On Friday, March 28th, Barack Obama made his latest stab at explaining away why he spent 20 years as a comfortable member of the volatile and racist Trinity United Church of Christ on the south side of Chicago.
This was the church where Reverend Jeremiah Wright, Jr. bellowed sermons filled with hate for whites and the United States of America as well as a church that published anti-Jew, pro Hamas terrorist articles in church newsletters. And, like all Obama's other "explanations on this matter", this one leaves a lot to be desired.
This time, Obama tried his best to make us believe that he
would have quit the church over Rev. Wright's racist, hate filled rants if the good Rev. hadn't retired first – even though it was only a year ago. In an excerpt from an upcoming interview
CNN reports that Obama earnestly hoped to assure America that Wright's rhetoric was "outrageously wrong" and that his brand of “religion” would have caused Barack to quit the church had it continued.
The problem is, when you look at what Barack really said, it does not assure us that he would have left the church over Wright's obscenities any more than a child caught with his hand in a cookie jar could be believed should he say that it was the last time he intended to steal a cookie. It's easy to claim what you would have done after being caught at something. But the proof is in the pudding as history shows what was really done. Barack didn't leave the church over Wright or anything else. He sat in that congregation with his wife and children nodding his head and saying "Amen" to Wright's 20 some years of railing against the United States.
Barack talked about the controversy on ABC's "The View" and tried to sound as if he was somehow disturbed by Wright's long history of anti-Americanism and racist diatribes.
"
Had the reverend not retired and had he not acknowledged that what he had said had deeply offended people and were inappropriate and mischaracterized what I believe is the greatness of this country, for all its flaws, then I wouldn't have felt comfortable staying there at the church," the senator said.
To ferret out the real truth here, let's break Obama's claim down line for line, let's Fisk the rhetoric, if you will. (Barack’s words follow in bold)
Had the reverend not retired...
Barack says this as if Wright's retirement solved anything or as if the retirement was in response to outrage expressed by members of the church, an outrage that would have chastened Rev. Wright for his hate-speak. Here Barack is making believe that Wright’s retirement is consequential. However, it is none of these things, including consequential. See, the only reason Wright retired was to give Barack cover. The members of the church never saw anything wrong with Wright's rhetoric, just as Barack and his family saw nothing wrong for nearly 20 years. Then came Barack's presidential campaign and the political calculation that Wright should retire was made to give Barack cover. In other words, this retirement was not in response to anything Wright ever said, only in calculation for Barack's viability on election day. Wright being “retired” was better so as to make Barack seem to have been rid of a potential embarrassment.
... and had he not acknowledged that what he had said had deeply offended people and were inappropriate and mischaracterized what I believe is the greatness of this country...
It would be news, indeed, if Rev. Wright had ever made such an admission. However, Barack's claim here that Wright has "acknowledged" his rhetoric is wrong simply is untrue. Wright has never repudiated his past rhetoric. Never. Not one time.
...for all its flaws...
Why is it we have to point out the fact that there are "flaws" in America? We all know there are flaws. Nothing is perfect after all. In fact, this little line was but a paean to those on his side that do think the USA is a bad, inherently flawed place. This little line was a tip of the Obama hat to those like Rev. Wright, haters of the USA.
...then I wouldn't have felt comfortable staying there at the church.
Now, notice the coda to his claims. He says he "wouldn't have felt comfortable staying there," right? But, notice that this is NOT saying he would have felt compelled to leave the church. Also, notice how this last bit seems predicated on the fact that Wright retired making his ultimate leaving of the church moot and unnecessary.
Obama does his best to deflect from the fact that Wright preached his hate for 20 years and Barack seemed to have felt perfectly comfortable staying at the Trinity United Church of Christ during that long amount of time. He never did leave the church and if 20 years of Wright's racist rhetoric wasn't enough to make him leave, just how much hate speak would Obama have had to listen to before he became uncomfortable enough to leave? And, why did that discomfort only arise after 20 years and conveniently enough just as he began to campaign for president?
Furthermore, Obama cannot claim to have been too upset at his "spiritual mentor" because Rev. Wright had an official role in the Obama campaign until just a few weeks ago. Wight was Obama's adviser to the campaign for outreach to African-American communities. So, Obama cannot claim to have felt too distant from his long time pastor.
But, here is the thing: Barack cannot refute Rev. Wright's racist ranting, nor can he be seen being outraged by his church. If he did, he'd lose a large part of the black vote that would feel he has turned his back on them and he would certainly lose black leaders that he only recently accepted into his fold.
Barack has left the realm of the candidate who is transcending race to the candidate who is representing race.
Barack HAS to be understood to be winking at the black community and saying on the sly that he does agree that America is hateful, America is racist, and America is a danger to the world, for this is the narrative from the leadership of the black community. This is the pot stirring that black leaders use to keep their constituents in a constant state of turmoil and outrage so that they will stay on the correct side of the issue -- as far as those leaders are concerned, at least. This is the plantation of hate of which black leaders in America are malevolent masters.
Unfortunately, their mode of leadership prevents American blacks from thinking independently enough to question the authority that black leaders claim as their own. This sort of Us against Them system of control is a common top down tool used to keep people under the thumb of leaders who have little else to offer. By keeping the focus on outsiders, scrutiny for those on the inside is foresworn. And what could be better than substituting the ease of finger pointing at others for the hard work of improving from within?
Lastly, what we have here is a Barack Obama who has signed on whole-heartedly to the finger pointing style of rhetoric that black leaders are so prone. This certainly makes the lie to Barack's claims of finding a moderate, middle way of compromise and working together to solve America's problems. It absolutely shows us that Barack has no intentions whatever of trying to found a new nirvana of bipartisanship.
This Wright incident has revealed that Barack Obama is not above signing on to the sort of anti-American rhetoric as espoused by the Farrakhans and Rev. Wrights of this nation. In fact he is quite eager to do so.
The only change the candidate of change offers is that folks who disagree with him should just shut up, change their minds and forget about what they wanted before Barack descended down to us from on high.
