what does retired minister wright from obama's church have to do with obama's qualifications? could this be another pathetic attempt by clinton surrogates to tarnish obama's superior record of leadership? was today's release of another sermon simply to deflect from an undeniable pattern of remarks made directly by hillary clinton, directly by bill clinton, and directly by campaign speakers/staff such as geraldine ferraro?obama has publicly rejected any decisive sentiments that might be spoken from his former minister or any other person speaking decisively against clinton or any group in a roundabout way of supporting obama. obama's true message is about inviting, welcoming, and uniting diverse backgrounds... among his most famous quotes is the one he ends: "this is the united states of america."obama has publicly described his former minister as “an old uncle who sometimes will say things that i don't agree with.” i can see no logic in faulting obama for his retired minister's words. because obama's position is consistent and because obama previously addressed his former minister as noted above, the equivalent would be someone holding the words of my republican, baptist father against me. my father's words no more reflect my progressive, inclusive paradigm as wright's words reflect senator barack obama's paradigm.
the commentary by geraldine ferraro is relevant, not because race should be, but because the event is in no way isolated and ferraro played an official lead advisory role with "team clinton." incidentally, ferraro resigned wednesday. before her resignation, however, geraldine ferraro invoked racial division against senator barack obama multiple times in the past week. she also made similar comments regarding reverend jesse jackson. in an april 15, 1988 article, the washington post quoted ferraro saying "if jesse jackson were not black, he wouldn't be in the race."
in addition to a pattern deriving from ferraro, there is a growing, no-longer-undeniable pattern deriving from key players in "team clinton." top supporters aiding in campaign efforts, former president bill clinton, and senator clinton, herself, misspoke along racial/religious lines leading to national divide. one might speculate whether this pattern of racial/religious divide is a repeated clinton accident or campaign ploy? after all, had obama not rallied record turnouts in the black community, consolidating the white vote under one candidate would have lead to more victories for clinton.
let's not forget this is more than just racial divide. i have not forgotten former nebraska senator bob kerrey, a major clinton backer, who asserted that an obama presidency may improve the world's image of our country because of obama's "muslim roots." similarly, i do not dismiss senator clinton's noncommital denouncement of muslim rumors as recently as two nights before the ohio and texas primaries. in her appearance on 60 minutes, when asked about obama being muslim, senator clinton responded, "there's nothing to base that on... at least not that i know." the exit polls in ohio showed that obama lost protestant and catholic votes which, as we all know, encompasses the majority of religious denominations in ohio.
ironically, the retired minister who the press and clinton supporters continually use against obama formerly worked at a church of christ, a christian denomination where obama and his family have attended for more than two decades. the implied "muslim roots" are relatives on obama's deceased father's side which obama never met until a visit to his father's grave before harvard law school. barack obama is christian and he has never been muslim or attended a muslim school.
from cnn:
"I don't think Geraldine Ferraro's comments have any place in our politics or in the Democratic Party. They are divisive," Senator Obama told the Allentown Morning Call.
"I think anybody who understands the history of this country knows they are patently absurd. And, I would expect that the same way those comments don't have a place in my campaign, they shouldn't have a place in Senator Clinton's, either," he added.
Earlier, Obama's top strategist, David Axelrod, called for Clinton to sever ties with the former New York congresswoman, who serves on her campaign's finance committee.
"When you wink and nod at offensive statements, you're really sending a signal to your supporters that anything goes," Axelrod said.
from msnbc:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qXBXD2zizIY
keith olbermann is spot on with his assessment of hillary clinton's insensitive, questionable management or lack there of. you must watch this honest, well-articulated perspective on the past week's activities by senator clinton and her tepid response. clinton failed to publicly denounce or reject geraldine ferraro until after she received a resignation on wednesday. yet, when samantha power dubbed clinton a "monster" off the record and apologized, senator clinton gave one of her typical hollywood attack speeches calling for samantha power to resign because her "monster" characterization was inconsistent with OBAMA FOR AMERICA messaging. samanatha power did, in fact, apologize and, within hours, resign. instead of apologizing, ferraro defended herself on virtually every major newtork and waited more than 48 hours to resign.anyone believing that comparing obama’s former minister who is NOT WORKING ON obama’s campaign staff or as a lead advisor AND something said directly by hillary, bill, geraldine, or any other campaign speaker/staff/advisor... well, that anyone is not only making illogical, misleading comparisons... but such a person should look in the mirror. such a person should delve inward and question the ethics or true motivations behind such comparisons/rebuttals.while it is your choice to be a "stubbornly uneducated" american, as bill maher so wisely coined, in this age of information and resources to verify information, you should be ashamed and embarrassed to spew:factually inaccurate...blatantly false...speculative and debunked...as well as unresearched propaganda aimed at misleading impressionable minds, perhaps like your own, for benefit to a candidate or to an issue indefensible on merit or on consistently proven, documented records. such vile behavior is not only reckless, but it is the lowest form of manipulation and i, for one, deem it unacceptable.
pattern of clinton accidents or campaign ploys? frankly, my dear, i don’t give a damn. anyway you look at it, "team clinton" is wrong.~ j
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