursed as to the priesthood" but I didn't see the press running video loops and stories on that "race" angle with Romney's campaign.

Are Wright's statements a valid point of debate? Yes. Do they deserve the breathless coverage they are getting? I dont think so. It is just like the silly controversy about Obama's middle name. Do we automatically start stockpiling assault rifles at home when we meet some guy named Adolf? Of course we don't. Obama is highly vulnerable on his liberal record and views - way vulnerable. Dubious middle-name "controversies" just seem to illustrate the silliness and lack of common sense in many places. When are we going to have real debate on the issues, rather than slippery, silly sound bites?

Thanks for letting me rant.
Peace.

It may be about race for the press.

For me it is about his Minister's Black Supremacist ideology. Which if you look at it closely is no different than Nazi ideology. Just substitute Black for German.

Obama is spending time on this in an attempt to defuse it because if people knew what was behind his minister's ranting it will become an even bigger problem.

You see, I think Obama knows there is something wrong with his church. He is a guilty man.

Have a look at Liberation Theology.