Pretty refreshing actually.

I would propose the latter of your two option. I'll bet Obama has internalized Kerry's "lesson of 2004:" nip problems in the bud, don't ignore them.

But, Obama still has a long hump to cover if he is to convince the (still numerous beyond words) throngs of racists out there "concerned about having a black president," to come over to his side. He probably will fail in that test.

Therefore, minimize the impact of "race on the race." Of course, that "race issue" dices both ways.

I'm also sure that Obama and his campaign (as am I) are breathing a sigh of relief as it appears that they have weathered this storm in the primary.

Perhaps, by the time the real fight comes around, this will be "old news?"

Well as far as I'm concerned, this is one of the best things I've heard a candidate say in a long time.

It's the right thing to say.

This Wright "controversy" is a media manufactured one. Wright is not running for office. Obama is being held to a different standard w/regard to 'guilt by association'.

Many have posted links to Wright's sermons in context, and yet the smear of a man who has preached for 20 or 30 years and has done a world of good for so many continues to be maligned and villified to the point that he's had to cancel speaking engagements for safety reasons.

That the media, the clinton camp, and the hanity/limbaugh/buchanan/scarborough ditto heads continue to push this is an outrage!

Mike Huckabee defended Reverend Wright. Hilary's old pastor defended Reverend Wright. Frank Schaeffer and MANY have defended him. Enough!

I think it would be pretty silly of the GOP to start airing little snippets of Wright's sermons from the past 20 years over and over again until November. Don't you?

Just to clarify - my last comment which as of now has not yet posted was a general vent and not directed at anyone here.
It just pizzes me off to see the small minds keep pushing this. That's all.

I commend Sen Obama for not 'throwing his pastor under...god, I hate that expression.

OR...

He has faith that the majority of people are fair and reasonable and understand that his SPIRITUAL guide is not his POLITICAL guide.

If we did hold politicians responsible for things like this...

Obama is disqualified for his crazy Pastor and getting too close to questionable realtor.
Clinton is disqualified for staying with a cheating husband and stretching the truth beyond the realm of plausible.
McCain is disqualified for being a past adulterer and a serial flip-flopper.

If all three are disqualified for past 'short-comings, who are we left with?

I DEFINITELY don't want to stick with the current group of crooks, so let's get past Wright and Bosnia and select ourselves a Democratic nominee and together let's win in November.

To vet his pastor would be an implicit legitimization of the loathsome "gotcha" politics that is played these days. So good for him. It's refreshing.

And who would ever think to "vet" their pastor, anyway? What's wrong with us, that we expect candidates to have done this?

AS far as I'm concerned, this: Obama may not be willing to do this, but you can bet that the Republicans are already doing it quite diligently, thank you very much.

does not bother me. If the Republicans want to run on their racist credentials, that's fine with me. It's their funeral.

He just can't quit God damn America. A sure loser.

Drop out Obama so we can have a Dem President and a Clinton economy.

Greg, Republican's have Pastors that say off the wall things too.

Look at this.

More crap about Wright from TPM.

Big surprise there.

Well, if all the Republicans will have is "Don't vote for Obama because of things his pastor said", they'll lose by 10 points.

There are only so many times you can flog that dead horse. Besides, sooner or later, the media will dig up Hagee's and Parsley's "sermons" and roast HIM.

I'm just not concerned about this for the general.

Greg, Republican's have Pastors that say off the wall things too

O that's putting it mildly.

I can't believe this bullshit after 8 years of the religious right saying the most outrageous things publicly. This is too ridiculous for words. How many times has Pat Robertson said outrageous shit? Totally outrageous hateful shit? Falwell? Dobson? Not to mention the wholly outrageous Fred Phelps?

And everyone wants to concentrate on this man? Why?

O I think I know why -

"Pretty refreshing actually."

Ditto.

The GOP will do their usual smear machine. They would smear Mother Teresa. Maybe Democrats and the Media should refuse to play along.

It is pretty stupid to blame Obama for anything Wright says. They can go ahead and look at every tape of his sermons, it won't make any difference. All it takes it bringing up some examples of Pat Robertson or Hagee and there goes that argument.

Whatever, I'm not concerned.

Obama's negatives for the past three days, the highest of the campaign

And Hillary's negatives? Highest in seven years.
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2007/04/huge_increase_in_hillarys_nega.html

You know what? McCain will also be vetted. He'll have to answer for every trog preacher in the Republican pantheon, and god knows there's a lot of em. You know what else? This country is sliding into a period of nasty stagflation the likes of which we haven't seen for a very long time, and the war is looking like a never-ending drain on lives and treasure. We're talking 100 years, remember? People are going to be pissed livid come November, and I do mean angry. Do you think they're going to give a fat fig about the content of Rev. Wright's sermons? Of course the right-wingers will rev up their chainsaws for a regular religio-patriotic massacre. What else have they got going for them? But all their racket and smoke won't do anything but wear on people's already frayed nerves. Sure, the Republicans will try to jack us up into a god-and-country frenzy, with a nice little undercurrent of racism into the mix just to make it feel righteous. But come election night they'll be sitting around with long faces and a shitty taste in their mouths. They'll be looking at two decades in the wilderness without even god for a friend.

(Fingers crossed!)

Obama is deflecting from answering the real question. Since he admits he heard the racism and hate, why attend for 20 years? And, especially today, why continue going? Obama demonstrates and incredible lack of character. I concluding that the "post-racial" mindset is that you can say anything you want, participate, and not be held accountable. Is this the new affirmative action for candidates? Is it the affirmative action acceptable to the Obama Cult and so-called progressives? And, to be honest, correct both questions to say Black candidates because I seriously doubt anyone can say a White candidate could do similar and still be acceptable. Thus, Obama is depending on getting a pass for his hate and racism BECAUSE he is Black. This is pathetic and while it might fly now, it is extremely doubtful it will work in the general election.

Anyone else imagine what a Gotalife / Marginal Player love-child would look like?

pass the brain bleach. blech

Totally off-topic, but just notice Bill giving some more love to McCain.

And, in a move that's becoming more and more common, he favorably aligned his wife with the presumptive Republican nominee, John McCain.

"We now have a bipartisan majority in the U.S. Senate, bipartisan, to do something about global warming and do more buildings like this,” Clinton said, “because she and John McCain took reluctant Republicans all over the world and showed them how the planet was changing. She will work with anybody, go anywhere, do anything to move America forward.”

http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2008/03/27/830276.aspx

To pose a question: what frigging trip is he talking about? Did Hillary and McCain take Inhofe to watch some drowning polar bears in the artic? Did they climb Kilimanjaro to see the receding glacier?

I think Senator Obama has well neutralized this "controversy" by simply being true to himself, his family, his pastor, his church, his community, and not letting others put him on the defensive and not pandering or trying to appease those that will never be appeased regardless of what he does or doesn't do.

It will boomerang on those who try to use it.

Case closed.

One question that the Wright controversy has raised is this: Did Obama see it coming?

Hell yes he did! I saw it coming the first time I visited the Trinity UCC website shortly after learning that he was a member.

I knew instantly what sort of church he belonged to. Very much like Cecil Williams Glide Memorial here in SF and any number of other black churches I've had the pleasure of visiting, mostly during the course of political campaigns over the years

Good Lord what a dumb question

Greg's right about one thing though. This isn't a conventional candidate.

Let em run against his middle name, his 80 year old ex-pastor and the 99% white, mainline Prot United Church of Christ

I really marvel at the head-in-the-sand approach of Obama supporters. Obama is racist and America hating by the simple fact that he attends and funds a racist and America hating church for 20 years. This is not a matter of an endorser. He and his family attend and he is indoctrinating his kis in this trash. This is a serious character issue that won't go away by any wishful thinking. Consider too his ties with Rev. Meeks who makes Rev. Wright look pretty tame. Again, this is a personal relationship that Obama has and in both cases people Obama has involved in his campaign. No White person could even begin to get away with this. That is the real message of post-racial, that we do not accept such ties and past in our family, friends, work, or candidates. That Obama does is sad and reflects his problem. That some folks want to give him a pass on this is simple, traditional affirmative action, else say that anyone's hate and racism is okay. I doubt anyone would suggest that. Or would you? Either you say that any and all racism and hate is unacceptable or not. Any form of double standard will seriously set back the party and race relations.

Maybe I'm a bit idealistic, but I am 48 and would like to think that our generation has worked hard and with some great success to remove racism from everyday life. Yes, still more to do but to accept a candidate such as Obama as much because he is Black as for any other reason is just plain wrong and counterproductive. At the end of the day, racism and hate are still racism and hate and unacceptable. If the Democratic party won't address this, I'm sure the nation at large will in November.

Or, possibly, he's just willing to credit a majority of the voters with responding like adults if he talks to them like adults.

O very nice.

Yeah he does that, doesn't he? God, I'd almost forgotten what it's like.

He is so not ready. I can't watch.

Yikes.

Agree.

I recall Obama saying that Wright's comments first came to his attention at the beginning of his Presidential run. So whether he did it with a dedicated research team, or has a general research department who has checked Wright out along with everything else, I really doubt that his campaign is not aware of what's out there that could hurt him.

sorry for the double post...

I would still like to hear BHO tell us the truth about why he won't dump Rev Wright.

It's not the economy stupid, it's the black vote.

I do not think Obama should have to answer for his pastor's political views.

Obama should simply assert that this is the man that brought him to his faith and in the sense that he is his spiritual leader he will not abandon him. Case closed.

I am of the opinion that this issue is not about race at it's core but rather this is about Israel. Wright's views on Israel are fueling this continued controversy and it is the Jewish community that is making an issue of this.

Afterall, the comments that Jesse Jackson and Farrakhan made are over 20 years old yet the Jewish community continues to rant about them despite neither one of these men having lead any type of violence against the Jewish community.

I also feel that AIPAC is behind this continued push and that the Jewish community is far more comfortable with HRC as she is bought and paid for.

Regardless of how wary folks are about Wright, he is not running for President. Obama has denounced and rejected as well as repudiated Wright's views and there is nothing more he can see.

A church is more than a pastor, it is an entire community of faith and Obama being a member there for 20 years is not merely about the pastor. Obama came to the church as a fully grown man and he obviously does not agree with Jeremiah Wright's political views. More importantly, he has the strength of character and intellect to be able to listen to views he disagrees with WITHOUT internalizing them as his own ideology. WOW. Who would have thought that Obama was an independent thinker with the intellect to process multi views? Virtually, every individual that talks about him remarks on his unique ability to engage dissenting views...so why in the world does that make his sitting in the pews and listening to Wright for 20 years any different?

Can't we give him credit for being able to discern the substance from the propaganda and the spiritual from the political? Geez

One last thing, if Hillary wants to talk about how you can choose your pastor but not your family then perhaps we need to start reminding her that folks get to choose their spouse as well.
Despite Bill being a whoremonger, NAFTApushing, GlassStengall abolishing, Welfareditching, mandatorysentencing proponent..she stayed with him so who the HELL is she to judge Obama about anything?

On the note of the Rev Wright, If his speaking engagements continue to be cancelled, he may have to go back to Trinity, where he can vent unopposed,and he will no longer be BHO's former pastor, but his current pastor.

Wonder what BHO will say then, something like , I haven't heard him say any of those controversial things since he's been my current pastor.

About one more day of this and I would hope that someone would ask Hillary to explain her involvement with The Family.

If anyone thinks that Wright is some kind of threat - well, The Family reveres Hitler and teaches his methods, along with their interestingly fascist form of Christianity. It's a scary damn group.

There was a long piece written about The Family - if I can find it, I will and post a link to it. It scared me to death, frankly, and if she's going to push this racial thing, then I want to push right back with her membership in The Family.

Where is the radical pastor?

It is like he is hiding and Obama paid him off to stay out of the media.

I think President Clinton is right and he should come back to rant.

Saddle up and lets have an argument about his attacks on Whites, Jews, Italians and his support for Hamas.

I hope that Americans appreciate the man that Obama is and what he offers our country. Obama is a leader, a visionary and more importantly he is a man with virtue.

In choosing a President what matters is the old virtues. Our leaders need humility to seek expertise and follow experts’ advice. They need wisdom to understand what the experts say and to judge who—if anyone—has real answers that will work. They need patience to wait when answers are incomplete or premature, as they were before we invaded Iraq. They need fortitude and determination to push through unpopular solutions. Amid inevitable multiple crises, they need the self-discipline to focus on what’s most important. They need the self-restraint to avoid antagonizing internal and external opponents and making conflict worse. Most of all, they need honesty, integrity, empathy, compassion, humility, charity and mercy to attract and hold the public’s allegiance, not just during their “honeymoon” period, but for eight long years.

We have not seen leadership with virtues in so long that Americans do not recognize it what we are looking at.

Each and every time we watch Obama reflect and deliberate before he gives an answer we should note that it is his virtues at work. He is not engaging in spin. He is deliberate, forthright and honest. He gives substantative answers with compassion and empathy for others while simultaneously contemplating the long term consequence of the query that has been placed before him.

Statesmanship the likes of which we have not seen in the last 50 years.

How can we equivocate between this type of leadership and the Clintons? They are liars and cheaters and one thing we know about liars and cheaters is that they will continue to lie and cheat over and over to further their own personal ambitions about the interests of the nation, the party and all of us.

Greg Sargent says

To be clear, that's not a criticism of Obama. Presuming this is true,...

Why add this particular bit of snark? It echoes of others who damn with faint praise, or perhaps praise with faint damns. "presuming it's true he's Christian," and the like.

Presuming Sargent doesn't have a horse in this race, I'd say that this frame is really beneath him.