Gee...I guess it's a good thing he left that church...and denounced the pastor. Palin hasn't taken that or any other step to denounce what happened at her church. Yet, still not one word of criticism from you for Palin. Guess she doesn't have to do anything like Obama did. Why are you unwilling or unable to say that Palin should be held to EXACTLY THE SAME STANDARD as Obama?
Speaking of standards, how long did it take the media, or for that matter, Obama supporters to investigate the political radicalism at Trinity United Church of Christ and Jeremiah Wright? 15 months. How long did it take for them to start with Palin and her religious beliefs? Less than a week. The reason for this may very well be that they simple didn’t care what his beliefs were. Now, in a strange reversal, they care.
Maybe Palin should do the same thing Obama did and repudiate her Pastor and leave her church. While she’s at it she should remove her Pastor from the position of “Campaign Spiritual Adviser†. . . no wait, he isn’t.
You praise Obama for doing the right thing by repudiating his Pastor and leaving his church, but you have never explained his reasons for doing so. Was it a sudden realization, an epiphany Obama experienced on or about the same day that the public became aware of Jeremiah Wright’s vitriol, anti-Semitic, anti-American and racist sermons that drove his decision, or had Obama’s association with Jeremiah Wright and Trinity United Church of Christ become a political liability worthy of relocation under his bus? You decide.
Furthermore, Jeremiah Wright’s sermons were based on a foundation established by Rev. James Cone, the founder of Black Liberation Theology (BLT). You may have a case by stating Obama wasn’t “present†(a term frequently used by Obama in the Illinois Senate) during Wright’s ultra venomous and publicized sermons, but it is void of reason to expect that Obama didn’t accept, believe and practice BLT. If you think Palin’s religious beliefs are extreme, study the “Black Value System†of BLT!
It may be prudent to note what Obama actually repudiated. Here’s his
statement, (March 14, 2008) posted appropriately enough at HuffPo. A three-pronged defense: A: he didn’t know, B: he condemns what Wright said without reservation, and C: the guy’s retiring anyway.
“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…
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.â€
That’s a nice, lawyerly dodge. Is he suggesting that in 20 years’ time he
never heard Wright say anything along these lines? Or is he merely suggesting that he was never personally in attendance when Wright said it, as if that would matter remotely to his decision to stay with the church once he heard about it secondhand? Is he saying that he
would have quit the church over this rhetoric if not for the fact that Wright was retiring?
Here’s another quote taken from the March 14, 2008 HuffPo article:
“In other words, he has never been my political advisor; he’s been my pastor.â€
14 months earlier in an article from the
Chicago Tribune, Obama is quoted as saying
“Obama says that rather than advising him on strategy, Wright helps keep his priorities straight and his moral compass calibrated. …
Though Wright and Obama do not often talk one-on-one often, the senator does check with his pastor before making any bold political moves.
Last fall, Obama approached Wright to broach the possibility of running for president. Wright cautioned Obama not to let politics change him, but he also encouraged Obama, win or lose.â€
Before you dish out the “hypocrite†declarations make sure you know what you’re talking about.