Tuesday, April 29, 2008

TUESDAY RUMINATIONS....DANCING WITH THE TRUTH AND THE DAMAGE...


My son and I have been having alot of talks about the Obama Campaign and the Reverand Wright Controversy, because it is in the Media 24/7,(and because 6-6 is worried that it will hurt Obama's Campaign).It is the conversation that will not end.And in a shocking turn or events, now Rev Wright has decided that he is on his own mission to keep his name forward in everyone's minds. I think Something Really Awful has happened and it is because a Man, a Preacher was attacked by the Media.I do not know this Preacher, I do not understand him, but I do think that the media was Hellbent on painting him as a Angry Black Man.....and I do think there are repercussions....sadly even for Obama.But now the past two days Events Wright himself painted himself , and made a spectacle of himself and disrespected Senator Obama.

I originally actually felt sorry for the Rev Wright....that maybe he had even reduced to soundbites that mis-painted him. So I heard that he was going to be on Bill Moyers, and I watched him and thought he handled himself well, explained himself as a person. I also think that Bill Moyers is a genius, and could interview a Lamppost and give dignity to the interview.But then after the Moyers Interview Wright has been seen everywhere, the NAACP Event in Detroit ( and aired over and over on CNN), and also the National Press Club. I am concerned, WHY would a Minister go on such a Publicity Barnstorm ? It seems selfserving and egotistical. I am also confused, I can understand the Moyers Interview as attempt to salvage his reputation and image, but these other events were cynical,angry and mocking.And the timing of it is a Nightmare, falling right into the Ratings Sweeps, so that the media would feast on it like a slaughtered fresh lamb. Why Reverand Wright would do Something Like this to Senator Obama is beyond me.....and I told my son that.

I am a white woman,not that that it really matters or should matter, but I say it, because maybe I have not known or Experienced all of the American experience.And I have tried to figure out if that is why Rev Wright confounds me,that perhaps as a minister I did not understand him.... I have been spiritually conflicted in my life, and that means I have gone to all kinds of churches and services and religous havens.As a child I went to a Presbyterian church with my parents, and to Quaker Meetings with my grandmother. ( It also means I have gone to Buddhist temples, and Native American Services). It means as a teen and in college I even went to a Black Church for a spell.....and again since living in Downtown Cleveland I have gone to two different Black Churches. I will say that Services at the Black Churches were and are different than the services I went to as a child, they are more Expressive, more vocal, there is laughter, joy, weeping,and more dialogue.

But that said, that cultural difference does not mean that it should be a worry, a distraction or another line of division in this country. And it should not be a way to malign Barack Obama as Good Man running for President.It should not be used to define the man, or question his Faith and his quest for the White House and to Lead our Country.What kind of Country or people are we that we would allow this to happen ?

For monthes Senator Obama has been trying to dispell many lies about his Faith and his religion, including the email and phone calls that occur in primary states that he is Muslim....He has tried to focus on The Issues, and problems we face. He has tried to keep the Media focused on the problems of the People. He went to a church for many years, and now he is seeing side of this Minister that is shocking and worrisome....But it is so unfair to Senator Obama to caste him in a dark light due to this Minister's Behavior.

Senator Obama gave a press conference today about this turn of events.... And he will have to continue to speak out and explain his position to this dreadful situation....Please do watch his press conference and his remarks, he has every right to be concerned about this Continuing Controversy.

**{{ Gryphen over at Immoral Minority has posted Obama's Press Conference from today, I also have linked it to the TITLE }}**

20 comments:

proudprogressive said...

This might answer some confusion as to why Right will not go away per se. You see he has a new book to hawk. The man has left his church, got kicked out i think, his relentless pursuit of the spotlight is pure greed sadly - and he is not seeing the harm he is doing or maybe he is and just does not care..but one thing for sure..ITS ABOUT THE BOOK - the dude wants to sell it. He is making the rounds from Moyers to who ever ele will have him. This preacher should really be seen through a "lens" that has some ability to discern. We are not our pastoral leaders, we are not our children, or our spouses. We are individuals. Got to say
*Hillary maximizing with her Oh i could never ever belong to a congragation like that ..during the debates was such odious BS - no she wouldn't because she belongs to the CHURCH OF POWER - the church of PANDERING - instead of elavating the debate to the freedom of religion and the seperation of church and stae and the obvious notion that congregations ARE NOT their preachers duh - she built on the controversy..shame on her.

cosmiccowboy said...

Rev.Wright did'nt get "kicked out" of his church he retired after 30 years,if fact the congregation is building him a 10,000 sq.ft. retirement home.
I watched Obama's entire press conference today,he walked as far away from Wright as he could but for the first time I'm afraid Obama looked a bit rattled.It should be interesting to see what Hillary does the next few days.
The sorry thing is that McCain is getting a vacation while all this is going on.

Sewmouse said...

Again I say - the Clinton campaign and the "Religious" Wrong can't find anything strong to pin onto our Candidate - except by proxy through people whom he knows, or through idiotic minutia like flag pins and smoking.

If there was any REAL dirt on Senator Obama, it would certainly have surfaced by now. The Republicans are scared silly that all their 8 years of work to discredit Mrs. Clinton will have been wasted time, because they know that Senator Obama CAN WIN.

Expect more idiocy between now and November.

enigma4ever said...

SEWMOUSE:
I know you are right....I hate to see Anyone's religion or Faith attacked in any way...I also think you are right this is an attempt to smear him...again...whether it be people that he has known or had contact with....and yes, there will be much more mud on the road...

Cosmiccowboy:
I think that Wright did retire...I also think that Obama has explained that he joined a Church- it is a Community- and sometimes a Minister does NOT speak for the Church- he speaks for himself....I think Obama did seem upset today- but rightfully so...this is not a time that he should be cool and detached....I am sure Hill will scoop it out like fresh ice cream..

PP:
I had not thought about the Book hawking idea....the Interview with Moyers was VERY different than the Performances of the Rev the past two days....I think that we as people do need to be able to move past Religous differences...and Divides...it should be what unites us- not divides us...that is what is bothering me...and others...and to some degree I think Obama today even said this...but you are right....how I do wish there was a division of Church and State...but there isn't....and in this election it has been front and center in a disgusting way....He is a good man....and a man of faith, he talks about it in his books...but it should not be part of deciding if Someone is Electable....what a country we have become ? really sad....I just hope and pray that it does not cloud or confuse the people of NC or Indiana...

DivaJood said...

Gosh, I'm sorry - I actually remember a time when the news media simply reported the news, rather than creating the news. I remember a time when really the only thing that mattered were issues, rather than where a candidate went to church. So call me naive, or something. But this is much ado about absofuckinglutely nothing.

enigma4ever said...

DIVA:
I agree that this should not be the "issue" that it is...We have such HUGE issues we are facing as a nation...Economic Hardhship...Iraq Mess...homeless and houseless and home losses.....food through the roof...and VET suicide rates...so much ,so many HUGE real problems...you are not naive......you are right...

I guess my bigger question is HOW do we get the Media and the Campaign focused back on us and the issues....Obama even said that today.....I have idea...

I didn't even want to blog on this, but 6-6 and I have been talking about this for 3 days...( and more), and I was hoping this to be a different kind of campaign....election....

Christopher said...

Time to Prioritize

Jeremiah Wright - $3.70 a gallon gas
Jeremiah Wright - the mortgage mess
Jeremiah Wright - the falling dollar
Jeremiah Wright - rising urban crime
Jeremiah Wright - the National debt
Jeremiah Wright - off-shoring jobs
Jeremiah Wright - rising unemployment
Jeremiah Wright - healthcare costs
Jeremiah Wright - national security
Jeremiah Wright - ending the Iraq war
Jeremiah Wright - preventing war in Iran
Jeremiah Wright - the GI bill
Jeremiah Wright - repealing DOMA

My point is, I truly think and I believe, Americans have many, many more important concerns on their plate than the bloviating Jeremiah Wright.

Now, I may be wrong -- I'm not an oracle, but I talk to people all day and most of them say some variation of, "Gee, I feel sorry for Obama. Wright isn't helping him."

Gryphen said...

I, like a lot of progressive bloggers, originally defended Jeremiah Wright. Even going so far as to post the FULL videos of his speeches, which were not nearly so scurrilous when seen in context.

But what he did yesterday left NO defense of him possible. I really wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt but essentially he turned out to be a huge DICK!

I don't know what Jesus this man is worshiping, but to allow your ego to convince you that it is okay to stab your friend of twenty years in the back is certainly not a tenant of any Christianity that I have ever heard about. And I don't even support religious beliefs!

I hope in the next printing of Obama's book he has ALL references to Jeremiah Wright excised completely.

The Clinton's called Bill Richards "Judas" for endorsing Obama instead of Hillary. But I truly believe the title is more fitting when directed at the "Reverend" Wright.

D.K. Raed said...

I don't know that there IS any way to explain Rev Wright except as Obama did today. I don't think Obama looked rattled or upset; I think he looked tired. He's gotta be as tired of this BS as we ALL are. It is not an issue, or shouldn't be. So his former pastor is a deluded camera-hog who has MORE than used up his 15-minutes of fame. The media is just whipping this whole thing up and the populace laps it up like warm milk. I want to say this what happens when you mix religion into politics, but I'm afraid that's just another issue we don't need now.

I thought Bill Moyers did an excellent job. After watching him on Friday, I was satisfied that that issue was now done & over. Guess no one else actually watches PBS.

Damage Control? Send Rev Wright on another cruise (because as we found out today, he apparently doesn't answer phone calls from presidential candidates when he's on cruises) -- only this time make it last until November. The man is poison right now.

enigma4ever said...

Gryphen:
What you wrote was so accurate.....I do think that we all felt sorry for him...but what he did in the last 72 hours was unreal....it was all about HIM...and he obviously did not care about Obama at all...so horrible....but good Obama took a stand...

Christopher:
I know you are right...people have their priorities in order...and know what is effecting them...and what the real issues are ....but thanks....

enigma4ever said...

DK:
ooooops...bumped into you here....I know that Wright is the problem- and Obama did indeed speak to it properly today...the Moyers Interview was one thing- I actually was not offended by it- but the NAACP speech came on Sunday night and THAT was very different...and then the Press Club yesterday was VERY different...and I was left speechless- like WHO is this man and WHY is he doing this...why would he sabotage Obama's campaign like this? WHY? 6-6 pointed out that Obama did not stand up for his pastor- not once and obviously the person with a grudge about it was Wright- and I think 6-6 has a point....on another note.....Obama can not be besmudged by every association that he has ever had.....( oye-- can you imagine if Hillary were judged in that light???)

We need to get back to the REAL issues....

Anon-Paranoid said...

enigma...

I have to disagree with you about the Rev. Wright. I think, no make that I believe that the Rev. loves Obama like a son.

The Rev. is not dumb or stupid and he knows that Obama is getting hurt by his sermon and realizes that he needs to do something to help Obama.

Obama won't distance himself from his friend and pastor which is hurting him with some dumb *ss white voters.

So what does the Rev. Wright do? He comes out looking like a crazy old fool.

He speaks so outrageously that now Obama can not do anything but totally distance himself from his friend and pastor.

I believe that the Rev. Wright is a sly old fox helping his friend.

God Bless.

enigma4ever said...

AnonP:
you know I respect you...and think the world of your opinion...but the speechs were horrendous..did you see them ? really awful....the Moyers Interview was fine...but this was something....and the way he spoke of Obama - saying he was just a Politician...I am sorry but I think he is only thinking of himself....and his book to sell...and his own career and the way his image was tarnished in the media....

Fran said...

I agree w dk-- send the wrong Rev Wright on an extended cruise.

enigma4ever said...

fran:
I agree with you...and DK...let's send him on a cruise....a LONG one..

Tina said...

I haven't posted about The Rev AT ALL... but now I feel like I have to say something, too.
1. This miserable piece of trite is a media-made spectacle... 100-freakin-percent. They couldn't keep falsely claiming Obama was a Muslim, so they then had to attack his Christianity.
2. I think Obama's refusal to first throw Rev Wright under a bus comes from a deep affection for finally having a strong black father figure for the 1st time in his life (given that his own dad bailed on him) and deep respect for a man who really helped Obama figure out what kind of relationship Obama wanted to grow with Jesus Christ. How can any of us untangle those kind of ties or explain them away? We can't. So, no wonder he said he couldn't and wouldn't abandon the Rev anymore than he could or would his own white grandmother.
3. The Moyers interview made The Rev much more human, much more humble, and certainly more sane, and seemed to open and close some wounds for Obama all in one.
4. Then... The Rev goes out on his "whore out my book tour" and loses his frickin mind. Seriously. Not only did the crap he was spewing make The Rev look like a freakin nutjob, but also made The Rev look like a jealous child with his "I started talking about hope first!" Is this a case of a guy who is jealous of Obama's popularity and maybe even Obama's ease to be accepted by all races? Is this just a guy who got a taste for the limelight and craves the attention so he can whore his book? Or is he sly like a fox as Anon-P has suggested? It might be nice to think The Rev wasn't a crazy attention whore..... but I'm inclined to think otherwise. Now I just hope Hillary can cut the crap with all of her "I could never keep going to this church with this guy preaching." Well guess what Hillary? I could NEVER stay married to a man who repeatedly cheated on me and publicly humiliated me and my kid with his whoring around, but I've always figured that it was YOUR marriage and therefore YOUR business only, so why don't you STFU and try a bit of that on for size, eh Hill?

enigma4ever said...

TINA:
I love it when you speak...you always speak your mind...good for you....you know the funny thing- NO ONE has said a word about Bush's "Spiritual Advisor" - yeah - that one got right past the media Ted Haggard- the one that got caught with his meth and his hooker all at the same time- geeez whiz - no one said a word about it....

and yeah, like Bill and Hillary have such a High Moral Ground to stand on...not....

I am sick of the whole thing- I was not even going to blog it- because none if it is right...he belonged to a Church, a Community- that should be his- and his privately...I mean NO ONE talks about Hill going to the "FAMILY" meetings in DC and that strange group of powermongers......I was thinking the Rev was not treated right and I too thought his Moyers interview was good- that it settled alot of matters of confusion.....BUT now he is on his own little circus of a tour with questionable antics and behavior....

really disheartening...I really feel sad for Obama.....

Mauigirl said...

All of this is so disheartening, isn't it? I am so sick of the media I refuse to watch any of it, except of course The Daily Show and Colbert. Tonight's Daily Show is all about this controversy and they are ripping into the MSM as part of it.

The so called "real" news is a travesty of what was once a serious enterprise with people who actually cared about reporting news, not creating scandal and controversy. People like Edward R. Murrow, Huntley and Brinkley, and of course Walter Cronkite. The former ones are probably spinning in their graves...Walter probably feels the same way.

Mauigirl said...

Oh, and Anon-Paranoid has an interesting theory about Wright. I'd like to believe he was actually trying to do something FOR Barack rather than against him. But surely he must have known that just drawing attention to himself all over again would be even worse.

enigma4ever said...

Maui:
I too am so sad about this...and I did think about Anon's theory....but sadly I just don't think that is the why and how Wright has performed....he was a one man show...and seemed to enjoy the limelight...

really sad....I hope and pray that Obama put it to bed this week...by speaking out...