[excon]

Why would Americans want to turn their country over to a candidate who attends a separatist church that views America with suspicion if not contempt?

Hello tom:

Does YOUR church believe that this is a "Christian" nation?? Lots of you Christians believe that crap... If that doesn't Separate YOU FROM ME, then I don't know what does. Talk about calling the kettle black...

Frankly, I'd rather vote for a black man who believes the way he does, than a white man who believes the way most Christains do.

excon

[excon]

Hello again:

Yes, I have more to say!!

I love my country. I spilled my blood for my country. What I love most about my country is its potential to live up to the hype. But, let's not get carried away... it AIN'T living up to it yet. Frankly, it's even getting further and further behind as we speak.

So, as much as I love my country, until it starts moving in the direction I want it to, I'm not going to be singing its praises. As a matter of fact, I'm going to do the opposite.

God Damn a country that tortures... God Damn a country that puts pot smokers in jail. God Damn a country that can't get over its racist past.

excon

[Fr_Chuck]

Yes, I do go to almost all "black" churches, and except for the one I left real quickly when they started talking about all white men are of the devil and the real black Jesus has not come yet to set his black people free, I do not hear what this pastor said in any of them.
They believe as I do that Jesus was of Hewbrew or Jewish birth,
And that yougn blacks are killing thierself by selling drugs to each others. And most still blame Aids on a virus that came because of drug use, homosexual activity and latter unprotected sex as it spread into the rest of the community. ( not saying it is all the way it is, but they believe as most Americans believe)

I do believe that those pastors who spread rasist comments that separate white and black are a disgrace, And they do it for the dollar, to again try to tell the young black they are a victim and that they need "thier" leadership to stop being one.
And sadly they are just becoming a new victim to this pastors hate and greed.

I do believe Obama needs to address this, since if he goes to such a Church, and actually believes this, I will have a lot of second thoughts before I would vote for him. I know many people who are now considering changing their vote or just not voting.

[speechlesstx]

What exactly is it that offends so much in Wrights comments?

Try this:

Giving African American citizens access to quality education, to healthcare, to public facilities, to equal protection under the law was one thing.

That access, incidentally, is still being blocked. It is being blocked very sophisticatedly, both in the South and in the North (up South!), with attacks upon affirmative action, with the “conservative” agenda and with policies put in place by the Republican Party, which is the Party for the “have mores.”

Having legal access to schools and public accommodations, however, does not touch the deeper moral “American” problem, which is white supremacy! I owe much of my insights on this issue to Lewis Baldwin...

Black Africans do not control the economic systems, the military or have control over the resources (the diamonds, the oil and the natural resources that were stolen by the whites who took over South Africa), and until that changes, white supremacy will still be in charge!

White supremacy is not a legal problem. It is a spiritual problem, a psychological problem and a moral problem.

White supremacy controls the economic system in America, the healthcare system in America and the educational system in America. Hurricane Katrina has pulled the blinders off of all Americans and shown us what white supremacy means at its ugly core and what it has done to the fabric of these “still-yet-to-be-United States” (to use Maya Angelou’s term). That is what I see when looking back during the month of May.

Looking Around

Educating our children to the reality of white supremacy becomes crucial for African Americans and for all Americans. Educating our children is a term that I use pointedly. I do not mean “training” our children. That is a part of our problem now.

The misuse of that term ignores the fact that Africans do not control the military, the police, the legal structure or any of the means to enforce their race prejudice. To try to get misinformed whites and blacks to understand that fact is a waste of time.

You end up trying to make a blind man see something that he is physically and biologically unable to do. The use of the term “racism,” therefore, makes one enter into an exercise in futility and causes you to come away from that discussion frustrated, angry and wanting to do like Langston Hughes’ Jess B. Semple and smash something!

The term “white supremacy,” however, is much more accurate. White supremacy undergirds the thought, the order that they might become more rounded and fully productive citizens in this culture and in this country. What we need to do, however, is go beyond training and educate our children!

We need to educate our children to the reality of white supremacy. We need to educate our children as to the difference between desegregation and equality, the difference between the legal issues and the spiritual issues; and the difference between access in this country as opposed to acceptance in this country!

We need to educate our children about the white supremacist’s foundations of the educational system, the educational philosophy and the very curricula that immerses them in a culture of white supremacy from kindergarten through graduate school! We need to educate our children how to navigate the dangerous waters that lie ahead of them in this 21st century.

In navigating the waters, our children need to be aware of the shark-infested waters and the other predators that live in those waters.

Hurricane Katrina gave us some important images that are analogous to the future that our children have to learn how to navigate. When the levees in Louisiana broke alligators, crocodiles and piranha swam freely through what used to be the streets of New Orleans. That is an analogy that we need to drum into the heads of our African American children (and indeed, all children!).

In the flood waters of white supremacy that our children have to negotiate economically, educationally, culturally, socially and spiritually, there are not only sharks in those waters, there are also crocodiles, alligators and piranha!

The policies, with which we live now and against which our children will have to struggle in order to bring about “the beloved community,” are policies shaped by predators. Jesus taught us that white supremacy – or the thinking that any one race is superior to any other race – is against the Will of God, who only created one race, the human race!

Looking Ahead

I look back during the month of May to assess the powerful ramifications of the Brown versus Board of Education decision and our misunderstanding of what the full import of that decision meant. I look around to assess where it is we are now in terms of the work that is cut out ahead of us as we educate our children; and I look forward with hope.

We are on the verge of launching our African-centered Christian school. The dream of that school, which we articulated in 1979, was built on hope. That hope still lives. That school has to have at its core an understanding and assessment of white supremacy as we deconstruct that reality to help our children become all that God created them to be when God made them in God’s own image.

I guess he missed this quote from Obama:

There is not a liberal America and a conservative America - there is the United States of America. There is not a black America and a white America and Latino America and Asian America - there's the United States of America.

Besides the other outrageous remarks I'm more than a little sick of people like Wright fueling the fires of racism when they should be extinguishing them.

[speechlesstx]

Good point, Skell. I wonder if Rev. Wright has ever mentioned Hurricane Katrina and what happened to the black population. He would have had a field day with that one.

Here's a taste:

White supremacy is not a legal problem. It is a spiritual problem, a psychological problem and a moral problem.

White supremacy controls the economic system in America, the healthcare system in America and the educational system in America. Hurricane Katrina has pulled the blinders off all Americans and shown us what white supremacy means at its ugly core and what it has done to the fabric of these “still-yet-to-be-United States”...

In navigating the waters, our children need to be aware of the shark-infested waters and the other predators that live in those waters.

Hurricane Katrina gave us some important images that are analogous to the future that our children have to learn how to navigate. When the levees in Louisiana broke alligators, crocodiles and piranha swam freely through what used to be the streets of New Orleans. That is an analogy that we need to drum into the heads of our African American children (and indeed, all children!).

In the flood waters of white supremacy that our children have to negotiate economically, educationally, culturally, socially and spiritually, there are not only sharks in those waters, there are also crocodiles, alligators and piranha!

Yep, we white folk are just sharks, alligators, crocodiles and piranha preying on innocent black children. I guess he missed all the dollars, donations and time put in by those white supremacists trying to help the victims of Katrina. Personally, I specified my Red Cross donation be used only to help some rich white family. :D

By the way Rev. neither piranha or crocs inhabit Lousiana... except for maybe the occasional zoo or aquarium specimen. I don't know the fate of the piranha at the New Orleans Aquarium but apparently the tanks were intact though most of the fish died after the emergency generator failed. The zoo lost only a pair of river otters. No loose crocs or piranha that I'm aware of ;)

[speechlesstx]

Visit a few black churches yourself, and see that more than God gets talked about, what would you expect from former slaves, that still have to deal with a blind eye, from the former masters? Most older blacks, from that civil rights era, talk the same way.

I have visited two black churches in my city and neither offered anything like Wright does. They were too busy dancing, singing, shouting and preaching the gospel. If "more than God gets talked about" the way it does in Wright's church I demand an IRS investigation. The left has been demanding that for years in predominantly white, conservative churches for doing nothing more than offering a voter guide listing all of the candidate's positions on the issues. This guy is openly endorsing Obama from the pulpit and that's a huge no-no.

[speechlesstx]

This is why Obama has said on several occasions, contrary to Republican verbiages and in-spite of their blatant deafness, that he does not agree with the Rev Wright on several of his remarks. Senator Obama, does not solicit Wright for his campaigning advice nor does he give him that exclusive privilege. I'm still waiting for McCain to distance himself from Hagee and some other extreme positioned evangelists that have endorsed and supports him. Think that announcement is coming anytime soon? Don't hold your breath on it.

Bobby, flashback to last year:

Obama's Church: Cauldron of Division

Jim Davis
Thursday, Aug. 9, 2007

Presidential candidate Barack Obama preaches on the campaign trail that America needs a new consensus based on faith and bipartisanship, yet he continues to attend a controversial Chicago church whose pastor routinely refers to "white arrogance" and "the United States of White America."

In fact, Obama was in attendance at the church when these statements were made on July 22.

Obama has spoken and written of his special relationship with that pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr.

The connection between the two goes back to Obama's days as a young community organizer in Chicago's South Side when he first met the charismatic Wright. Obama credited Wright with converting him, then a religious skeptic, to Christianity.

"It was ... at Trinity United Church of Christ on the South Side of Chicago that I met Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr., who took me on another journey and introduced me to a man named Jesus Christ. It was the best education I ever had," Obama described his spiritual pilgrimage to a group of church ministers this past June.

Since the 1980s, Obama has not only remained a regular attendee at Wright's services in his inner city mega church, Trinity United Church of Christ, along with its other 8,500 members, he's been a close disciple and personal friend of Wright.

Wright conducted Obama's marriage to his wife Michelle, baptized his two daughters, and blessed Obama's Chicago home. Obama's best-selling book, "The Audacity of Hope," takes its title from one of Wright's sermons.

Because of this close relationship, questions have been raised as to the influence the divisive pastor will have on the consensus-building potential president.

Obama and Wright appear, at first blush, an unlikely pair. Wright is Chicago's version of the Rev. Al Sharpton.

It was no surprise that Sharpton recently announced that with Wright's backing, he was setting up a chapter of his New York-based National Action Network in Chicagoland. The chapter will be headed by Wright's daughter, Jeri Wright.

Minister of Controversy

Obama was not the only national African-American figure to cozy up to Wright. TV host Oprah Winfrey once described herself as a congregant, but in recent years has disassociated herself from the controversial minister.

A visit to Wright's Trinity United is anything but Oprah-style friendly.

As I approached the entrance of the church before a recent Sunday service, a large young man in an expensive suit stepped out to block the doorway.

"What are you doing here?" he asked.

"I came to hear Dr. Wright," I replied.

After an uncomfortable pause, the gentleman stepped aside.

On this particular July Sabbath morning, only a handful of white men — aside from a few members of Obama's Secret Service detail — were present among a congregation of approximately 2,500 people.

The floral arrangements were extravagant. Wright, his associate pastors, choir members, and many of the gentlemen in the congregation were attired in traditional African dashiki robes. African drums accompanied the organist.

Trinity United bears the motto "Unashamedly Black and Unapologetically Christian."

Wright says its doctrine reflects black liberation theology, which views the Bible in part as a record of the struggles of "people of color" against oppression.

A skilled and fiery orator, Wright's interpretation of the Scriptures has been described as "Afrocentric."

When referring to the Romans, for example, he refers to "European oppression" — not addressing the fact that the Egyptians, who were also a slave society, were people of Africa.

The Trinity United Web site tells of a "commitment to the black community, commitment to the black family, adherence to the black work ethic, pledge to make all the fruits of developing acquired skills available to the black community."

"Some white people hear it as racism in reverse," Dwight Hopkins, a professor at the University of Chicago Divinity School, a member of the Trinity United Church of Christ, tells The New York Times. Blacks tend to hear a different message, Hopkins says: "Yes, we are somebody; we're also made in God's image."

Controversy Abounds

Several prior remarks by Obama's pastor have caught the media's attention:

# Wright on 9/11: "White America got their wake-up call after 9/11. White America and the Western world came to realize people of color had not gone away, faded in the woodwork, or just disappeared as the Great White West kept on its merry way of ignoring black concerns." On the Sunday after the attacks, Dr. Wright blamed America.

# Wright on the disappearance of Natalee Holloway: "Black women are being raped daily in Africa. One white girl from Alabama gets drunk at a graduation trip to Aruba, goes off and gives it up while in a foreign country and that stays in the news for months."

# Wright on Israel: "The Israelis have illegally occupied Palestinian territories for over 40 years now. Divestment has now hit the table again as a strategy to wake the business community and wake up Americans concerning the injustice and the racism under which the Palestinians have lived because of Zionism."

# Wright on America: He has used the term "middleclassness" in a derogatory manner; frequently mentions "white arrogance" and the "oppression" of African-Americans today; and has referred to "this racist United States of America."

Bush's Bulls--t

Wright's strong sentiments were echoed in the Sunday morning service attended by NewsMax.

Wright laced into America's establishment, blaming the "white arrogance" of America's Caucasian majority for the woes of the world, especially the oppression suffered by blacks. To underscore the point he refers to the country as the "United States of White America." Many in the congregation, including Obama, nodded in apparent agreement as these statements were made.

The sermon also addressed the Iraq war, a frequent area of Wright's fulminations.

"Young African-American men," Wright thundered, were "dying for nothing." The "illegal war," he shouted, was "based on Bush's lies" and is being "fought for oil money."

In a sermon filled with profanity, Wright also blamed the war on "Bush administration bulls--t."

Those are the types of statements that have led to MSNBC's Tucker Carlson describing Wright as "a full-blown hater."

Wright first came to national attention in 1984, when he visited Castro's Cuba and Col. Muammar Gaddafi's Libya.

Wright's Libyan visit came three years after a pair of Libyan fighter jets fired on American aircraft over international waters in the Mediterranean Sea, and four years before the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland — which resulted in the deaths of 259 passengers and crew. The U.S. implicated Gaddafi and his intelligence services in the bombing.

In recent years, Wright has focused his diatribe on America's war on terror and the U.S. occupation of Iraq.

For a February 2003 service, Wright placed a "War on Iraq IQ Test" on the Pastor's Page of the church Web site. The test consisted of a series of questions and answers that clearly portrayed America as the aggressor, and the war as unjustified and illegal. Marginally relevant issues regarding Israel received attention.

The test also portrayed the Iraqi people as victims of trade sanctions, but Saddam Hussein's propensity for using "oil for food" proceeds to build palaces rather than buy medicine was never mentioned.

At the end of the test, the pastor wrote, "Members of Trinity are asked to think about these things and be prayerful as we sift through the ‘hype' being poured on by the George Bush-controlled media." Obama's campaign staff did not respond to a NewsMax request for the senator's response to Wright's statements.

In April, however, Obama spoke to The New York Times about Wright, and appeared to be trying to distance himself from his spiritual mentor. He said, "We don't agree on everything. I've never had a thorough conversation with him about all aspects of politics."

More specifically, Obama told the Times, "The violence of 9/11 was inexcusable and without justification," adding "It sounds like [Wright] was trying to be provocative."

Obama attributed Wright's controversial views to Wright being "a child of the '60s" who Obama said "expresses himself in that language of concern with institutional racism, and the struggles the African-American community has gone through."

"It is hard to imagine, though, how Mr. Obama can truly distance himself from Mr. Wright," writes Jodi Kantor of The New York Times. On the day Sen. Obama announced his presidential quest in February of this year, Wright was set to give the invocation at the Springfield, Ill. rally. At the last moment, Obama's campaign yanked the invite to Wright.

Wright's camp was apparently upset by the slight, and Obama's campaign quickly issued a statement "Senator Obama is proud of his pastor and his church."

Since that spat, there is little evidence, indeed, that Sen. Obama has sought to distance himself from the angry Church leader. In June, when Obama appeared before a conference of ministers from his religious denomination, Wright appeared in a videotaped introduction.

One of Obama's campaign themes has been his claim that conservative evangelicals have "hijacked" Christianity, ignoring issues like poverty, AIDS, and racism.

This past June, in an effort to build a new consensus between his new politics and faith, Obama's campaign launched a new Web page, faith.barackobama.com | People of Faith for Barack Home.

On the day the page appeared on his campaign site, it offered testimonials from Wright and two other ministers supporting Obama. The inclusion of Wright drew a sharp rebuke from the Catholic League. Noting that Obama had rescinded Wright's invitation to speak at his announcement ceremony, Catholic League President Bill Donohue declared that Obama "knew that his spiritual adviser was so divisive that he would cloud the ceremonies."

He noted that Wright "has a record of giving racially inflammatory sermons and has even said that Zionism has an element of ‘white racism.' He also blamed the attacks of 9/11 on American foreign policy."

Donohue acknowledged that Obama may have different views than Wright and the other ministers on his Web site, but "he is responsible for giving them the opportunity to prominently display their testimonials on his religious outreach Web site."

Political pundits have suggested that Obama's problems with Wright are not ones based on faith, but pure politics. The upstart presidential candidate needs to pull most of the black vote to have any chance of snagging the Democratic nomination. Obama's ties to Wright and the activist African American church helps in that effort.

But the same experts same those same ties may come to haunt him if he were to win the nomination and face a Republican in the general election.

The worry is not lost on Wright.

"If Barack gets past the primary, he might have to publicly distance himself from me," Wright told The New York Times with a shrug. "I said it to Barack personally, and he said 'yeah, that might have to happen.'"

All this stuff from Obama about having never been present during any of this nonsense is a lie, he sat there an nodded in agreement as Wright talked about "white arrogance," the "United States of White America" and "Bush administration bulls--t." And since Obama apparently knew he might have to distance himself from Wright I don't see how he can be too "shocked" as he puts it over what's been playing the last week.

And by the way, I don't buy this excuse that whites just don't understand that sort of preaching, we understand it perfectly. It's divisive, offensive, inexcusable, ungodly and racist. I can't imagine Jesus preaching anything of the sort and I darn sure can't imagine our next president not only attending a church like this but calling a man like Wright his "mentor."

[NeedKarma]

McCain has not rejected the enforsement of Hagee though he knows what the evangelist stands for:
Hagee endorsement of McCain has risks - John McCain News - MSNBC.com

Evangelical or born-again Christian voters were key to George W. Bush's victories, but so were Roman Catholics, who chose Bush over their fellow Catholic John Kerry in 2004 and over Al Gore in 2000.

The televangelist, San Antonio megachurch leader John Hagee, has referred to the Roman Catholic Church as "the great whore" and called it a "false cult system" and "the apostate church"; the word "apostate" means someone who has forsaken his religion.

He also has linked Adolf Hitler to the Catholic church, suggesting it helped shape his anti-Semitism.

Catholic groups are pressuring McCain to reject the endorsement, which he announced at a news conference with Hagee last week. The Democratic National Committee also is publicizing Hagee's views.

"Indeed, for the past few decades, he has waged an unrelenting war against the Catholic Church," said Catholic League President Bill Donohue.

It remains to be seen how much Hagee's views may hurt McCain's standing among Catholics, a group that can hardly be considered monolithic. Though they lean Republican, their views span the political spectrum and split nearly evenly along party lines.

Despite the recent publicity, Hagee is not well-known outside his sphere of influence, which includes a congregation in the tens of thousands and an even wider television audience.

"What he holds about Catholicism in my mind is despicable," said the Rev. James Heft, religion professor at the University of Southern California. "I totally reject Hagee's view of Catholicism, but I don't know how widely known it is."

If Hagee's views become well-known, the endorsement could hurt McCain among some Catholics.

"If you offend even a small percentage, that could make the difference in an election," Donohue said in an interview Sunday.

Democrats are doing their best to keep the fracas alive, with Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean raising it Sunday on CNN's "Late Edition."

"What about a guy who is a vicious anti-Catholic, who is supporting John McCain, and John McCain does not denounce or reject him?" Dean said.

So far, McCain has enjoyed strong support from Catholics, who make up about a quarter of the electorate.

Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama battle it out during Tuesday's primaries while John McCain takes the Republican lead.

He won far more of the Catholic vote, 47 percent, than any of his Republican rivals thus far, according to exit polling. Mitt Romney won 30 percent and Mike Huckabee won 9 percent, doing well among Catholics in states where they did well overall, according to exit surveys in 21 presidential primary states.

McCain has been less popular among evangelical or born-again Christians, which is where Hagee comes in. Huckabee, himself a Baptist minister, courted Hagee last year by delivering a sermon at his church. McCain has lost or split support from those voters and is working to bolster his standing.

[speechlesstx]

Hello tom:

Does YOUR church believe that this is a "Christian" nation?????? Lots of you Christians believe that crap....... If that doesn't SEPERATE YOU FROM ME, then I dunno what does. Talk about calling the kettle black.....

Frankly, I'd rather vote for a black man who believes the way he does, than a white man who believes the way most Christains do.

Ex, we white Christians consider black Christians a part of the family. With the possible exception of a few wackos like Phelps, we don't have mottos like "unapologetically white."

[tomder55]

Does YOUR church believe that this is a "Christian" nation??

Nope ;I'm a Catholic and you have never heard me make the case that this is a Christian country . At most I have said that the traditions of Judeo-Christian was part of the heritage that our laws were based on .

And I'll go even further.. My churches leadership in Rome has made statements opposing the US from time to time . I for the most part reject their criticism and have never sat through a sermon where the Priest ranted and raved like a loon throwing in hip gyrations for emphasis saying the most vile things about the country or a group within it. I would in fact make a great scene before I walked out /never to return .
That is what I would also expect from the person who claims to be a uniter and who thinks he has what it takes to be the country's leader .

[speechlesstx]

McCain has not rejected the enforsement of Hagee though he knows what the evangelist stands for:
Hagee endorsement of McCain has risks - John McCain News - MSNBC.com

NK, I can't comment on Hagee because nobody seems to care to offer more than a 2 or 3 word quote out of context. That tells us a lot doesn't it? But if we really want to go down the road of holding every politician accountable for the religious connections I'd like to start with Harry Reid and Arlen Specter, we non-Mormons have been called some pretty nasty things over the years by Mormon leadership.

As for the articles claim of anti-semitism I'm not sure how that reconciles with the facts:

Hagee has received numerous honors and accolades from national Jewish organizations for his support of Israel. Hagee was awarded the "Humanitarian of the Year" award by the San Antonio B'nai B'rith Council. It was the first time in the history of the San Antonio that this award was given to a gentile. Hagee was presented the ZOA Israel Award by U.N. Ambassador Jean Kirkpatrick. This award was given by the Jewish Community of Dallas, Texas. He was presented the ZOA Service Award by Texas Governor Mark White. Houston Mayor Kathy Whitmire issued a special proclamation in his honor declaring Pastor John C. Hagee Day.[citation needed]

Hagee has been to Israel twenty-two times and has met with every Prime Minister since Menachem Begin. John Hagee Ministries has given more than $8.5 million to bring Soviet Jews from the former Soviet Union to Israel. Hagee is also the Founder and Executive Director of "A Night to Honor Israel", an event which expresses solidarity between Christians and Jews on behalf of Jerusalem, the State of Israel and the United States.

He sounds really anti-semitic to me.

[tomder55]

Hagee endorsed McCain . McCain did NOT make him a spiritual adviser . Nor has he had a 20 year relationship with Hagee ;attending his church .listening to his controversial comments and by extension agreeing with Hagee's statements. Hagee did not perform McCain's wedding and he did not baptise his children. McCain has not added countless thousands to Hagee's church coffers .

Clearly there is the difference. But you already knew that . I find it intersting that many here first endorsed Ron Paul with his racists past and now support Obama with what appears to me to be a tacit endorsment of racism .

[speechlesstx]

Perhaps McCain hasn't rejected Hagee's endorsement but he has rejected the alleged offenses:

"Yesterday, Pastor John Hagee endorsed my candidacy for president in San Antonio, Texas. However, in no way did I intend for his endorsement to suggest that I in turn agree with all of Pastor Hagee's views, which I obviously do not.

"I am hopeful that Catholics, Protestants and all people of faith who share my vision for the future of America will respond to our message of defending innocent life, traditional marriage, and compassion for the most vulnerable in our society."

"Well I think it's important to note that pastor John Hagee who has supported and endorsed my candidacy supports what I stand for and believe in. When he endorses me, it does not mean that I embrace everything that he stands for and believes. And I am very proud of the Pastor John Hagee's spiritual leadership to thousands of people and I am proud of his commitment to the independence and the freedom of the state of Israel. That does not mean that I support or endorse or agree with some of the things that Pastor John Hagee might have said or positions that he may have taken on other issues. I don't have to agree with everyone who endorses my candidacy. They are supporting my candidacy. I am not endorsing some of their positions."

"We've had a dignified campaign, and I repudiate any comments that are made, including Pastor Hagee's, if they are anti-Catholic or offensive to Catholics," McCain said.

"I sent two of my children to Catholic school. I categorically reject and repudiate any statement that was made that was anti-Catholic, both in intent and nature. I categorically reject it, and I repudiate it," McCain said.

"And we can't have that in this campaign," McCain said. "We're trying to unite the country. We're uniting the country, not dividing it."

He was responding to one critic in particular, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat, who raised the issue in a Thursday conference call with reporters.

"She made the attack. I am responding by saying that I am against discrimination and anti-Semitism, anti-Catholic, anything racial, and I have proved that on the campaign trail," McCain said.

I will say that he said that his words were taken out of context, he defends his position. I hope that maybe you’d give him a chance to respond. He says he has never been anti-Catholic, but I repudiate the words that create that impression.

It only took McCain a day to distance himself from Hagee's 'sins', what took Obama so long?

[Wondergirl]

attending his church .listening to his controversial comments and by extension agreeing with [Wright's] statements

Obama has said more than once that he has never heard troubling comments from Rev. Wright, or he would have talked with him about them. And I have no worries that Obama agrees with anything and everything inflammatory Wright has said.

I've heard many sermons by many ministers throughout my life. In fact, because I'm a PK, I've probably heard more sermons than most people. One has to be careful not to take comments out of context. One of my former pastors had made the comment, "There are mistakes in the Bible." Of course, that woke everyone up and was the only thing anyone seemed to be able to remember from that sermon. The pastor was immediately branded a liberal (in a conservative congregation). Had they listened to the entire sermon... This is not to excuse Wright from things he has preached about, but it certainly must be something any reader or listener keeps in mind.

[Dark_crow]

Omama, in his book, makes it quite clear what he thinks of Wrights,
Black Liberation Theology…Now he is condemning some of his [Wrights] statements…while Wright's church members are defending them- claiming they are being taken out of context. It all makes for an interesting side show by the Democrats…but what's new about that. Diversity is in itself, divisive.

[NeedKarma]

Diversity is in itself, divisive.

Only in your mind. :D

[Dark_crow]

Obama has said more than once that he has never heard troubling comments from Rev. Wright, or he would have talked with him about them. And I have no worries that Obama agrees with anything and everything inflammatory Wright has said.

The issue that seems to be coming down is…are Wright’s comments really inflammatory, or are they being used out of context? Seems to me Obama has jumped ship and condemned many comments by Wright.

[Dark_crow]

Only in your mind. :D

Yeah, there is the “Perfect World” of Idealist; and then there is reality. :D

[tomder55]

Obama has said more than once that he has never heard troubling comments from Rev. Wright, or he would have talked with him about them.

Obama is not telling the truth . He purposely disinvited Wright from appearing at his announcment to run and told him, “'You can get kind of rough in the sermons, so what we've decided is that it's best for you not to be out there in public.”

Why would he say something like that if he was not aware of the content ?

Newsmax reports that one of their reporters was at one of the sermons and Obama was there nodding his head in agreement as the Rev ranted away.

Contrary to Senator Barack Obama's claim that he never heard his pastor Jeremiah A. Wright, Jr. preach hatred of America, Obama was in the pews last July 22 when the minister blamed the “white arrogance” of America's Caucasian majority for the world's suffering, especially the oppression of blacks.

Senator Obama has sought to separate himself from his pastor's incendiary remarks, issuing a statement Friday rejecting them as “inflammatory and appalling” but failing to renounce Wright himself for his venomous and paranoid denunciations of America.

In his press release, Obama claimed, “The statements that Rev. Wright made that are the cause of this controversy were not statements I personally heard him preach while I sat in the pews of Trinity [United Church of Christ] or heard him utter in private conversation.”

Appearing on cable news shows this past weekend, Obama claimed when he saw recent videos that have Wright making such comments as “God damn America,” he was “shocked.” Obama implied that the reverend had not used such derogatory language in any of the church services Obama attended over the past two decades.

If Obama's claims are true that he was completely unaware that Wright's trademark preaching style at the Trinity United Church of Christ has targeted “white” America and Israel, he would have been one of the few people in Chicago to be so uninformed. Wright's reputation for spewing hate is well known.

In fact, Obama was present in the South Side Chicago church on July 22 last year when Jim Davis, a freelance correspondent for Newsmax, attended services along with Obama. [See: ”Obama's Church: Cauldron of Division.”]

In his sermon that day, Wright tore into America, referring to the “United States of White America” and lacing his sermon with expletives as Obama listened. Hearing Wright's attacks on his own country, Obama had the opportunity to walk out, but Davis said the senator sat in his pew and nodded in agreement.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/06/us...=1&oref=slogin

Newsmax.com - Obama Attended Hate America Sermon

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