Jeremiah Wright, the Sister Souljah of 2008 (does Hillary have Wrigh/Obama church video?)

campaignspot dot nationalreview dot com ^ | march 14, 2008 | Geraghty

[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.

[kabar]

I've disagreed with my pastor many times..

See my post #40. This is not about disagreeing with one's pastor, but rather, the foundation upon which the entire church rests.

[Verginius Rufus]

According to his church's website, Wright's doctor of divinity degree came from the United Theological Seminary. According to the link on the Wikipedia bio of Jeremiah Wright (partly copied from the TUCC website), that is located in Dayton, Ohio.

Barack Obama told Major Garrett that Wright was an ex-Marine, but according to the Wikipedia article he served in the US Navy.

[Nextrush]

Wright is a leftist hiding in clerical robes.

Not the first, but certainly not the last.

[DCBryan1]

If my pastor shouted G D America, he would get quite an earful from me, as would the Bishop. I would then avoid him at all times.

You are far to kind, sir. If I heard my pastor shout what "reverend" wright said, he would have to have bodyguards to keep me from getting to him.

[Verginius Rufus]

In the interview from a year ago that Sean Hannity replayed on Friday evening, Jeremiah Wright kept demanding that Hannity tell him which authors on "liberation theology" he had read. (Presumably Hannity didn't answer because he hadn't read any of them.)

Liberation theology had a vogue among left-wing Latin American Catholics for a while...Pope John Paul II was strongly opposed to it. I assume Wright's version is a more racist version of this--tailored to the black American experience and using the Bible to support hatred of whites as the oppressor race.

It's remarkable that Wright can find the message "God Damn America" so clearly spelled out in the Bible. The guy is a visionary genius. No wonder Obama admires him.

[Grampa Dave]

“Barack Obama either agreed with what was preached from the Trinity pulpit, or he tuned it out and stayed around pretending to for political reasons. To say he stayed for 20 years but doesn't agree with Wright's preaching is incredible denial. It'd be like a man buying White Sox season tickets for 20 years, attending the games, and saying he's not a fan.”

“When Obama decided against wearing an American flag pin, we may all have been a bit too quick to accept his rationale, too quick to find that issue unimportant. Now, that American flag pin has gotten a lot bigger for a lot of us, especially in light of what may have been and may still be Obama’s deeper, and, perhaps, secret, less than patriotic beliefs about America.”

“Wright says that blacks can’t be expected to sing God Bless America because of racism. Obama doesn’t salute the flag during the National Anthem. That sure strikes me as an amazing coincidence since Obama swears he never heard Wright say anything against America.”

[DCBryan1]

Google "Make your own bumper stickers"
and make your own bumper sticker, save to a image hosting sight,
and make some great political commentary
(NOTE: If you put this on your vehicle,
be prepared for some pretty nasty responses.

[Grampa Dave]

Excellent:

[DCBryan1]

Please steal my bumper sticker and use it most frequently.

[reasonisfaith]

Obama appears in the video on the church’s website from your link, at 1:45.