The consensus among Obama supporters regarding the anti-American, racist sermons by Jeremiah Wright has been that the issue is a tempest in a teapot, and that it won’t affect November’s vote. Rasmussen has some sobering numbers in that regard:
Most voters, 56%, said Wright’s comments made them less likely to vote for Obama. That figure includes 44% of Democrats. Just 11% of voters say they are more likely to vote for Obama because of Wright’s comments.
Here’s the part that makes me a bit queasy:
However, among African-Americans, 29% said Wright’s comments made them more likely to support Obama. Just 18% said the opposite while 50% said Wright’s comments would have no impact.
So, for 79% of black voters polled, Wright’s sermons are A-OK? Yeah, that bothers me. Look, I suppose it’s possible that I’m an atypical voter, but I really don’t think that’s the case where the damage to Obama from Wright is concerned. The excuse offered by Obama’s defenders, namely, that rhetoric of this sort is pervasive in black churches around the country, and because of that, whites shouldn’t be offended by it is perhaps even more offensive than Wright’s own words…taken in context, it’s as sure an “OK for me but not for thee” situation as I’ve ever seen. I can’t imagine talk like this from a white person being acceptable to Wright’s defenders…Hell, ask Don Imus about it.
Of course, Obama supporters, in any other role than Obama supporter, would hardly defend Wright in any case. It’s a function of wanting to protect their candidate, this reflexive defense, and it’s understandable in that light. It’s not reasonable for them, however, to expect me, or any other voter not invested in an Obama nomination to buy the excuses they are manufacturing for Obama’s pastor, or, by reflection, for Obama.
Update: Ross Douthat, no slavering partisan, on Ezra Klein’s Wright defense:
As to Ezra’s larger point, of course it’s “fine” to be a white Christian extremist in America; it’s also fine to be a black Christian extremist like Jeremiah Wright. This is a free country, after all. Nobody in the national media was parsing the Reverend Wright’s sermons before the 2008 campaign, and nobody would be parsing them today if he was just one minister among many supporting Barack Obama for President. I have no doubt that many, many Democratic politicians have put in an appearance at churches whose pastors share Wright’s outlandish political views without anyone kicking up a fuss, just as Republican politicians have long accepted the support of figures like Falwell without taking too much heat about it. The distinction here, for the umpteenth time, is that Wright isn’t just Obama’s supporter; he’s his pastor, his friend, and his spiritual mentor, which makes him exactly the kind of person whose views ought to be of interest to a public that’s considering electing Barack Obama President of the United States. And as to the substance of those views, well, if Ezra really thinks that Wright’s sermons have sparked controversy because he broke a taboo against getting angry over the fact that “blacks have suffered a long history of oppression in this country” and “still face deep institutional discrimination,” I would suggest that he take another look at them, paying particular attention to Wright’s remarks about 9/11, as well as what appears to be his suggestion that the U.S. government created not only the crack epidemic, but the AIDS epidemic as well.
Update II: While I don’t agree with Derb that Obama is “toast”, I believe he and his reader are on the same wavelength that I am.
Filed under: Barack Obama, Democrats, Election 2008, Jeremiah Wright, Politics, Race
It’s not indenfensible. I don’t like it, and I was never going to vote for Obama in the first place, but there is a difference between white America and black America and it is bizarre that white people seemed surprised by it. Is there anyone who thinks that most black Americans lived comparably to whites economically, or that segregation doesn’t still exist, or that there aren’t more black men in prison than white men? It’s a different America depending on your color. If you knew that you had a 2 in 3 chance of being arrested (not necessarily convicted, but arrested) and that this statistic corresponded to your skin color, would think, what a great country I live in!? Nope. I am not saying black Americans are unpatriotic. They serve our country in the military in greater proportion than their white counterparts, and Rev. Wright is a former Marine. If you lay your life on the line, that says patriotism to me. Black Americans participate in every facet of American life as community leaders, workers, employers, and they do so despite a history of abuse (and I am not speaking about slavery here, but about events in our lifetimes).
I am not saying it is a good thing Rev. Wright thinks this way and preaches this way. Messages that don’t spread loving thy neighbor should not be preached in any Christian church. I think his message is way off. But I also think the media is turning this into a bogeyman syndrome, as if Obama is going to appoint Wright to the Department of Faith, Hope and Charity in the cabinet and Louis Farrakhan will become our Ambassador to Israel. Get real.
My position is simply this: If blacks expect whites not to engage in racist rhetoric, then they should desist from engaging in it themselves. If blacks expect whites to denounce racist rhetoric when it comes to light, they should do so themselves. If blacks expect whites to punish peddlers of racism, they should do so themselves.
It’s undeniable that there are differences between white and black America. From where I’m standing, though, what Wright and Farrakhan are preaching isn’t part of the solution, it’s part of the problem. And here we have a close friend and protege (Obama has called Wright his “mentor”) of Wright running for president.
Well said, Joe.
Exactly right Joe! Couldn’t say it any better.
If it was about race, it would die out quickly. But Barack Obama is in serious trouble if a spotlight is placed on his THEOLOGY. See:
http://miraclesdaily.blogspot.com/
That’s a bit strong, Prophet. Personally, I make no judgments upon anyone’s theology, unless it unduly influences their politics in a negative manner. I don’t see any problem with Obama’s faith, only with his relationship with the pastor of his church.
Twenty years ago or more..Obama made the decision to become a politician and did what he could to futher that aim, and that included joining an influential black church. Did he agree with the Pastor..who know’s maybe yes, maybe no, all he knew was that joining did move him up the poitical ladder.. and i have no problems with this , he did what he had to but for me the question is, WHY…WHY…is this Pastor doing every thing he can to destroy Obama’s chance’s . i’ll be honest i’m 62 yrs old and i never thought i would see the day when this county had a black president.. not that i had a problem with that…i just didn’t think it would happen… and now there is a chance…yet that chance is being destroyed by another black man… just dont’ understand it at all….