March 14, 2008

He Vehemently Condemns Wright's Statememts

From the Huffington Post. This is Senator Barack Obama's complete statement:

The pastor of my church, Rev. Jeremiah Wright, who recently preached his last sermon and is in the process of retiring, has touched off a firestorm over the last few days. He's drawn attention as the result of some inflammatory and appalling remarks he made about our country, our politics, and my political opponents.

Let me say at the outset that I vehemently disagree and strongly condemn the statements that have been the subject of this controversy. I categorically denounce any statement that disparages our great country or serves to divide us from our allies. I also believe that words that degrade individuals have no place in our public dialogue, whether it's on the campaign stump or in the pulpit. In sum, I reject outright the statements by Rev. Wright that are at issue.

Because these particular statements by Rev. Wright are so contrary to my own life and beliefs, a number of people have legitimately raised questions about the nature of my relationship with Rev. Wright and my membership in the church. Let me therefore provide some context.

As I have written about in my books, I first joined Trinity United Church of Christ nearly twenty years ago. I knew Rev. Wright as someone who served this nation with honor as a United States Marine, as a respected biblical scholar, and as someone who taught or lectured at seminaries across the country, from Union Theological Seminary to the University of Chicago. He also led a diverse congregation that was and still is a pillar of the South Side and the entire city of Chicago. It's a congregation that does not merely preach social justice but acts it out each day, through ministries ranging from housing the homeless to reaching out to those with HIV/AIDS.

Most importantly, Rev. Wright preached the gospel of Jesus, a gospel on which I base my life. In other words, he has never been my political advisor; he's been my pastor. And the sermons I heard him preach always related to our obligation to love God and one another, to work on behalf of the poor, and to seek justice at every turn.

The statements that Rev. Wright made that are the cause of this controversy were not statements I personally heard him preach while I sat in the pews of Trinity or heard him utter in private conversation. When these statements first came to my attention, it was at the beginning of my presidential campaign. I made it clear at the time that I strongly condemned his comments. But because Rev. Wright was on the verge of retirement, and because of my strong links to the Trinity faith community, where I married my wife and where my daughters were baptized, I did not think it appropriate to leave the church.

Let me repeat what I've said earlier. All of the statements that have been the subject of controversy are ones that I vehemently condemn. They in no way reflect my attitudes and directly contradict my profound love for this country.

With Rev. Wright's retirement and the ascension of my new pastor, Rev. Otis Moss, III, Michelle and I look forward to continuing a relationship with a church that has done so much good. And while Rev. Wright's statements have pained and angered me, I believe that Americans will judge me not on the basis of what someone else said, but on the basis of who I am and what I believe in; on my values, judgment and experience to be President of the United States.

Perhaps now Senator Clinton will "vehemently condemn" the statements of Geraldine Ferraro.

Perhaps now Senator McCain will "vehemently condemn" the statements of John Hagee or Rod Parsley.

27 comments:

  1. Rev. Parsley equates U.S. military force with divine justice in the showdown of all showdowns with Islam, for which our country was founded for at the time of Columbus

    Rev. Hagee insists on the physical existence of the Israeli nation, as this fits in with his fantasizing predictions of/attempt to expedite the Second Coming with a final war with Iran.

    McCain actively courts these Satanic self-loathing scumbags who want to blot out their own existences by an ultimate military abortion of the whole world.

    '...I have some straight talk for you, my friends. There will be more losses...more PSTDs...more wars..."

    "Bomb, bomb, bomb, bomb bomb Iran"

    As incendiary as Wright's remarks are, he is an ex-Marine who does not religiously condone or preach violence.

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  2. Well, Davyoe, it appears I'm only allowed to comment in your posts at the moment. My last 3 or 4 attempts to comment on one of Maria's posts have failed to show up. Your partner appears to have gone off the rails. Sad moment for this blog.

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  3. I have spent the last hour cropping pics.

    Try posting again.

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  4. May I also note how ridiculous it is that you think that I can somehow only ban your comments from my own posts and let ones to David's go through???

    I mean, Jesus Christ, you have your own blog.

    Is that how you think it works???

    But THANKS for assuming I had banned your comments (from my posts only) or that I was stalking you online and kept wiping your posts out instead of that blogger had ate them -- like that has never happened to anyone.

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  5. John K. says: Amazing. This Rev Wright guy married Obama. This guy was one of the advisors to Obama. This guy would still be a trusted advisor to Obama if not for the fact that at this moment it is politically too hot for him to associate with Rev. Wright. Left wing kooks do not desire so much a separation of church and politics. They just want their own preachers to be the ones doing the preaching. Rev. Wright is a hate filled sicko. He preaches to hate filled sickos. Obama is a hypocrite. LMAO But who cares, Rev. Wright is your sicko which makes him okay in the eyes of the left. As long as Rev. Wright preaches the destruction of white people, I guess that is cool. Hmmmm lefties. LMAO at you folks.

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  6. You can't make a sound argument for this one. 20 years of influence.I'll bet you Obama supporters wouldn't have stayed in that church that long. Unless , of course, you belive America to be the axis of evil.

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  7. Guilt by association is a scary thing. Just imagine if you had to vet everyone you have contact with.

    But, you say, he was an "Advisor!" Yea, right. These campaigns have a cadre of people who are referred to that way. It's like being called an "Associate Producer." (see: "State and Main") It means almost nothing, but can be good for a few votes here and there.

    And I think Obama's response is terrific. Not just because he so clearly distanced himself from the guy, but because he did it in a way that few politicians do; unequivocally. I know that he and his speech writers parsed those paragraphs carefully, but it was a rather impressive show of grace under pressure.

    Pilt

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  8. "Just imagine if you had to vet everyone you have contact with"

    I know people who won't take Goverment cheese because they think it contains birth controll. I know people who won't buy Amish baked goods because they heard it is made with free breast milk. I know a preacher who tells his small following that a Christian woman has to stay with an abusive husband because the Bible says so. I don't associate with those people for 20 years, or seek guidance from them. Absolutely stupid to believe Obama does not regard Rev. Wright as truthful.

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  9. From ABC:

    Last December, Obama's campaign issued a press release in which Wright was listed as a national leader of the Obama campaign's "African American Religious Leadership Committee."

    Here's the press release:


    http://www.gwu.edu/~action/2008/obama/obama120407pr.html

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  10. "Guilt by association is a scary thing."

    Unless you're Hillary with Ferraro.

    I guess this is just another case of IOKIYB.

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  11. David,

    Perhaps now you'll post the video of Wright like you did of Ferraro and of Olbermann condeming Hillary.

    Yeah, right.

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  12. I guess that Donnie McClurkin is one more example of "guilt by association."

    From the LA Times:

    Obama's three "Embrace the Change" concerts featuring Grammy-winning "ex-gay" gospel singer Donnie McClurkin.

    [snip]

    But it was McClurkin who dominated the event, claiming before an audience of about 2,000 Sunday in Columbia, S.C.: "I don't speak against the homosexuals. I tell you that God delivered me from homosexuality. No matter what blog you read, let me tell you, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature!" (For all of McClurkin's religious talk, biblical scholars remind us that Jesus had not a word to say on the subject.)

    [snip]

    Adding fuel to this fire was Obama's reply to questions about the concert. He haughtily told a reporter from the gay news magazine the Advocate, "If there's somebody out there who's been more consistent in including LGBT Americans in his or her vision of what America should be, then I would be interested in knowing who that person is." (The answer, of course, is Dennis Kucinich.)

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  13. Maria;

    Two important words here:

    Venemently Condemns

    Also, Wright's gone from whatever position he had in the Obama campaign. Had that not happened, I would have been working on a "Wright has to go" posting right now (including videos of Wright's speeches).

    On whether this is guilt by association, I got two quotations for you.

    Senator Obama:

    The statements that Rev. Wright made that are the cause of this controversy were not statements I personally heard him preach while I sat in the pews of Trinity or heard him utter in private conversation.

    Then there's Clinton Advisor Lanny Davis:

    I give Senator Obama completely — completely — the benefit of the doubt that he has nothing to do with this bigotry that’s being spewed forth by this man. For me, that’s all he has to say.

    I think we should stop this guilt-by-association thing, because some of our supporters say stupid things.


    Wright's gone (as it should be) and his comments were "vehemently condemned" by Senator Obama (also, as it should be).

    What else do you want?

    Dayvoe

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  14. So we are against Obama because he hires an ex-gay to speak for him? Well, yes! But don't blame Obama, there are many Psychologists, preachers and parents who say "you can change!" Just read the Bible!
    This is a wonderful blog. Not because you writers are so informed, but because you allow argument. Hillary, Obam, or McKane will not give us change and hope, but blogs like this will give us hope for change. Forget politics. That leads to concerns of money. Think, feel and write it down. Accept Philip the grill chef's admonishments, (I think he teaches High School English for real!), Understand DeVoes passion for hope and change, don't look at John K.'s weenie tho".( I don't believe she has one) but keep this dialog open. we all have a voice and that voice speeks of desire to preserve the Human Race. What is more important to desire?

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  15. I'd like Hillary to be questioned about her opposition reseach team sending out emails about Wright and her membership in the Fellowship.

    Faith And Hillary

    by Steve Soto

    Ignorance cannot be an excuse here, because a Google search would tell you the Fellowship believes that Christian elites have a duty to rule the world, and serve Jesus Christ in a higher calling than their duties as leaders of nations. Plainly put, according to Sharlet, “the Fellowship believes that the elite win power by the will of God, who uses them for his purposes. Its mission is to help the powerful understand their role in God’s plan.” The notion that Christian elites should rule the world for the rest of us, and should lead their countries not for the benefit of all, but to pursue God’s plan as defined by the Fellowship and founder Doug Coe runs contrary to what this country was founded upon, and is anything but progressive.

    http://www.theleftcoaster.com/archives/010937.php

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  16. YIKES. I am reminded why I have such distaste for politics. I certainly hope that the 2PJs don't forget they were supposed to have a friendly rivalry.

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  17. Reverend Wright is retired. I also note that they found 3 snippets (at least what I heard) out of a 20 year career. That isn't very much. Also, the earliest snippet is from right after 9/11.

    Here is what a white Christian in Chicago had to say about Senator Obama's Church long before this erupted:

    http://marty-center.uchicago.edu/sightings/archive_2007/0402.shtml

    --Kim

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  18. I have a simple question hopefully I will get some answers. Why can we the United States of America undermine duly elected governments around the world notably Latin America, Iran (Shah) resulting in the lives of civilians, having our military forces all over the world, in which no other country does, and then be surprised something like 9/11 happened.Seems to me when you're responsible for taking the lives or ruining the lives of people you could possibly be leaving yourself open for some kind of payback.

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  19. Yes, I have a blog (that all of 10 people visit and is literally just a diversion from writing about cancer research 5 days a week), but, to be very honest, I have literally no technical knowledge about how blogs work. I let Blogger do all of the work. The extent of what I know how to do is code for a hyperlink. Shit, I just learned about labels like two weeks ago.

    All I know is that on at least 3 occasions, I posted a comment in two of your earlier posts, the IOKIYB post and at least one other, they appeared to be successful and then they were gone when I checked back.

    I'll keep trying and hopefully it won't be a problem. Because that would be sad.

    In either case, right now I could care less. Pitt just finished an incredible 4-day run in NYC and I couldn't be happier.

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  20. Actually McCain has condemned Pastor Hagee's remarks: (from an AP story)

    "McCain said that “I repudiate any comments that are made, including Pastor Hagee’s, if they are anti-Catholic or offensive to Catholics.” "

    I am agnostic and personally don't give a shit what any preacher says.

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  21. John K. says: You left wingers have been using guilt by association for years when it comes to conservatives. Obama is still in this particular church. McCain is not a member of Hagee's church. Obama has been listening to this guy for 20 years. McCain has been listening to Hagee for all of 30 minutes. Ah the left.

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  22. thehis wright guy (who really should stop using the title rev.) is a racist and a bigot. for ol barak to say he never heard this guy i 20 years is a flat out lie. this is all part of the black mantra today . blame whitey for all they own failings. america is so so bad but he loves the yankee dollar to buy that big house oustside chicago

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  23. Can I vote for Rev. Wright instead of Obama?

    John K.: You are a liar, by the way. Nowhere has Rev. Wright preached "the destruction of white people."

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  24. John K. says: Pee-pee...pee-pee...where are you, pee-pee?

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  25. From Dreams of My Father, ” I FOUND A SOLACE IN NURSING A PERVASIVE SENSE OF GRIEVANCE AND ANIMOSITY AGAINST MY MOTHER’S RACE”. Barack Hussein Obama

    From ‘Dreams of my Father’, “The emotion between the races could never be pure, even love was tarnished by the desire to find in the other some element that was missing in ourselves. Whether we sought out our demons or salvation, the other race (WHITE) would always remain just that: menacing, alien, and apart.” Barack Hussein Obama

    From Dreams Of My Father: “That hate hadn’t gone away,” he wrote, BLAMING “WHITE PEOPLE — some CRUEL, some IGNORANT, sometimes a single face, sometimes just a faceless image of a system claiming power over our lives.” Barack Hussein Obama

    From ‘Dreams Of My Father’, “There were enough of us on campus to constitute a tribe, and when it came to hanging out many of us chose to function like a tribe, staying close together, traveling in packs,” he wrote. “It remained necessary to prove which side you were on,to show your LOYALTY TO THE BLACK MASSES, TO STRIKE OUT and name names” Barack Hussein Obama

    “What I value most about Pastor Wright is not his day-to-day political advice,” Obama said. “He’s much more of a sounding board for me to make sure that I am speaking as truthfully about what I believe as possible and that I’m not losing myself in some of the hype and hoopla and stress that’s involved in national politics.”

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  26. "He Is A Liar" after tweenty years being in that church he knows what the man thinks, he is his spiritual advisor, he has taken Donnie McClurkin, Isaiah Washington, on his campaign trail, he is a racist, sexist, homophobic, jerk biggot, Louis Farrakhan is good chums with the Reverend Wright, don't you get it people...

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