Barack Obama started to attend Trinity United Church of Christ in south Chicago about twenty years ago. This afro-centric church, until recently, had a pastor by the name of Rev. Dr. Jeremiah Wright, Sr., who apparently has an anti-Israel and anti-American view on life. Recently, (although I saw these videos two months ago, and learned of this "controversial" pastor last year) videos have come to light in the media that show Obama's pastor saying some really awful, dishonest, hateful, and conspiratorial things. Some of the "points" he made or insinuates are:
1. The US government invented AIDS and spread it to particular groups.
2. We brought 9/11 on ourselves, in essence deserved it.
3. The US is profoundly racist and refers to this country as the "U.S. of KKK-A".
4. The US itself is a terrorist who has committed acts of terrorism around the world, particularly against Palestine.
5. "God-D*mn America"
Okay, okay...so most people would agree that this guy is wrong, racist, a conspiracy theorist, and should not be preaching Christian values, but the larger question, of course, is why Barack Obama, who's campaign centers around openness and rising above racial derision, would attend a church led by such a figure...for 20 years. The thing that really bothers me about this is (1) the lack of media scrutiny (until now) Obama has received compared to Hillary, McCain, Romney (how much did we hear about Mormonism??) etc., and (2) the fact that Wright was not just Obama's pastor, but also his "spiritual mentor", was on his campaign, and is mentioned several times in his memoirs as a close friend and confidant.
This may fatally hurt Obama, especially if another controversy pops up before the convention. The Rasmussen poll has Obama dropping 7% against Hillary in recent days (45% Obama, 44% Clinton), with them now in a statistical dead heat among Democratic voters. Meanwhile, Gallup actually has Clinton slightly ahead (47% Clinton, 44% Obama). Something to note though is that while the media focuses on the Democrats, recent polling shows that McCain is actually viewed more favorably by the American public than both Democratic candidates and leads them both in national polling according to Rasmussen.
It's been difficult for me to formulate a solid opinion of Obama simply because there's so little information out about him compared to Clinton and McCain. Obama was drawn to this church for a reason. He maintained a close and intimate friendship with this pastor for a reason. How could a person that has said over and over in the public sphere that he's above the race issue, select a church that focuses so heavily on....race? This, from ABC News, is what Obama said earlier this month (before the story "broke"):
"I don't think my church is actually particularly controversial." He said Rev. Wright "is like an old uncle who says things I don't always agree with," telling a Jewish group that everyone has someone like that in their family.
The big difference here is that we don't choose our uncles, we do choose our church/pastor.
I so wish that we had already elected a black president years ago so this wouldn't be an issue. Identity politics is ALWAYS a horrible, wretched thing.
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