Obama Responds To Wright's Speech

"If Reverend Wright thinks that’s political posturing, as he put it, then he doesn’t know me very well and based on his remarks yesterday, I may not know him as well as I thought either."

"I gave him the benefit of the doubt in my speech in Philadelphia, explaining that he has done enormous good in the church," he said. "But when he states and then amplifies such ridiculous propositions as the U.S. government somehow being involved in AIDS; when he suggests that Minister Farrakhan somehow represents one of the greatest voices of the 20th and 21st century; when he equates the U.S. wartime efforts with terrorism – then there are no excuses. They offend me. They rightly offend all Americans. And they should be denounced, and that’s what I’m doing very clearly and unequivocally here today."

"It is antithetical to my campaign. It is antithetical to what I’m about. It is not what I think America stands for,"

via Ben Smith

The Plank wonders what took Obama so long to respond.

Like Josh Marshall, I've heard a lot of panic from Obama supporters over the last couple days. His denunciation of Rev. Wright today seems to be pretty much a bullseye. Why did he let the story hang out there so long without a response? I don't know, but I do see a pattern here: Throughout the campaign, Obama has made very good tactical moves, but he's made them slowly. Hillary Clinton, by contrast, has made a lot of mistakes, but she does grasp the 24-hour news cycle and she acts very quickly.

I think a commenter answers the question of why Obama took so long (one day is long?) perfectly:

What I'm looking for in a President is someone who can make a lot of bad decisions in a very small amount of time.

touche!
via The Plank

When Obama has a problem that makes me worry about his candidacy, he comes out and reminds us why America needs him. Obama shows us, again, his intelligence and thoughtful demeanor.

He's back. Not that he ever left, that goodness!

Wright...*sigh*...Again

His speech was not infammatory, but when he came to the Q&A...that is when he became beligerant and damaging.
It's hard to understand what he thinks he is doing, exactly. It's as if he doesn't care one wit about the historic candidacy of Obama and what Obama represents. A few bloggers have commented on how Wright is a throwback to the Vietnam era divisions of the past - a past he seems stuck in.
He showed a complete 180 degree turn from the Moyers interview when he answered the question at the Press club the other day. During the Moyers interview (and during the speech portion of the Press club), Wright seemed nuanced, calm and logical (in a the christian theology sense) when he spoke to Moyers, but as the questions came from the audience at the Press Club, he revealed a side that is disturbing to many, including me.
The question is how will Obama react? Part of me feels Obama will have to go much further in condeming, denouncing (whatever the MSM is defining the correct response to be) that he did before. In some ways, Wright has opened himself up to allow Obama to refudiate Wright in stronger terms.
I can't quite wrap my head around why Wright is doing this. Obama made a speech about race, a powerful speech, and Wright has thrown Obama's speech back at him as if it meant nothing. What Wright has revealed himself as is somenone that is stuck in the past, while Obama is trying to move forward.
This really is a generational thing which we have seen in how the voters are voting - younger for Obama, older for Clinton.

I only hope this doesn't stop Obama, his canidacy is too important - what he stands for is too important to let one man derail it. He can't let himself be defined by other's definitions. He cannot let himself make the same mistakes Kerry made.

Bill O'Reilly and Newt Gingrich Condemn Bill Moyers

If you ever wanted to see an example of the right's use of the "truth", watch the clip of O'Reilly and Gingrich condemning the Bill Moyers interview with Jeremiah Wright. Condemning the interview before the interview is even broadcast. This is how the right wing operates, they don't care about facts (but anyone reading this blog knows that), they simply care about vilifying anyone that disagrees with them - damn the facts!

You probably noticed that O'Reilly concedes the point that he has yet to see the interview, "we’re going to wait and see the whole interview before we really hang Moyers, but Bernie’s warming up."
Now just think about that. He knows he hasn't seen the interview, he says that he hasn't seen the interview, and yet he still says he is going to "really hang Moyers" anyway. The truth is, facts don't matter to the right, only politically moitivated bombs (see: Iraq) designed to maskobliterate the truth.
via Think Progress

Jeremiah Wright On Bill Moyers Journal Tonight

see below for my thoughts on the Jeremiah Wright interview

I'm planning on watching Bill Moyers Journal tonight to hear what Jeremiah Wright has to say about his "god damn America" sermon that has gotten Obama in so much trouble. Well, while I was walking back from the gym this evening, it ocurred to me that getting up in arms about this sermon is silly. As I was walking, a thought popped into my head, "it's just as silly to say 'god damn America' as it is to say 'god bless America'". Both have zero meaning.

How ridiculous is it to say "god bless America" after two planes were used as missiles in New York and the Pentagon? Seems an odd thing to think that god has just blessed America after two buildings and thousand of lives have been destroyed.
If you believe in the whole 'blessing' thing, isn't it more accurate to say god damned America on 9/11? Logically, as much as logic can be brought into an arguement about blessing, we can't be both blessed and damned at the same time. But, it seems to me, 9/11 was not a blessing at all, it was a horrible tragedy. And to say "god bless America" only diminishes that tragedy so we can perform some psychological jujitsu to feel better about ourselves. Who is more truthful, the person that says god blesses America after the Twin Towers fell or the guy that saw an ugly tragedy and says, "hey, this is not a blessing"?

You know, if you, ahem, believe blessings really exist.

As for Wright? I'll comment on him after I watch Bill Moyers.


I have to say, I was bit worried about how the interview would turnout, but my fears were based selely on the sound bites we have all seen on the news about Wright's sermons. After watching this interview, I now understand how Wright has been wildly mischarachterized in the media. He is intelegent, funny, campassionate - really different from what we have all seen.

During the interview, Moyers played a larger portion of the Wright sermon that has gotten Wright and Obama in such hot water. If, after watching sermon, you come away thinking Wright is anti-American, anti white, and pro terrorist, either you are willfully ignoring the truth, or you simply want to be told what to think without having to think for yourself because following the media's (both the conservative and liberal) is easier for you, you need to wake up.

From watching this interview I have learned a lesson on how the media works, how politicians, commentators and how, as a nation, we are easily lead into a frenzy; as a nation, we need to constantly question what the media and the politicians tell us. I try and keep my sense of skeptism when it comes to politics, but after watching the Wright interview, I realize I need to be even more skeptical of what we are told. For our democracy to function, we need to regain our sense that this is our future and we cannot let it be dictated by the few. Not to be pendantic, but: "To see what is in front of one's nose [really] needs a constant struggle" -George Orwell

Beyond what the interview covered, I am even more impressed with Barack Obama. I now understand why Obama could not possibly disown, dissavow, whatever he was urged to do, Wright. Obama showed true strength of charachter by not throwing Wright under the bus because of the media contraversey over the sound bites we all saw. After watching tonight interview, I know this country needs someone like Obama as President.

I hope you will take the time to download the entire interview.