Wow. the truth just keeps trickling out... [rquoter] GG: Do you have people in your life that you look to for guidance? OBAMA: Well, my pastor is certainly someone who I have an enormous amount of respect for. I have a number of friends who are ministers. Reverend Meeks is a close friend and colleague of mine in the state Senate. Father Michael Pfleger is a dear friend, and somebody I interact with closely. GG: Those two will keep you on your toes. OBAMA: And theyr’e good friends. Because both of them are in the public eye, there are ways we can all reflect on what’s happening to each of us in ways that are useful. I think they can help me, they can appreciate certain specific challenges that I go through as a public figure.[/rquoter]
You know, to be fair to basso, this guy is the same priest who uncorked a wild rant directly aimed at the primary campaign. And he was described as a "close friend and advisor." While I understand the temptation to automatically discount basso in these matters, I think this is a legitimate campaign issue, if not a big one. Is anyone one else going to pop up from Barack's religious past? I really hope not. Impeach Bush. Sentence Him to Debate basso.
Maybe if you posted this on the front door of the city hall in a Podunk town in West Virginia, then someone might care
Reverend Meeks has a bit an anti-semitic side, called the producers of Brokeback Mountain "Hollywood Jews"...he's apparently anti-gay as well. it gets harder and harder to believe Obama had no idea who these people were, and what they stood for.
Or maybe, since they aren't his political advisors, he wasn't as concerned about their political views. Do you know your doctor's views on politics? Gay rights? National defense? Do you care? If they were controversial, would that make him/her a less effective doctor or less able to diagnose your problems and give you medical advice? As a non-church-goer, I can't say I fully understand the pastor-attendee relationship, but this obsession with pastors is just weird, and the assumptions being made seem fairly ridiculous - I'd be interested in hearing opinions from regular churchgoers on that. If a pastor says something bigoted, do we automatically assume all the members of the congregation must be similar if they don't challenge him? Are all the members of Trinity and all the followers of Jerry Falwell and all the other churches with pastors who've said controversial things automatically somehow bad people?
liberals have been saying exactly that for the past 8 years, indeed ever since the republican right came on the scene, liberals have been trying to tar all republicans with the views of falwell, robertson, et al. as to Obama, none of this would have any resonance if he had not sat in his pew for 20 years and listened to the crap spew forth. from the same interview: [rquoter] GG: Do You still attend Trinity? OBAMA: Yep. Every week. 11 oclock service. Ever been there? Good service. [/rquoter]
So be the bigger person and don't pull the same crap. Smear campaigns aren't going to get the independent vote this time around.
robertson and falwell are relevant because they're republicans. sometimes i don't know if you are being obtuse or if you're really this dense
Lets say once per week for 20 years - that's 1040 sermons. How many of them have you heard? How many have had the crazy stuff in them?
I guess when you have torn the country apart and your policies suck. You look for anything like kindergarten papers to discredit the other side lol.
I would say things that are beyond what you would reasonably expect to hear at times in a primarily black church. What kinds of statements are you referring to that were defended here? For that matter, I can't recall Obama defending *anything* except for his attendance in regards to the Trinity Church during the campaign. Everything he has referenced has been either "denouncing" things or saying that he doesn't agree with it or that it's divisive and backward looking or what not.
