He Who Sups With The Devil Should Be Wary Of You-Tube

Andrew Sullivan has the vapors over this video of Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell praising Louis Farrakhan and the nation of Islam.  Dare we ask for even a smidgen of context - for example, nowhere at Andrew's site (or at DKos, where I suspect this caught attention) do I see a mention of the date.

I live to serve.  First, the current YouTube title - Pennsylvania Governor Rendell Praises Farrakhan and N.O.I. - is misleading; Rendell was mayor of Philadlephia at the time, which was April 15, 1997 [and a commenter informs me that if I listen carefully I will learn that, although Farrakhan was clearly present, Rendell was praising local nation of Islam leader Rodney Muhammad; well, to the extent that praising the Nation of Islam is praising Farrakhan, that is slicing it a bit fine]. And although a careful listener can pick up hints in the YouTube tape, let's cut to the Times for more of the background:

In a long church rally today, called to promote racial reconciliation after several recent high-profile crimes, Mayor Edward G. Rendell joined Louis Farrakhan, the Nation of Islam leader, in challenging residents of Philadelphia and the nation to put aside ethnic differences.

Mr. Rendell became one of the few big-city mayors ever to share a podium with Mr. Farrakhan, a circumstance that was all the more unusual because Mr. Rendell is Jewish and Mr. Farrakhan is widely regarded as anti-Semitic. Representatives from the city's leading Jewish and Roman Catholic organizations were invited to participate in the rally, but all declined.

As the keynote speaker before an enthusiastic audience of more than 3,000 at the Tindley Temple United Methodist Church, h Mr. Farrakhan praised Mayor Rendell, a popular Democrat, for ''his courage and strength to rise above emotion and differences that might be between us or our communities.'' Mr. Farrakhan added: ''I believe, Mayor Rendell, that history will applaud your efforts.''

Mr. Rendell, whose speech preceded Mr. Farrakhan's, commended the Nation of Islam for its emphasis on family values and self-sufficiency.

He told the audience that many people had warned him against ''sharing a platform'' with a figure as controversial as Mr. Farrakhan.

But, he said, the incidents that prompted the rally -- the attack on a black woman, her son and nephew by a group of white men in February, and the fatal shooting of a white teen-ager by two black men in a robbery in the same neighborhood a month later -- have taken a toll on the city.

''The real risk would be not to be willing to talk about our differences,'' he said.

Seven white men have been charged in the first attack, and police have arrested two black men in connection with the second.

Anyone who can recall the Crown Heights riots of August 1991 in New York City might be sympathetic, or even supportive, of a mayor who was willing to share a stage with a dubious figure in order to preserve the peace.  It's a tricky call, since standing with Farrakhan boosts the prestige of a deplorable figure, and Rendell seemed to me to be overly fulsome in his praise, but the  circumstances may have justified it, in his mind anyway.

Andrew includes this in his analysis:

I don't imagine [Rendell's] credibility or reputation will be affected one iota by this. Even if it were Rendell running for president this year, I don't think this video would have Hannity and O'Reilly and Steyn and Coulter in a lather.

What do we learn from this? That Obama has to be even more distanced from these things because he's black. That's all. Race matters. The double standard endures. And the MSM perpetuates it. As do the Clintons.

Ed Rendell also prosecuted Mumia.  Nixon went to China.  This is not about a double standard on race; it is about Rendell having a long and visible track record and Obama being a cipher whose personal minister is very cozy with Farrakhan.

MORE:  Jack Kemp praised Farrakhan for his "family values" in 1996 and was panned by AM Rosenthal.  The Million Man March organized by Farrakhan had been in October 1995.

Comments

[Brainster]

Actually if you listen very carefully, Rendell is not praising Farrakhan, but the local Nation of Islam leader, Rodney Muhammad. Farrakhan is clapping as the praise is being delivered.

[Danube of Thought]

I'm glad it's the Democrats who have to sort this crap out.

[centralcal]

Me, too - DOT - me, too!

Too much carp to wade through.

[ben]

I think Sullivan should be completely ignored until he stops calling himself a conservative.

[bgates]

ben - why would doing that make reading him worthwhile?

[Terry]

Sullivan has indeed lost his bloody mind. He sees, or pretends to see, racism in almost every action of someone who is on the other side of an issue.

Just this weekend he put up a long post "responding" to an article in the latest edition of The New Republic by Leon Wieseltier, one of the magazines longest serving editors. Leon at one point makes what I interpreted to be no more than a snarky comment about how Sullivan is so obviously "enamored" of Obama, writing: "Nice little blog you have there, Obama boy." Sullivan goes off on a rant about use of the term "boy," wrapping himself in a cloak of martydom along with Obama, arguing that this use of the word was clearly intended as a derogatory put down of both African Americans and gays.

If Sullivan has any friends left, they ought to consider an intervention.

[SteveMG]

The Wieseltier piece mentioned above that so exercised Sullivan is here: Link.

The critical point is that Wieseltier accuses (correctly IMO) Sullivan of "Jew baiting" for this remark by AS in response to criticism of Obama by Kristol.

A non-Christian manipulator of Christianity [that's Sullivan's smear or Kristol] is calling a Christian [Obama] a liar about his faith.

Nasty line by Sullivan. Uncalled for.

[MikeS]

Nasty line by Sullivan. Uncalled for.

I think it's just wonderful how Obama has unified the country, and he's not even President yet.

[Lou Shumaker]

Just think, if he's elected, we'll have four more years of this. It'll make the Clinton years look peaceful and balmy.

[Peter]

Why does anyone still read Sullivan?

[es]

There's Adrian Sullivan magician. Everyone forgot vapors was bad. Like you got the vapors and died.

Obama is a luciferian? Cyphers, numbers. There is a movie and the guys name is Louis Cyphre(like lucy fir). No one had Bonet, but they might of got boned.

I'm betting obama is.

[Elliott]

Good morning, Jane. It's not Patriot's day, but there is a primary of great import.

Pennsylvania prediction time (and no, I'm not proposing another double or nothing):

Dems: Clinton 54.82, Obama 43.75

Reps: McCain 92.48, Paul 4.31

[daddy]

Richard Quest of CNN now having a bit of free time, hopefully Andrew Sullivan will be able to rope him in for a valuable discussion on how mainstream Brits view American politics.

[kim]

The more primitive a society, the more likely it was to adhere to the belief that a recoverable image captured the soul. Those superstitious folk also feared its effect.
====================================

[Dennis D]

Just goes to prove that BOTH Dem candidates are love Farrahkan just as the last debate showed BOTH loves the Weather Underground. Yes Bill Clinton pardoned them,

[BumperStickerist]

This may be something Tom can use in future posts ...

Ed Rendell's preferred way of eating hot dogs while he's campaigning and in a hurry is to take a bite of hot dog and then squeeze a relish packet to empty its contents into his mouth ... chew, swallow, repeat.

Ed's like a shark ... a perfect eating machine.

... contrast that with John Edwards, John Kerry, and Barack Obama's dining styles.

-

[bio mom]

I think Obama is a little boy. But to bow to political correctness from now on I will refer to him as a "lad" instead. The lad is too young to be the President.

[M. Simon]

bio mom,

Avoid "lad". It is a Navy term. Wouldn't want to give the kid any props.

[kim]

Laddies and lassies,
preceded navies.
===========

[M. Simon]

Maybe so Kim. Still I'm thinking current usage.

[sophy]

I will thank for my friends bringing me in this world. I am not regret to buy Hellgate Palladium .