[quote]Professor X wrote:
It is like none of that is enough. They can’t pick on what he is actually saying (because he avoids mud slinging himself most of the time and because he keeps his message simple to avoid that in the first place) so they pick on what other people said…and then claim he was in the room…and then claim his judgment is in doubt because he heard it and didn’t run screaming from the room.
Let me know when this starts to make any sense because it doesn’t for me.
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It’s more than that - he actually doesn’t say much of anything on the subject - which is why statements of his advisers lead to speculation. Particularly when they tail well with statements made by his wife.
Obama, when discussing Wright, has indicated that if he had heard Wright repeatedly make these types of statements, he would have left.
From an interview with Major Garrett:
[i]GARRETT: Sir, would you have �?? would you have quit the church had you heard them personally?
OBAMA: You know, I guess �?? keep in mind that, just to provide more context, this is somebody who I had known for 20 years. Pastor Wright has been a pastor for 30 years. He’s an ex-Marine. He is somebody who is a biblical scholar, has spoken at theological seminaries all across the country, from the University of Chicago to Hampton. And so he is a well- regarded preacher. And somebody who is known for talking about the social gospel.
But most of the time, when I’m in church, he’s talking about Jesus, God, faith, values, caring for the poor, those �?? family, those were the messages that I was hearing.
And so you know, I think that the statements that have been strung together are compiled out of hundred of sermons that he delivered over the course of his lifetime. But, obviously, they are ones that are, from my perspective, completely unacceptable and inexcusable.
And if I had thought that that was the tenor or tone on an ongoing basis of his sermons, then, yes, I don’t think that it would have been reflective of my values or my faith experience.
GARRETT: So, quick yes or no. If had you heard them in person you would have quit?
OBAMA: If I had heard them repeated, I would have quit. I mean, obviously, understand that �?? understand that, you know, this is somebody who is like an uncle. If you have �?? to me. He’s somebody who helped me find Christ. And somebody who always talked to me in very powerful ways about relationship to God and our obligations to the poor.
If somebody makes a mistake, then obviously, you recognize �?? I make mistakes. We all make mistakes. If I thought that that was the repeated tenor of the church, then I wouldn’t feel comfortable there.
But, frankly, that has not been my experience at Trinity United Church of Christ. [/i]
So, whether you believe him on whether he knew about Wright’s views gets to be kind of important - at least regarding base hypocrisy.
The judgment thing is big - after GW I’m disinclined to want politicians who are inclined to wishful thinking about the problems they might face.