Posted on 03/14/2008 10:34:21 PM PDT by doug from upland
Jeremiah Wright, the Sister Souljah of 2008
If she needs it — and remember she's already way ahead in Pennsylvania — Hillary Clinton can go after Barack Obama, and turn Jeremiah Wright into this year's version of Sister Souljah. And the only folks who will complain will be the people who complained about Bill Clinton criticizing Sister Souljah - people who are not numerous enough to influence the election.
Millions upon millions of Americans have a pastor, priest, rabbi or minister who they like, but may not always agree with in every sermon. But those Americans' religious leaders probably have never called the country "the U.S. of KKK A." It's unlikely they've ever heard, "God d*** America" from their pulpit, and I suspect many Americans would walk out upon hearing that. They've probably never heard that figure tell them that their own government invented the AIDS virus.
Wright's church sells his sermons on video. You can get them on the web. It is tough to believe that the Clinton campaign doesn't have every video of every sermon they could get their hands on. It's also hard to believe that there isn't a single video with regular church member Barack Obama visible in the audience. (The excerpts I have seen have quite a few reaction shots from the flock.)
What are the odds that the Clinton team can find a video with Obama in the background, with Wright saying something controversial?
And what are the odds that if that video exists, it gets dropped on the press in the closing days before Pennsylvania?
(One Republican strategist told me this afternoon he cannot imagine that the Clinton camp doesn't already have something in this vein. This strategist is speculating, but he's been around the block a few times.)
If Hillary can't beat Obama with this kind of material to work with, she would never beat John McCain.
And one other note about Obama's denial, where he emphasizes that Wright is his pastor, not his political adviser. "God d*** America" does not appear to be political advice; if it's anything, it's a religious statement. It's not like Congress is debating the Bipartisan Invoking God's Damnation and Wrath Upon Our Own Country Act of 2008.
I’ll never forget the comments of Seymour Hersh in the hours following the 9/11 attacks. They were very much in the vein of Rev. Wrights exhortations, even if sotto voce. He adopted an avuncular tone, and counseled that “they” had taken note of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and were in effect merely following our lead. No difference, really, between him and Wright. It was an epiphany for me.
I've disagreed with my pastor many times.
This 20-year association with a blatant racist will prove to the black community,,,
that Obama REALLY "IS" BLACK ENOUGH!!!
I think this helps Obama. I think it proves to the black folks that care (because not all of them do) that he's one of them.
At the same time, here in March, so many months before the election, I doubt it persuades anyone (who is considering it) to vote against him. Also, this many months out, it's there for him to neutralize.
And eventually, Obama gets to stand up at a debate and say that "all you have against me are things my wife and pastor have said. I must be pretty good if you have to stoop that low."
None of this kind of thing kept Bill Clinton from being elected twice
There is enough wrong with his stated policy positions to make a very strong case against him.
Why isn't that being done?
I wouldn’t be a bit surprised as to who let FOXNEWS, Rush, et al, know where they could find the clips they’re currently showing and discussing.
It has the Clinton gang written all over it.
I can smell it from here, and it’s a long way from Hawaii to Chicago.
The Headline is Mine.....
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Bill Burton, a spokesman for the Obama campaign, said the campaign disinvited Mr. Wright because it did not want the church to face negative attention. Mr. Wright did however, attend the announcement and prayed with Mr. Obama beforehand.
“Senator Obama is proud of his pastor and his church, but because of the type of attention it was receiving on blogs and conservative talk shows, he decided to avoid having statements and beliefs being used out of context and forcing the entire church to defend itself,” Mr. Burton said.
Heard from the drive by media (yes that includes Sean Hannity) that one can go to Wright’s church and buy all sorts of videos of his sermons....
Whos whiter... Borat Obama or Wright?..
Given some of her statements, it makes sense that she was sitting in Jeremiah Wright's pews for 20 years. Barack Obama has been taking in that same ideology, for the same period. He just hides it better.
You know darn well that Hillary’s campaign has a complete set.
A couple of weeks ago, someone on TV or radio, I forget which, said that Hillary desperately needed a “sister Soljah” moment. I think she now has one, if she has the guts to use it. The problem for her is that her party’s base actually believes Rev. Wright’s crap, and I would not be surprised if Hillary, herself, believes it.
This explains why Michelle Obama was saying that “it’s the first time she’s been happy with America”. She’s been hearing anti-american preaching week in and week out for all these years.
This explains why Michelle Obama was saying that “it’s the first time she’s been happy with America”. She’s been hearing anti-american preaching week in and week out for all these years.
I usually agree with everything Jim Geraghty writes. But I really didn’t get this one.
I had actually been thinking this could be a Sistah Soulja moment for Obama. But Hillary? How would that work? A SS moment is when one criticizes one’s own perceived support group in order to appeal to a larger group. Bill Clinton was scolding blacks-—at a black function-—as an appeal to white blue collar Dems.
So is Geraghty saying Hillary should come out and criticize black churches? That seems awfully unlikely. She’s already in hot water with black leaders. And it’s not like she’s willing to write off the black vote.
I just didn’t understand what he was getting at.
I didn’t quite get it either. Clinton did the right thing in 1992 by criticizing Sister Soulja.
Obama can not distance himself from these. He did not have to attend a sermon to find out about them. The entire congregation subscribes to them. They represent the foundation on which the church rests.
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