Well, well.
The man who wouldn't salute the U.S. flag made his speech, blaming all the ills of society on slavery, and the resentment of whites of affirmative action, with eight of those flags behind him.
As far as I'm concerned, that speech was a "something for everyone" speech, and a speech to excuse, and justify, the controversial hate speeches made by his friend, and pastor, Dr. Jeremiah Wright.
Do you think that it really accomplished anything? I don't. I think it will serve only to stir up more bitterness and resentment on both sides, and I doubt that anyone was inspired to work on the issue of the great racial divide in this country.
It is true that many whites feel that they have been denied equal rights, in order to give a step-up to blacks, and it is just as true that blacks still feel that they are victims, with a very strong sense of entitlement, which is enforced by activists, black and white, such as Dr. Jeremiah Wright, and others with extremely far left, radical, liberal views.
I must say that I did feel sorry for Senator Obama, because I know that he feels a genuine affection for his friend and pastor, but he must have known when he considered becoming a presidential candidate, that this issue was going to arise, sooner or later. The fact that he denied ever hearing any of the incendiary comments of Reverend Wright, or any knowledge of his strong anti-white establishment feelings, only made himself look worse. At least, today he finally did acknowledge that he knew of some of it, but still tried to justify it.
I have my own idea of where this is leading, and I believe that the civil unrest of the sixties will be nothing compared to what will happen if Senator Obama, for any reason, loses his bid for the White House.
6 comments:
Great post, Jan!
I like this part:
"The fact that he denied ever hearing any of the incendiary comments of Reverend Wright, or any knowledge of his strong anti-white establishment feelings, only made himself look worse. At least, today he finally did acknowledge that he knew of some of it, but still tried to justify it."
That's perfectly said - well done!
Donald..thank you!
Jan.....I listened to the entire speech live and downloaded a transcript. Nowhere was there any denial by Obama of having heard horrible statements by Pastor Wright. On the contrary, in it he says [beyond the condemnation and repudiation that he has already said] that the pastor was guilty of incendiary language and that the pastor had denigrated the greatness and goodness of our nation. The Senator said that, yes, he had heard him be fiercely critical of the U.S.. He said that, yes, he had heard the pastor make other controversial remarks. The Senator said that Pastor Wright has a "profoundly distorted view of this country".
Because there were no denials in the speech or the transcript, the denial being referred to must've been when he denied being PRESENT at the service shown on the videos. He is not denying having heard the various forms that the venom of this pastor took. He heard it all at one time or another.
I have seen the picture referred to in the first paragraph of the Senator standing with his hands clasped in front of him while others have a hand over their heart during the National Anthem. The Senator is the ONLY one showing proper protocol for the playing of the anthem....rise to your feet, remove your hat, hold your hands at your side or in front. The hand over the heart is done during the Pledge of Allegiance....and it's done then because we are pledging our allegiance with our hearts. One of his duties early in his public careers in the Ill. Statehouse and the US Senate subcommittee he serves on was to lead those assembled in the Pledge. His mistake was doing the proper thing from his training in school and gov't and not following like a sheep. We are not prohibited from placing our hands over our hearts during the National Anthem, but that is not part of the protocol.
Obviously, I liked the speech. To me he showed a grasp and heartfelt understanding of the problems, fears, and hates that reside in all of us to greater and lesser degrees. Because of that genuine understanding, I am convinced that he will be, if elected, the President of ALL of us....not just people of color. He recognizes that we all suffer together.
He is speaking today about Iraq and tomorrow about the economy.
As for me, I don't fear any huge upheaval if the Senator loses his bid for the Presidency [he needs to win the nomination first]. Regardless of the candidates, we, as a country, cannot afford any repeats of the shady goings on of the 2000 and 2004 elections. Whatever the result, I hope it's a clear, resounding expression of what the country wants.
I'm glad you could sympathize with the Senator's affection for his wayward friend and pastor. I think his loyalty is commendable when the politically expedient thing to do would have been to "throw him under the bus" as so many commentators have said.
Richard
"I think his loyalty is commendable when the politically expedient thing to do would have been to "throw him under the bus" as so many commentators have said."
Richard..I'm sure that his pastor expected him to do whatever was neccessary to smooth things over--a lot was at stake.
You are entitled to your opinion, and nothing is going to change it;however nothing that he said did anything to change mine.
I have pretty much made myself clear on the way that I feel about it, and there is no need to discuss it further.
The people will decide, themselves, how credible he is.
......Jan, I'm sorry. I mistakenly said that the National Anthem was being played in the picture of Barack standing with his hands at his side. It was The Star Spangled Banner. Even though there's a large amount anonymity here, it means everything to me to be as accurate as I can.
Richard
Richard..no need to worry about it, but I understand how you feel. :)
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