The Wright Stuff

Karl at Protein Wisdom has lots of background on the suddenly controversial Rev. Wright.

Let me add this Times story from April 2007 (and my thoughts) and some links to the interview in which Rev. Wright discussed an award to Louis Farrakhan.

Ben Smith of The Politico discovers that Wright does have an association with Obama's campaign, which means Obama has an opportunity to exhort him to spend more time with his kids, or other projects, or whatever.

KEEPING HOPE ALIVE:  IF, I say if (OK, when) Wright steps down, look for a headline along the lines of "Wright Won't Fly".  (Hmm, does this generation remember Orville and Wilbur?)

BONUS NOTION - what are the odds that, of all the ministers on Obama's "African American Religious Leadership Committee", only Wright is this far out in left field?  What are the odds that the MSM will push down that road?  My answers - slim and none.

Comments

[Enlightened]

Posted on the other thread also-

Well...I go to church and my pastor has NEVER, not EVER, EVER given a sermon such as this. The sermon was spoken with hate and anger, and contained only hate and anger. Every church I have ever been to has never, ever sermonized in such a hateful manner.

I'm not saying Wright's sermons are all thus, but it only take one to influence a young man or woman to perpetuate the hate.

If I stumbled into a church and such a sermon was in progress, I would have immediately left the building.

IMO - Anyone that supports this race baiting, hate mongering, reprehensible dogma should be ashamed of their stupid, ignorant selves.

[Pat Allen]

I don't know if this Wright can fly, but I do wonder if he is the architect of anything in Obama's campaign.

[Thomas Collins]

If you are a B_O supporter look at it on the bright side: if this keeps up, HRC supporters will no longer be able to argue that your candidate is insufficiently vetted.

[ben]

Obama has a armored suit designed to keep the stench of Chicago politics from escaping while he does his "I am a breath of fresh air in U.S. politics gig". The armor is showing some small cracks however, and some noxious gases are wafting out.

[anduril]

Well, when you tire of race (and my brother tells me he heard a black female dem delegate from CA who said that feminist democratic white women are pissed at Obama for thwarting Hils and if Obama is denied the nomination it could be worse than '68) you can always turn to high finance for amusement.

The Telegraph (UK) takes a dire view of the US economy and the Fed's recent actions (h/t bro):

Fed takes boldest action since the Depression to rescue US mortgage industry

The US Federal Reserve has taken the boldest action since the 1930s, accepting $200bn of housing debt as collateral to prevent an implosion of the mortgage finance industry and head off a full-blown economic crisis.

The Bank of England, the key European central banks, and the Bank of Canada all joined in a co-ordinated move with a mix of policies to halt the dowward spiral in the credit markets, expanding on the "shock and awe" tactics used late last year.

The Fed's dramatic step came after an emergency conference call by governors on Monday night. It followed the melt-down of the US chartered agencies -- Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and other lenders -- which together guarantee 60pc of the entire US home loan market. Fannie Mae's share price fell 19pc in panic trading on Monday after Barron's magazine said it may need a rescue package.

"The agency crisis was a Tsunami event," said Tim Bond, global strategist at Barclays Capital.

"The market was starting to question the solvency of bodies that stand at the top of the credit pile. These agencies together wrap or insure $6 trillion of mortgages. They cannot be allowed to fail because it would cause a financial disaster. The fact that this sector has blown up has caught everybody's attention in Washington," he said.

The Fed action set off a powerful relief rally, lifting the Dow Jones index over 340 points in early trading. Both US and European equities have been hovering on key support lines in recent days, threatening to break down through 18-month lows in a second, brutal leg to the bear market.

Stress indicators across almost all parts of the global credit system fell from extreme levels on the Fed news. The CDX and iTraxx Europe indexes that serve as a default barometer for corporate bonds retreated from record highs, although it is too early to judge whether the latest action will start to thaw the credit freeze. The stock market rally after the last central bank intervention in December fizzled out after just one day.

The Fed's in a desperate race with spectre of collapse

Arguably, having come this far, Mervyn King and Ben Bernanke have breached the point of no return. There is no going back. The US certainly is now relying on its central bank to keep its most important credit markets open, its equity markets from plunging and bring a veneer of normality to financial life. Traditional supports, such as confidence in normal commercial debt repayment, have been knocked away as institutions are engaged in a desperate dash for cash.

We have not seen anything like it since the decade of the Great Depression. Melodramatic as that might sound, it is a fact but a fact that markets seem unwilling to accept. While the Fed is willing to slash rates and hope, and pump liquidity into the system, markets will remain optimistic. But it is a race to the bottom. The Fed hoping it reaches the finishing line first and restores confidence returns before a bank goes bust. But the spectre of a collapse is neck and neck with Bernanke and it's still anyone's guess which will win.

As I've said before, I'm no economist and high finance for me would be balancing my checkbook. However, even I can see the silver lining: if even a fraction of this is true, race will not be an issue in the election.

[Sue]

You can tell a lot about the way the congregation reacted to what he was saying. This didn't shock anyone and even if you agreed with what you were hearing, to hear your pastor just suddenly come out and say it would be shocking. To hear your pastor curse from the pulpit would be shocking in most churches, I would think. They weren't shocked. Hallelujah! The US of KKK A. I can't imagine the fallout if the roles were reversed. Bush has been crucified for being a member of one the most main stream, somewhat liberal, denominations in the US.

[Forbes]

Anduril:

Quite a leap of faith there-that the campaign will be about substance, or that politicians actually have any experience with credit markets that require us to take their counsel.

The minute someone says, "It's different this time" is the time to grab a hold of your wallet because you're just about to get picked.

[megapotumus]

Claims of equivalence to Falwell/Roberts/Dobson are as vapid as they are inevitable. Being a non-believer myself I can relate to a "pox on all" position, but the theological issues seem to balance out; sure Mormonism is pretty wacky but no less plausible than mainstream messianism, while the calls to grievance and resentment have more secular and practical impact (and are, apparently, unique among our candidates' holy mentors).

[Rick Ballard]

"The minute someone says, "It's different this time" is the time to grab a hold of your wallet because you're just about to get picked."

Yep. And the banks grabbing Carlyle's assets rather than doing a workout, coupled with S & P calling the bottom sort of mega reinforces that point.

Don't worry - there'll be more clouds to wring hands over tomorrow.

[Other Tom]

It is dead solid certain that Obama has got a one-way ticket to unelectability. The only interesting question is whether he arrives at his destination before or after the superdelegates bestow their wisdom on the Democratic party.

I'm pretty much indifferent to the answer. If the Dems wake up before the final tally, then eleven percent of the electorate will see their man's nomination as having been stolen by the Blue Eyed White Devils, and will stay home or vote for McCain.

Hard to overstate my joy at all of this.

[megapotumus]

And another Romney point suggests itself. Mitt was grilled on the late Mormon notion that blacks bear the Mark of Cain. Of course that was abandoned decades ago and the Romney tribe was the inside driver for that enlightening revision. Did Barry ever object, even privately, to Wright's exhortations if he disagrees with them? Could he not vote with his feet and attend some other service? Perhaps there was no need. It seems likely that Wright is as sincere in his denunciations as Obama is on NAFTA and Iraq. It's all for show, but who takes it seriously? Someone must.

[Other Tom]

Can this Wright handle a bimbo eruption?

[SteveMG]

As Shelby Steele argues, Obama's trapped. But perhaps not.

Having traveled in (indeed emerged from) black and white worlds, he joined a black nationalist church out of a belief that blackness and not assimilation was the proper course for his life.

But he has changed (I think he has); he no longer embraces this absolutist world view where life is divided so easily into racial identities.

But how does he leave that prior life?

If he does, if he is somehow able to make that speech that shows his growth, his rejection of this racial absolutism, he wins the presidency.

If he can't make that speech, he loses it.

It's a fascinating period in the history of black America. Of America. For if you think about it, it's the time we have all been hoping for. The time that a black man rises to such power that he shows, as James Baldwin stated, that "for better or worse, African Americans are Americans. Not Africans."

He can lead black Americans into a new land. A new destiny.

Is he up to it?

[clarice]

Hoe bad can the economy be? Kirsten is being overwhelmed by high paying offers and as we chuckle at his downfall, you can be sure Elliot Spitzer is marking up his first chapter of "Lust Dies Hard" which Dr Phil has already written a forward for and Oprah has pencilled in a promo for.
America!

[bgates]

Forbes, anduril isn't saying pols know anything about credit markets, he's saying that they'll be saying anything about credit markets. Because it's going to be a big issue, because they're in a lot of trouble.

Personally, I'm not as concerned about the 19% that Fannie Mae dropped in 'panic trading' as I am about the 60% it dropped before that 19%.

Rick - in the last 2 years, the market has called bottom more often than Eliot Spitzer. The same people who used to say there was no problem in the housing market are now saying the problem is almost over. I'm not buying it.

[Enlightened]

Horton hears a Hoe?

[GMax]

Remember when certain pundits in the wake of the Texas primary, were telling us that it was a bad thing for Republicans for this battle and its resulting scrutiny to go on? The argument was something like the Democrats will get all the publicity and McCain cant make the news cycle.

Well who believes that ABC News would be making a big hairy deal out of Obama's hatefilled and hateful pastor if the Democrat nomination were already sewn up? Its because Hill is in a tough race and is driving the coverage and forcing the coverage or is finding longtime sympathetic ears to whisper in, not because they want to vett a Democrat.

Meanwhile McCain raises funds, picks his spots on when to punch and counterpunch and watches the negative rating of both potential rivals go up while he maintains a net positive rating. Its all good.

I am really challenged to see the negative here.

[bgates]

I am really challenged to see the negative here.
Whoever wins, the border will be erased, and both parties will race to the bottom to see who can pander most to the newest 50 million citizens of Estados Unidos. The man responsible for McCain-Feingold and McCain-Kennedy will be the most conservative person elected president in the next 50 years.

[GMax]

"The minute someone says, "It's different this time" is the time to grab a hold of your wallet because you're just about to get picked."

The alternate view, and of course the one I currently hold, is that its a good thing when a few institutions fail and their assets get disgorged out into the system. Just like the RTC was feared that it was ruining the real estate markets, but actually was just a necessary step in bringing normalcy to a market, sometimes things have to be written down to a point where a few poeple say " Hell, at that price I will buy it." Greed is a wonderful thing. The first guys in take a risk that few seem willing to take. Soon word of their good fortune drives more into the market and eventually a normal market of roughly equal numbers of buyers and sellers emerges.

It was the start of the solution for the S&L crisis and I was at ground zero. It might be a little early to know for sure, but a hedge fund or two failing for their excesses and their assets being sold cheap for margin calls may soon look like the bottom of the trough.

[GMax]

Bgates

I hope you are just being sarcastic. First off citizens cant vote. And I think McCain is sincere when he says he learned a lesson and it is enforcement first.

But I am a realist not a pessimist so there is certainly room for more than one forcast of the future. But I must say your is a quite bitter one that I hope I never share.

Hispanics are not the enemy.

[GMax]

non citizens cant vote

Sheesh

[anduril]

bgates, yes that's more or less what I was saying: when people are worried about financial survival they'll stop worrying about race...for the moment.

However...

OT--isn't that a sad picture of where we're at with our racial spoils system of politics? As bgates hints, and I said openly not too long ago, the day is fast approaching when blacks will find out that they're once again the big losers in America, because both parties will be pandering for Hispanic votes and devising appropriate rewards for the new dominant minority. Rush was very eloquent on this today.

[Sam]

Obama may very well be the most dire threat to the survival of the Republic since the Civil War. How could he have gotten this far without real vetting in this so called Information Age?

The evidence is just piling up now at this late date that he shouldn't even be in the US Senate yet he is poised to be the Democratic nominee for the Presidency.

Just incredible, and frightening.

[Enlightened]

Frightening also the thought that if he does lose the nomination and/or presidency - what the hatefest at his "church" will then sound like.

#1 - I'm pretty sure all "church" parishioners will be "frisked" for video equipment - ie: cell phone etc. Ya'll know they won't be letting youtube in on any of that!

Oh happy day. The Uniter is even going to change how churches sermonize. Priceless.

[bgates]

Hispanics are not the enemy.
I don't think they're moving up here with copies of 'The Motorcycle Diaries' anxious to declare the independence of Aztlan. I think they're moving up here to get a better life for themselves and their families. And when they get here, they're going to find a political party telling them that the way to the good life is to vote for someone who will give back to them what the evil capitalists stole. Looking at the political history of Latin America, I'm not optimistic about the likelihood of the latest Hispanic immigrants resisting economic demagoguery. Economic pandering is already good for a near majority of the 100 million votes cast in a national election, and we're going to add 10 to 50 million more voters who come from countries where it works, and demographically resemble the people it works on here.

But maybe Bill Buckley was actually typical of people born in Mexico. And maybe John McCain has for the first time ever decided that he was wrong, and the chickenshit racist yahoos of the Republican base were right. -That latter is the 'realist' perspective, is it?

[capitano]

What are the odds that the MSM will push down that road? My answers - slim and none.

Nah, they'll have to question Obama thoroughly on Pastor Wright's more egregious anti-American statements based on the standard set in the Bob Jones University/GWB kerfuffle prior to 2000 election. You remember -- weeks of questioning about whether Bush approved of Bob Jones ban on inter-racial dating...and he only gave a speech.

So the press will go after BHO with hammer and tong. Anything less would leave the MSM open to ridicule for employing a double standard.

[Rick Ballard]

"How could he have gotten this far without real vetting in this so called Information Age?"

What do you mean? He was thoroughly vetted. Ayers gave him his blessing and the cheap crooks in Springfield pushed him from the get go. He's a prog dream and he's being peddled that way.

He really isn't that dangerous because he has so little chance of winning even the Dem nomination. Besides, he does have a fair chance of finishing off Red Witch's chances to win in November so he needs just a tad more wholly uncritical acclaim. She'll turn him into Mr. Toad soon enough.

[Anon]

Where the heck did I read that Obama donated $22,000 to this church?

[clarice]

Check out sweetness & Light or Protein Wisdom. I saw that donation amount today in one or both of those places.

[kcom]

"Where the heck did I read that Obama donated $22,000 to this church?"

That's not possible. According to the Reverend Wright, he's not rich.

(Notwithstanding the approximately $169,000 a year, plus perks, he makes in the Senate, his very large income from book sales, and his wife's salary of $316,000 per annum.)

[Other Tom]

"He can lead black Americans into a new land. A new destiny."

What is the basis for believing this? In twenty years he has had no sign of any such effect on his own church. How's he gonna do with the nation at large? Who in hell knows?

[Pofarmer]

Rush also dug up that this guy is now working on Barack Husseins campaign.

[Pofarmer]

Other Tom,

I think the new land and new Destiny is the one his church teaches. The one where they stick it to whitey.

[Other Tom]

Tidbit from the Politico:

"On the Clinton call earlier, Mark Penn said, 'We believe that [the Pennsylvania primary result] will show that Hillary is ready to win, and that Sen. Obama really can’t win the general election.'

"He later revised it to say that losing Pennsylvania would raise question about Obama's ability to win.

"But it's a pretty strong thing to say."

She'll spend the next several months planting that seed. What does she care? If she herself is not the nominee, does anyone in this world think she gives a damn how the election comes out?

[Sue]

After hearing the Obamas preacher, I am less apt to believe Barack when he defends his wife's rhetoric. I would bet you if you looked long enough, you would find video of Mrs. Obama standing and swaying with the crowd while he preaches white hatred.

[Sue]

I'm going off memory here, but aren't both of Obama's white grandparents and his mother dead?

[anduril]

Does everyone know I'm not crazy about McCain and that I think the economy will be a BIG issue?

Nevertheless...

As I was driving and listening to the latest bad economic news on CBS, I also heard a snippet to the effect that McCain beats (right now) both Clinton and Obama in PA. Ordinarily that would be an extraordinary bellwether.

[GMax]

Now if a guy attends a regular weekly meeting for a number of years of a "White Power" organization where the head of the group issues on a regular basis hate speech the mirror image of what comes out of Minister Farakhan's mouth, are you telling me that a Republican candidate would not be held to what the head of the group said? Would he not be villified for not getting up and walking out of the very first meeting and never darkening the doorway again? Tell me any leniency at all would granted. I wont believe you, but go ahead and try.

And if you think that "Damn America" speech is an aberration, go the United Church of Christ website and read through it. Then do a search on Liberation Theology and read that. Its basically Marxism rolled into theology, and Wright stirs in his own "Afrocentric focus" to make a true witch brew.

[GMax]

McCain beats both in Michigan too, probably the worst economic basket case in the country. And the mayor of Detroit is about to be indicted for corruption. Guess his party.

[M. Simon]

She'll spend the next several months planting that seed. What does she care? If she herself is not the nominee, does anyone in this world think she gives a damn how the election comes out?

Yep. She will want the Democrat to lose.

[glasater]

Oreilly is running clips of Wright on his evening show. Amazing language coming out of the pastor's mouth.

Anyway, there was a side by side photo of Obama standing next to Wright. And even with a white mother--Wright is lighter in skin color than Wright.

[bgates]

I'm going off memory here, but aren't both of Obama's white grandparents and his mother dead?
Yeah, but Wright was nowhere near them when it happened.

[LogicalSC]

Obama is the "perfect storm" candidate for the new Democratic party which is controlled by the adolescent American-hating left.

He is a "psuedo-minority" raised by a communist "fellow traveler" mother who was enthralled by all the Marxist groups and anti-American agitprop from the 70s. He left is father's religion to join a "pseudo-christian" church who spends most of its energy and time in anti-American and anti-white bigotry rather than the message of Jesus Christ. And to top it off, he marriages a bigoted women who holds hatred for white America and men.

We know that he encapsulates all that the Democratic party represents and has hid from most of America for decades. So lets get it done and nominated him and see if America truly wants the hatred of America, men and whites to represent them to the world.

[PaulL]

****How could he have gotten this far without real vetting in this so called Information Age?****

Our friend John "Viet Nam" Kerry was never asked a tough question by the mainstream media during the entire 2004 campaign.

Reporters want Barry elected.

[glasater]

you know what I meant--

Wright is lighter in skin color then Obama.

[clarice]

I did get it glasater. I figured you caught whatever I suffer from.

[glasater]

Thanks Clarice--"oldtimers" is setting in on this body.

I sent the link to your blog on AT to a few of my political minded friends and got a response already--big thumbs up from our R State Committee Woman.

Stunning that Wright claims our government is using HIV to eliminate black people.

[Ann]

Clarice,

I thought your AT article was great fun. It was so delightful I printed it for my husband to read.

JOM,

McCain is on Hannity tonight; I think for the full hour.

[Elliott]

Here's the line of approach I think would be strongest for Hillary against Obama in trying to get the better of the Michigan delegation argument:

The actions of a President have tremendous and often irrevocable consequences. Your decisions will have an impact not only on the lives of your fellow citizens, but on the lives of people all around the world.

In the Illinois legislature, on many important issues, Senator Obama sat on the fence, instead of taking a stand. Sometimes he voted present, other times he voted one way on a bill and then had it placed in the record that he wanted to vote the other way.

In Michigan, Senator Obama took his name off the ballot and now he wants to put it back on. First, Senator Obama deprived Michigan's Democrats of the chance to support him. He made this choice even though he knew the delegates could be counted [should an appeal to the credentials be successful].

Now, he wants another bite at the apple. He doesn't think he should have to live with the consequences of his own actions.

That's just my opinion.

[clarice]

Elliott, I could be wrong, but my understanding is that all the Dem candidates agreed to remove their names from the MI ballot. Obama did but Hill did not claiming that there had been some miscommunication between her office and the MI authorities which prevented her name from being removed in time. If that's true, such an argument as you propose would really take some nerve.