"That's Enough"...Finally!

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Barack Obama has finally thrown the Rev. Jeremiah Wright under the bus. A friend said Obama needs to throw Wright under the iron wheels of a subway train -- which I think he's now done. Less than an hour ago Obama said he was "angry," "outraged," "saddened" and "appalled" by "the spectacle that we saw yesterday," describing at one point some remarks Wright said last weekend as "ridiculous."

"At a certain point when a person contradicts what you believe fundamentally, and then he questions whether you believe it in front of the press corps...that's enough. It's a show of disrespect to me, and an insult to what we've been trying to do in this campaign."

Obama said that Wright "obviously hasn't shown much concern for me." He said he had heard that Wright had given "a performance" and when he watched tapes, he realized that it more than just a case of the former pastor defending himself.

"What became clear to me was that he was presenting a world view that contradicts what I am and what I stand for," Obama said. "What he said directly contradicts everything about my life. I am outraged by the comments that were made and saddened by the spectacle that we saw yesterday," Obama told reporters at a North Carolina news conference.

comment #1

Abbey Normal says ...

Wright is such a raging egomaniac. It's clear now that he's actually trying to harm Obama's campaign, despite the loyalty Obama has shown toward him against all better political instincts.

During his race speech in Philly, Obama didn't actually defend Wright, but he refused to throw him under the bus. He used the occasion to make a lot of subtle and important points about race in this country. It could have been historic, a real start for some kind of reconciliation, for something better. But that's not what Wright is about.

Obama's oft-stated desire to bring people together is exactly what Wright does NOT want to do. That's why he went and stirred up the shitstorm again...he NEEDS the shitstorm. It's his whole self-image. He believes the hate is the source of his purpose.

And of course, a Clinton surrogate set it all up: http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/0408/Clinton_supporter_invited_Wright.html

It makes perfect sense that the Clintons would have a hand in this...after all, like Wright, their self-interest is in fostering divisions. Creating an intra-party war over Obama is the only way Hillary can get the nomination, and in Hillary's eyes, the nomination is her birthright. She'll do anything to attain it, because she is in a psychic (psychotic?) state of need and entitlement. So is Wright.

They are two sides of the same self-interested coin, and both are deeply threatened by the idea of a united country. Their careers and egos are dependent on savaging the "other."

The tragedy for Obama is that he didn't see the connection sooner.

comment #2

bill weber says ...

Sister Souljah, white courtesy phone...

comment #3

K. Bowen says ...

Brief Encounter? 23 years is brief?
At least one of two things are true. Maybe both things. Either Obama quietly shares a world view with Wright (presumably minus the loopier stuff) or he got completely played by this guy for two decades. Neither one is particularly becoming in a presidential candidate.

comment #4

Chicago48 says ...

You have to be in Chicago to know where all this is coming from. First, Trinity is located in Hyde Park one of the upper class sections of Chicago....University of Chicago, U of C Hospital....mixed race, well educated people....all diverse races....Asians, Black, White, etc. Trinity attracts the 'well heeled'....if you recall Oprah was a member and reportedly left because she didn't agree with what Rev. Wright stated....sometimes what church you're affiliated with helps elevate your (political & class) status. So for example, if I wanted to know important people, people who worked for the city, business owners, etc. I would go to a particular church like Trinity. I wouldn't go to the store front church.
I cannot believe Mr. Obama attended every single church service every week....he was just too busy. Now maybe his wife did, but a man that busy cannot take in every single sermon....so there's a chance he missed a LOT of sermons and didn't fully see where the Rev. was coming from.

Rev. Wright is cut of the same cloth as Min. Farrakahn, and he is pretty fiery. I've been to his "sermons" and Farrakhan can preach until the next morning. Very tiring to go to a Nation meeting. But also Farrakahn is critical of his own black people, their lifestyle which is alien to the Muslim clean way of living, and the United States and their foreign policies....Farrakahn comes off as Hateful, but if you get his tapes and listen to him, he's correct in what he states (95% of the time)....it's just that he says it very loud and threatening.....like a lot of Baptist preachers.

I believe Rev. Wright is truly trying to clear things so that he doesn't come out looking like a demon...plus -- remember he gets paid for making speeches and giving sermons....so this could be a way to become more "active" now that he's retired and get more $$$ in his cup.

He is not a politician, because if he were he would stay the hell away from this campaign until it is over. I doubt that Mr. Obama and wife will be going to Trinity any time soon.

comment #5

Monument says ...

I totally disagree K.

Obama behaved like a gentleman, Wright is behaving like a petulant child.

Did anybody listen to Bush's statements this morning? There was a moment (I wish I had a recording of the specific part) where he was being questioned about Afghanistan and engaged in a verbal sparring match with a reporter. He chastises the reporter for asking one too many questions at which point her microphone is shut off. It's at this point that you hear Bush chuckle to himself and remark "That was awesome." It was so surreal, like he just became a Will Ferrell caricature of himself; Idiocracy in action.

I'm sure he does this all of the time and I've just managed to tune it out.

comment #6

JohnCope says ...

Pathetic. In case anyone is interested, Rev. Wright's presentation to the national
press club can be viewed in its entirety at http://www.c-span.org/. The
whole presentation is a far cry from the media's decontextualized sound
bites. It's just under an hour long.

comment #7

Pinko Punko says ...

K. Bowen,

Just link the YouTube clip for Newt Gingrich saying exactly that on Fox, leave out the middle man.

comment #8

televisiontears says ...

The Clinton camp's just gonna murder him with the "He was never my spiritual mentor" bit. When this turd first hit the fan, I remember Obama saying something along the lines of, "He was a spiritual mentor, nothing more". Regardless, it's sad to see how much traction this diversion has got.

comment #9

BurmaShave says ...

What people are ignorning is that was a presidential press conference. Every time we see Obama deal with a crisis or controversy he becomes more Presidential, not less.

comment #10

Crow T Robot says ...

The ugly campaign is taking its toll on Obama. He looks wiped out. Punch drunk. His words were all mixed up. He's babbling in this speech. Probably wondering what this stupid Wright thing has to do with making the world a better place.

I think the fuckers have finally gotten to him.

comment #11

Edward says ...

I managed to catch some of Rev. Wright at the Press Club. While he did come off as arrogant (he was enjoying himself, mugging to his friends) he also said a lot that I agreed with. It's easy to paint him as a demon when you edit his stuff, taking out any context. That being said, Obama does need to distance himself. Wright is trouble for him.

comment #12

Monument says ...

It's true Edward, the Rev. does say some things that ring true. I think the real problem is the manner is which he is doing it, with such arrogance, and hiding under the banner of the "black church."

comment #13

bill weber says ...

"when he equates the United States' wartime efforts with terrorism, then there are no excuses. They offend me, they rightly offend all Americans..."

Hey Barack, THAT LAST ONE DOESNT OFFEND ME.

Our "wartime efforts" offend me.

comment #14

K. Bowen says ...

Pinko,
I havne't seen the Gingrich YouTube. If I repeated him, it was because we independently reached the same idea.

Monument - Obama is a very gentlemanly man. He is also an extremely intelligent man. And seemingly a pretty good person. But I want to know who this guy is when he closes his eyes.

I think it is hard for Obama to say that he had never heard these statements, given that his wife clearly has soaked a lot of this in. Plus the fact that he took Wright off the list of speakers at his kick-off event. Obviously he knew the gistof what this man was saying.

comment #15

corey3rd says ...

Who can you really trust? I knew this guy for nearly 10 years. he was a nice enough guy. And then we discovered he had murdered his roommate in a rather brutal and long time planned way. He drove this guy to his grandmother's house and shot him on her front porch. We suspect he threw a friend of ours off the top of a building - the cops claimed it was a suicide. Did I know this guy was a killer all those years we were at parties? No.

comment #16

chicbn872 says ...

Four words: too little, too late.

comment #17

brendan says ...

I have been a Obama supporter for 12 months now. I have volunteered my time in NJ and PA to try and help his campaign. The one question I have and it was reinforced yesterday when watching Rev Wright at the NPC was: How could Obama sit and listen to this mans rhetoric for 20 years? I could not stand 20 minutes of it yesterday. Maybe that is why I am done with organized religion and politicians have no choice but to "cling" to it for votes.

comment #18

brendan says ...

Point II - Obama needs to get a little angry and show some balls. Right now, Hillary's are bigger.

comment #19

Jay T. says ...

What's funny about accusing Obama of political posturing is that his strength is that he seems to do way less of that than most political candidates. He comes off as the most genuine candidate easily since Bill Clinton and perhaps for quite some time before that.

comment #20

Jay T. says ...

"He looks wiped out. Punch drunk. His words were all mixed up. He's babbling in this speech."

Fantastic! That should win him a great number of votes (see: Bush, George W.)

comment #21

bmcintire says ...

Can we please put a moratorium on the term "thrown under the bus," even if just for a few days?

comment #22

Rod32303 says ...

Three little words:

Yes
We
Can

comment #23

Josh Massey says ...

Corey: That is perhaps the worst correlation in the history of these thar Internets.

comment #24

Chicago48 says ...

What we're seeing is a split in the generations. Generation gap. Old School vs. New School. Whatever you want to call it, it's happening between Obama and Wright; between the older voter and the younger voter who are seeking change. The older voter clinging to what's familiar and the younger voter wanting to push aside what's familiar and go with something new.

Obama has worked his way up and aware of the racial issues, haven't used it as a crutch to get ahead. Whereas we have the old timers like Wright, Farrakhan and other civil rightists who are stuck in their way of thinking and doing things.

Just a generational fight.

comment #25

Edward says ...

There are plenty of us older voters who are looking for change before we use up your social security.

comment #26

alynch says ...

Obama needs to get a little angry and show some balls.

That's about the worst thing he could do, since people being scared of an angry black man is what created this mess in the first place.

comment #27

dangovich says ...

Still waiting for similar press conferences from John McCain (re Pastor Magee) and Hillary Clinton (re. Doug Coe).

comment #28

musealien says ...

I love the way Hollywood Elsewhere runs this without any editorial comment. A month or two back a photo was posted here of Hillary in the same room as Wright and naturally she was lambasted as having no judgement and being the daughter of the devil etc., the usual politically unsophisticated hate-fuelled nastiness that the blogger on this website displays. Now of course it doesn't matter anymore. Obama's judgement isn't called into question. His decades-long dealing with Wright isn't an issue. Nor is his willingness to disassociate himself from someone whose beliefs he's adhered to for so many years in the name of political expediency. This whole affair will ultimately prove to be one of the main reasons why Obama doesn't get the nomination. But it's also proof of why bloggers will never have anything like the relevance that journalists have; the lack of editorial control over all the increasingly lunatic political statements on this site over the last few months is displayed in posts like this.

comment #29

bb says ...

Jeez, I thought yesterday's post indicated a pause in the political chit-chat on HE.

The best thing Clinton can do right now is wade into this mess. Obama's wounded enough, and expressed his pain and sense of betrayal so well this morning that I think Clinton would risk looking like she's piling on him while he's down.

I'm not an Obama supporter but I really think the situation is at a tipping point and that this could turn around with a sympathy vote for him if misplayed by his political enemies.

.

comment #30

Todd says ...

Forget what Clinton will do with this if the Democrats do continue down the path of nominating him he is toast.

And no I don't mean this in a racist way DZ. If I did I would say he was Whole Wheat Toast.

comment #31

bb says ...

yikes! I meant "The WORST thing that Clinton can do..."

comment #32

K. Bowen says ...

What is the evidence that Obama doesn't share the same basic world view as Wright (presumably without the loopier conspiratorial the-government-created-AIDS-to-kill-blacks stuff)? HIs wife certainly seems to agree with Wright.

comment #33

D.Z. says ...

Bowen: "Either Obama quietly shares a world view with Wright (presumably minus the loopier stuff) or he got completely played by this guy for two decades. Neither one is particularly becoming in a presidential candidate."

Bush gets played by Dick's faceless corporations and the Saudis, and that didn't stop him from getting elected twice.

"What is the evidence that Obama doesn't share the same basic world view as Wright (presumably without the loopier conspiratorial the-government-created-AIDS-to-kill-blacks stuff)? HIs wife certainly seems to agree with Wright."

I imagine the fact that he's just stated he doesn't agree with those comments would be enough evidence. His wife isn't running for President, and probably only agrees with Wright on a religious level the same way Obama did.

television: "The Clinton camp's just gonna murder him with the "He was never my spiritual mentor" bit."

Then he'll respond with that photo-op of Wright with Hil's hubby.

chic: "Four words: too little, too late."

We'll see in a month.

muse: "Now of course it doesn't matter anymore. Obama's judgement isn't called into question. His decades-long dealing with Wright isn't an issue. Nor is his willingness to disassociate himself from someone whose beliefs he's adhered to for so many years in the name of political expediency."

Obama never said he agreed with Wright. He said he had a close personal relationship with him, not a political one.

Todd: Again, Johnny Pro-Iraq Lately can't win. He has more of his own Republican Wrights he has to throw under the bus than Obama.

comment #34

MovieBob says ...

Right speech, wrong time, take two.

THIS is the speech he should've given the MOMENT this problem hit. Simple, direct denunciation. Yeah, he's full of shit. Duh. It's politics. But it's what people wanted to hear, and it would've given him ACTUAL CAUSE to say "can't we get past this now?" But now he's waited until it happened TWICE, and looks like the guy who hesitates. Get the jam, he's TOAST.

comment #35

cobhome says ...

Still waiting for similar press conferences from John McCain (re Pastor Magee) and Hillary Clinton (re. Doug Coe).

was going to post the same thing - the Doug C bible study groups for the senate are truly out there - God has a plan and people in power need to know how to help work that plan out for God - and Hillary attends this stuff -

comment #36

Bob Violence says ...

So Obama throws him under the bus for delivering a slightly more nuanced elaboration of the same ideas he's been pitching for years (if not decades) and then acts indignant that somebody might question what he really believes? It's ballsy, I'll give him that.

comment #37

Dave Polands Gut says ...

Now he says hes outraged??

Not for the past 20 yrs but now?

Just another phony politician.

At least he'll lose now with grace

comment #38

D.Z. says ...

Dave Poland: "Now he says hes outraged?? Not for the past 20 yrs but now?"

How long was it until Republicans were "outraged" by Strom Thurmond, before Trent Lott started praising him?

comment #39

Dave Polands Gut says ...

DZ says:
How long was it until Republicans were "outraged" by Strom Thurmond, before Trent Lott started praising him?

Why would anyone be outraged by Strom? And if you actually knew anything about history and politics you would know that Strom was a Democrat for decades. Did the Democrats find outrage in him?

Wheres the outrage in Sen Byrd, DZ? You know being a member of the KKK cant be what Democrats want in their elected officers right??

comment #40

Mgmax says ...

A reader at National Review Online sums the Obama problemo up:

"Here's the basic thing: Wright and Obama's interests are at odds here. They've each gotten what they wanted from the other—"authenticity" for Obama, and prestige for Wright from having Obama in his pews—but at this point, each needs the other one to be discredited. Obama needs to get the millstone of black nationalism off his neck, and Wright needs Obama to lose the campaign to prove the truth of his black nationalism. They may not think in exactly these terms, as doubtless there is or was personal affection between the two, but as long as Obama wants to be president of all America, Wright's bigotry is poison; and as long as Wright wants to preach the evils of the white man, Obama's success discredits him."

Pretty tough to argue that that isn't exactly what's playing out.

comment #41

D.Z. says ...

Dave: "Why would anyone be outraged by Strom?"

Because he liked to let people know he hated black people, even though he was dating one?

"And if you actually knew anything about history and politics you would know that Strom was a Democrat for decades. Did the Democrats find outrage in him?"

From wikipedia:

...Thurmond supported racial segregation with the longest filibuster ever conducted by a single Senator...in an unsuccessful attempt to derail the Civil Rights Act of 1957. Other Southern Senators, who had agreed as part of a compromise not to filibuster this bill, were upset with Thurmond because they thought his defiance made them look bad to their constituents.[5]...Throughout the 1960s, Thurmond generally received relatively low marks from the press and his fellow Senators in the performance of his Senate duties, as he often missed votes and rarely proposed or sponsored noteworthy legislation.

As Thurmond was increasingly at odds with the Democratic Party, on September 16, 1964 he switched his party affiliation to Republican....

"Wheres the outrage in Sen Byrd, DZ?"

Byrd recanted. Thurmond had a bi-racial love child on the side.

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