Why is it Barack Obama's pastor is being singled out

[donheld]

for what he has said? I'll bet nobody knows who John McCain's pastor is. Does anyone know who Hillary's pastor says? I find it quite curious Rev Wright is being singled out when the other pastors are totally unknown. Pastors have never before been an election issue before. I sometimes wonder how involved these people really are with their churches. Do we really have to expect, from now on, presidential candidate's pastors will be vetted? How responsible is a candidate going to be for what their pastor says? God forbid we find out what George W's pastor is like. Not to mention Dick Cheney's?

Excuse me while I think out loud.

[Catherina]

1. Hillary's mentor is Doug Coe

You can read about his fellowship here: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x5071798

[Hoof Hearted]

5. Are you making shit up (as I suspect) or did SHE SAY this was a mentor?

Obama NAMED Wright as a mentor.

What else ya got, parrot?

[Catherina]

38. Ouch. You don't like Hillary's little neocon prayer group ?

I'm so sorry it caused such a reaction. Here's more

Clinton declined our requests for an interview about her faith, but in Living History, she describes her first encounter with Fellowship leader Doug Coe at a 1993 lunch with her prayer cell at the Cedars, the Fellowship's majestic estate on the Potomac. Coe, she writes, "is a unique presence in Washington: a genuinely loving spiritual mentor and guide to anyone, regardless of party or faith, who wants to deepen his or her relationship with God."

The Fellowship's ideas are essentially a blend of Calvinism and Norman Vincent Peale, the 1960s preacher of positive thinking. It's a cheery faith in the "elect" chosen by a single voter--God--and a devotion to Romans 13:1: "Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers.... The powers that be are ordained of God." Or, as Coe has put it, "we work with power where we can, build new power where we can't."

When Time put together a list of the nation's 25 most powerful evangelicals in 2005, the heading for Coe's entry was "The Stealth Persuader." "You know what I think of when I think of Doug Coe?" the Reverend Schenck (a Coe admirer) asked us. "I think literally of the guy in the smoky back room that you can't even see his face. He sits in the comer, and you see the cigar, and you see the flame, and you hear his voice--but you never see his face. He's that shadowy figure."

Mother Jones article:Hillary’s prayer: Hillary Clinton’s religion and politics

Ivanwald, which sits at the end of Twenty-fourth Street North in Arlington, Virginia, is known only to its residents and to the members and friends of the organization that sponsors it, a group of believers who refer to themselves as “the Family.” The Family is, in its own words, an “invisible” association, though its membership has always consisted mostly of public men. Senators Don Nickles (R., Okla.), Charles Grassley (R., Iowa), Pete Domenici (R., N.Mex.), John Ensign (R., Nev.), James Inhofe (R., Okla.), Bill Nelson (D., Fla.), and Conrad Burns (R., Mont.) are referred to as “members,” as are Representatives Jim DeMint (R., S.C.), Frank Wolf (R., Va.), Joseph Pitts (R., Pa.), Zach Wamp (R., Tenn.), and Bart Stupak (D., Mich.). Regular prayer groups have met in the Pentagon and at the Department of Defense, and the Family has traditionally fostered strong ties with businessmen in the oil and aerospace industries. The Family maintains a closely guarded database of its associates, but it issues no cards, collects no official dues. Members are asked not to speak about the group or its activities.

...

“We work with power where we can,” the Family's leader, Doug Coe, says, “build new power where we can't.”

At the 1990 National Prayer Breakfast, George H.W. Bush praised Doug Coe for what he described as “quiet diplomacy, I wouldn't say secret diplomacy,” as an “ambassador of faith.” Coe has visited nearly every world capital, often with congressmen at his side, “making friends” and inviting them back to the Family's unofficial headquarters, a mansion (just down the road from Ivanwald) that the Family bought in 1978 with $1.5 million donated by, among others, Tom Phillips, then the C.E.O. of arms manufacturer Raytheon, and Ken Olsen, the founder and president of Digital Equipment Corporation. ... The mansion is named for these trees; it is called The Cedars, and Family members speak of it as a person. “The Cedars has a heart for the poor,” they like to say. By “poor” they mean not the thousands of literal poor living barely a mile away but rather the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom: the senators, generals, and prime ministers who coast to the end of Twenty-fourth Street in Arlington in black limousines and town cars and hulking S.U.V.'s to meet one another, to meet Jesus, to pay homage to the god of The Cedars.

...

Declaring God's covenant with the Jews broken, the group's core members call themselves “the new chosen.”

...

A man I didn't recognize, whom Charlene identified as a former senator, suggested that negotiators from Rwanda and Congo, trapped in a war that has slain more than 2 million, should stop worrying about who will get the diamonds and the oil and instead focus on who will get Jesus. “Power sharing is not going to work unless we change their hearts,” he said.

...

Tiahrt was a short shot glass of a man, two parts flawless hair and one part teeth. He wanted to know the best way “for the Christian to win the race with the Muslim.” The Muslim, he said, has too many babies, while Americans kill too many of theirs. Doug agreed this could be a problem. But he was more concerned that the focus on labels like “Christian” might get in the way of the congressman's prayers. Religion distracts people from Jesus, Doug said, and allows them to isolate Christ's will from their work in the world.

...

He reached over and squeezed the arm of a brother. “Isn't that great?” David said. “That's the way everything in life happens. If you're a person known to be around Jesus, you can go and do anything. And that's who you guys are. When you leave here, you're not only going to know the value of Jesus, you're going to know the people who rule the world. It's about vision. 'Get your vision straight, then relate.' Talk to the people who rule the world, and help them obey. Obey Him. If I obey Him myself, I help others do the same. You know why? Because I become a warning. We become a warning. We warn everybody that the future king is coming. Not just of this country or that, but of the world.” Then he pointed at the map, toward the Khan's vast, reclaimable empire.

...

http://www.harpers.org/archive/2003/03/0079525

The Harper's article is long but very interesting.




Coe's the neocon in the middle.

[Hoof Hearted]

41. Just because you are the mistress of cut and paste doesn't mean you are relevant.

We were talking about Obama, his mentor, and his recent press coverage.

Try to stay with us.

[donheld]

44. You might have been talking about Obama, his mentor,

in other threads, but in this thread we are talking about Hillary and John McCain's pastors.

[Hoof Hearted]

48. It's so cute that you would step in and answer for another.

I understand why you are confused. Follow the links backwards and tell me in what tome penned by HRC did she refer to "whats his face" as a MENTOR, the way the OBAMA wrote about WRIGHT as being his MENTOR?

That's the topic of relevance.

[Catherina]

52. I'm sorry about the reading comprehension problem.

I'll see if I can find the Hooked on Phonics version. Until then, please nevermind.

[donheld]

45. Maybe if you'd do a little cutting and pasting

you might have a real contribution to make, instead of the crap you've posted in this thread.

[Catherina]

51. Hillary's spiritual mentor is the King of fundamentalists, Doug Coe.

Please try to read before responding. It comes in handy on discussion boards. Since you missed it in my previous post, I'll highlight for you

Clinton declined our requests for an interview about her faith, but in Living History, she describes her first encounter with Fellowship leader Doug Coe at a 1993 lunch with her prayer cell at the Cedars, the Fellowship's majestic estate on the Potomac. Coe, she writes, "is a unique presence in Washington: a genuinely loving spiritual mentor and guide to anyone, regardless of party or faith, who wants to deepen his or her relationship with God."

The rest requires a little effort but you could at least try so please reread my previous post.

Here's more for anyone interested:

"Clinton ... has become a regular visitor to Coe's Arlington, Virginia, headquarters, a former convent where Coe provides members of Congress with sex-segregated housing and spiritual guidance."

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x5064236

When Clinton first came to Washington in 1993, one of her first steps was to join a Bible study group. For the next eight years, she regularly met with a Christian "cell" whose members included Susan Baker, wife of Bush consigliere James Baker; Joanne Kemp, wife of conservative icon Jack Kemp; Eileen Bakke, wife of Dennis Bakke, a leader in the anti-union Christian management movement; and Grace Nelson, the wife of Senator Bill Nelson, a conservative Florida Democrat.

Clinton's prayer group was part of the Fellowship (or "the Family"), a network of sex-segregated cells of political, business, and military leaders dedicated to "spiritual war" on behalf of Christ, many of them recruited at the Fellowship's only public event, the annual National Prayer Breakfast. (Aside from the breakfast, the group has "made a fetish of being invisible," former Republican Senator William Armstrong has said.) The Fellowship believes that the elite win power by the will of God, who uses them for his purposes. Its mission is to help the powerful understand their role in God's plan.

http://www.motherjones.com/news/feature/2007/09/hillarys-prayer-2.html

Onward with the modern Crusades eh?





US Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) and Senator John McCain (R-AZ) at the National Prayer Breakfast, February 2007, in Washington, DC.

The Fellowship, which sponsors the National Prayer Breakfast, quietly effects political change. It acts with the blessing of many in power. http://www.toobeautiful.org/lat_020927.html

[MonkeyFunk]

68. NO he's not

but I'm not surprised a Clinton hater would lie.

[PVnRT]

61. Read the OP

Where it asked about why we haven't heard about anyone's pastors but Obama's. Thanks.

[Catherina]

43. Here's more on mentor Doug Coe: The Hitler Concept

What’s Hillary’s position on the Hitler Concept?

Editor’s Comment — In a 2006 New York Times interview, Hillary Clinton said warmly that “Doug (Coe) was always very supportive of me.” One wonders then what her position might be on Coe’s promotion of the “Hitler concept”?

This is how Coe explained the concept in a conversation recounted in Harper’s:

“Do you know what a difference a friend can make? A friend you can agree with?” He smiled. “Two or three agree, and they pray? They can do anything. Agree. Agreement. What’s that mean?” Doug looked at me. “You’re a writer. What does that mean?”

I remembered Paul’s letter to the Philippians, which we had begun to memorize. Fulfill ye my joy, that ye be likeminded.

“Unity,” I said. “Agreement means unity.”

Doug didn’t smile. “Yes,” he said. “Total unity. Two, or three, become one. Do you know,” he asked, “that there’s another word for that?”

No one spoke.

“It’s called a covenant. Two, or three, agree? They can do anything. A covenant is . . . powerful. Can you think of anyone who made a covenant with his friends?”

We all knew the answer to this, having heard his name invoked numerous times in this context. Andrew from Australia, sitting beside Doug, cleared his throat: “Hitler.”

“Yes,” Doug said. “Yes, Hitler made a covenant. The Mafia makes a covenant. It is such a very powerful thing. Two, or three, agree.”

And Jeff Sharlet, the author of the Harper’s piece, in a subsequent interview went on to explain more about this concept as understood by members of Coe’s secretive organization:

All these guys Hitler, Lenin, Pol Pot and Osama bin Laden is another guy they cite a lot, are guys who understood the power of a political avant garde. That’s what they mean by the Hitler Concept.

Nasty stuff. I'd be upset if I were a Hillary supporter too.

And please don't attack the source.


Rave reviews

“a tremendously useful site, balanced but provocative, up-to-date and comprehensive”
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“The best of the one-man-and-a-website efforts to emerge after 9/11.”
Bad Subjects: Political Education for Everyday Life

“a helluva resource”
James P. Pinkerton, columnist, Newsday

http://warincontext.org/about/

[Hoof Hearted]

54. Are you making shit up (as I suspect) or did SHE SAY this was a mentor?

again with the cut and paste princess.

[Catherina]

55. Most people, please ignore. Third time. Should be a charm.

Edit to help with ophthalmological disorder.

When Clinton first came to Washington in 1993, one of her first steps was to join a Bible study group. For the next eight years, she regularly met with a Christian "cell" whose members included Susan Baker, wife of Bush consigliere James Baker; Joanne Kemp, wife of conservative icon Jack Kemp; Eileen Bakke, wife of Dennis Bakke, a leader in the anti-union Christian management movement; and Grace Nelson, the wife of Senator Bill Nelson, a conservative Florida Democrat.

Clinton's prayer group was part of the Fellowship (or "the Family"), a network of sex-segregated cells of political, business, and military leaders dedicated to "spiritual war" on behalf of Christ, many of them recruited at the Fellowship's only public event, the annual National Prayer Breakfast. (Aside from the breakfast, the group has "made a fetish of being invisible," former Republican Senator William Armstrong has said.) The Fellowship believes that the elite win power by the will of God, who uses them for his purposes. Its mission is to help the powerful understand their role in God's plan.

http://www.motherjones.com/news/feature/2007/09/hillarys-prayer-2.html

Clinton declined our requests for an interview about her faith, but in Living History, she describes her first encounter with Fellowship leader Doug Coe at a 1993 lunch with her prayer cell at the Cedars, the Fellowship's majestic estate on the Potomac. Coe, she writes, "is a unique presence in Washington: a genuinely loving spiritual mentor and guide to anyone, regardless of party or faith, who wants to deepen his or her relationship with God."

Mother Jones article:Hillary’s prayer: Hillary Clinton’s religion and politics

Ivanwald, which sits at the end of Twenty-fourth Street North in Arlington, Virginia, is known only to its residents and to the members and friends of the organization that sponsors it, a group of believers who refer to themselves as “the Family.” The Family is, in its own words, an “invisible” association, though its membership has always consisted mostly of public men. Senators Don Nickles (R., Okla.), Charles Grassley (R., Iowa), Pete Domenici (R., N.Mex.), John Ensign (R., Nev.), James Inhofe (R., Okla.), Bill Nelson (D., Fla.), and Conrad Burns (R., Mont.) are referred to as “members,” as are Representatives Jim DeMint (R., S.C.), Frank Wolf (R., Va.), Joseph Pitts (R., Pa.), Zach Wamp (R., Tenn.), and Bart Stupak (D., Mich.). Regular prayer groups have met in the Pentagon and at the Department of Defense, and the Family has traditionally fostered strong ties with businessmen in the oil and aerospace industries. The Family maintains a closely guarded database of its associates, but it issues no cards, collects no official dues. Members are asked not to speak about the group or its activities.

...

“We work with power where we can,” the Family's leader, Doug Coe, says, “build new power where we can't.”

At the 1990 National Prayer Breakfast, George H.W. Bush praised Doug Coe for what he described as “quiet diplomacy, I wouldn't say secret diplomacy,” as an “ambassador of faith.” Coe has visited nearly every world capital, often with congressmen at his side, “making friends” and inviting them back to the Family's unofficial headquarters, a mansion (just down the road from Ivanwald) that the Family bought in 1978 with $1.5 million donated by, among others, Tom Phillips, then the C.E.O. of arms manufacturer Raytheon, and Ken Olsen, the founder and president of Digital Equipment Corporation. ... The mansion is named for these trees; it is called The Cedars, and Family members speak of it as a person. “The Cedars has a heart for the poor,” they like to say. By “poor” they mean not the thousands of literal poor living barely a mile away but rather the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom: the senators, generals, and prime ministers who coast to the end of Twenty-fourth Street in Arlington in black limousines and town cars and hulking S.U.V.'s to meet one another, to meet Jesus, to pay homage to the god of The Cedars.

...

Declaring God's covenant with the Jews broken, the group's core members call themselves “the new chosen.”

...

http://www.harpers.org/archive/2003/03/0079525

US Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) and Senator John McCain (R-AZ) at the National Prayer Breakfast, February 2007, in Washington, DC.

The Fellowship, which sponsors the National Prayer Breakfast, quietly effects political change. It acts with the blessing of many in power. http://www.toobeautiful.org/lat_020927.html


Doug Coe is the man in the middle

More threads: Why is it Barack Obama's pastor is being singled out

Meet Hillary's Religious Leader, Rightwingnut Doug Coe

Hillary's Prayer: Hillary Clinton's Religion and Politics

'The Fellowship' & "How Hillary Clinton Turned Herself into the Consummate Washington Player"

Why Obama must be destroyed

HRC's religious advisor provides Congresspeople 'sex-segregated housing& spiritual guidance'

[mrreowwr_kittty]

2. Because he is Black and because Obama is a Democrat. nt

[donheld]

17. That and the Muslim lie.

Bet they want to paint all black pastors with the Sharpton nutty brush.

[Hoof Hearted]

50. What's your solution?

[Hoof Hearted]

3. Obama names Wright as mentor: mentor says, "GOD DAMN AMERICA" - Obama is running for Prez of AMERICA

It's pretty unique!

[donheld]

8. You know this is unique how?

Do you know anything what the other's pastors have said? How many of them agreed with Jerry Falwell after 9/11?

[Hoof Hearted]

23. Because I am an observant particpant of history. You are a true believer.

You have your place.

[PVnRT]

63. Are you purposely avoiding the main point donheld brought up?

[ProSense]

9. Meet McCain's

McCain's Spiritual Guide: Destroy Islam

Rod Parsley


For perspective and Wright's comment, go here

[donheld]

16. Is this going to be paraded before the media like Mr Wright?

You and I know it won't.

[Hoof Hearted]

27. Who the fuck cares about McCain? If you are pro sense, you need to work on ways for the Obama

campaign to deal with this. I'm not confident they will have the innovation and resiliency to deal with it internally.

[americanstranger]

37. I think they'll deal with it.

This is probably the biggest test Obama will face prior to the GE. He can't afford to fail.

But for some reason, I think he'll be able to face it head-on (probably tomorrow) and move on. Granted, some people won't be satisfied. Fox News will continue to hammer it, and those who aren't planning to vote for him will still see it as a big deal.

The story is still young, and if he can grab tomorrow's news cycle and deal with it he should be okay. If he lets it go and it festers over the weekend, he's got himself some trouble.

I'm pretty sure the midnight oil is being burned tonight by Obama and his advisors. tomorrow, they'll take their best shot at defusing this.

- as

[Hoof Hearted]

39. He had better damn well grab it tomorrow, or it's going to spin out of control

I WANT him to grab it tomorrow. The last thing in the GD world I want to see is a McLame presiDUNCy. If he's our nominee, this cannot, CANNOT be allowed to culture in the moist dark loins of the press until it's too late to be dealt with.

[americanstranger]

42. I agree with you.

How's that for a shock? :D

I think everyone will finally get to see whether he's got the mojo or not. If he can effectively deflect this, he's on his way to the GE.

If he can't - a one-way ticket to Palookaville, if you know what I'm saying.

- as

[ProSense]

66. So now you're concerned about McCain? n/t

[ProSense]

65. Hillary will not be the nominee. So McCain will be running against Obama.

That's a reason McCain should care. McCain is going to get crushed.

[Stephanie]

4. Dick Cheney's pastor is the devil himself. Hillary Clinton's is Doug Coe.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=5071798&mesg_id=5071798v

[Hoof Hearted]

7. Are you making shit up (as I suspect) or did SHE SAY this was a mentor?

Again, Obama NAMED Wright as his mentor, himself, in print.

[Stephanie]

12. Are you too lazy to click the link?

Then I'm too lazy to explain it to you.

[donheld]

19. Clicking the link is just so stressful, so much work

might break a nail.

[Hoof Hearted]

20. I didn't see a reputable header, and presumed it was a circle jerk.

Give me a reputable source, and I'll consider it.

[donheld]

22. Google it, Hillary, Doug Coe

See what you get. If you break a nail, Skinner will buy you a new one.

[Hoof Hearted]

33. So far, NOBODY is willing to stick their ass on the line and say that Hillary said this was a MENTOR

In print. Like Obama did.

What about you?

[Catherina]

53. See posts 38 and 51. Again. n/t

[Stephanie]

25. So you are too lazy to click the link.

The sources are Time and Mother Jones. Bite me.

[Hoof Hearted]

30. Like totally, like........ ya know, like. bite. me. too.

I'm devastated.

[Heathen57]

56. I believe it said that Clinton

refuses to speak on the matter of religion. Using your logic, I think we can just assume that Coe is her mentor since she seems to be close to him, going to his retreat, etc.

If Obama has to put up with the crap that the Clinton campaign keeps "letting slip out", then she should have to do the same.

Sorry, I forgot she is the Princess of the DLC and was ordained to have this election handed to her on a silver platter. Double standards are in play.

[polticalpout]

6. Because of the things coming out of his mouth

If you have anything on Hillary's pastor come out with it and it will catch fire too.

[stevenleser]

10. The former pastor isnt being singled out. They are focusing on the barber and pool guy too. Links!

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x5071326

[DearAbby]

11. Its to play to the fear card

The angry resentful black man. Same old terror fear tactic. But very subtle. These tactics are the same bullshit, as the photo of Obama in Somali native clothing...to instill fear.

[donheld]

14. That's exactly what I think

Whether is comes from Repuglicans, Hillary or just the rantings of Fox it's sick.

[Hoof Hearted]

36. A pastor IN AMERICA, who is the MENTOR of a Prez candidate says" GOD DAMN AMERICA"

You think America should ________________________?

[Petrushka]

46. ANSWER: "Pledge Allegiance To All Black Leadership . . .

. . . Who Espouse and Embrace the Black Value System." as adopted by Trinity United Church of Christ.

http://www.tucc.org/black_value_system.html

[DearAbby]

71. We ourselves have been Damning this administration

for the past seven years, and what this country has become...are you proud of that? What do you have to be proud of? This country starts wars over lies. And the rich white elite still hold people of color and gender back. We as a country torture human beings. We allow people to suffer and some die due to lack of healthcare, turn our backs on poor, calling them parasites...your deity would approve of this? I am an Atheist, if your Deity wont damn this..I WILL.

[WCGreen]

13. McCain's pastors all all the lunatic right wingers who will urge their

congregations to vote for him...

[Liquorice]

15. It goes deeper than that. Jeremiah Wright is

Obama's mentor. He's not just the pastor of the church Obama attends. Obama has a personal relationship with Wright.

"What I value most about Pastor Wright is not his day-to-day political advice," Obama said. "He's much more of a sounding board for me to make sure that I am speaking as truthfully about what I believe as possible and that I'm not losing myself in some of the hype and hoopla and stress that's involved in national politics."
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/custom/religion/profiles/chi-070121-relig_wright,0,5184608.story?page=1

From this quote, it appears Obama looks to Wright for political and moral advice. Obama also named his book after a sermon by Wright. That's a much more involved relationshp than just being the pastor at someone's church.

[Creideiki]

18. Because when McCain's campaign decides it's time to run commercials

it's going to be incredibly easy to tie Wright to Obama and Obama to Wright. The guy was conflating the Roman occupation of Israel to blaming modern-day Italian Americans for the death of Jesus. What a fantastic GE campaign commercial that's going to be. :sarcasm:

Please, please, please start figuring out that no one from Illinois will be squeaky clean.

[bhikkhu]

24. You'd think on DU 10000 questions on a dems nutty pastor might

be balanced by a few questions about the opposition's (the republicans) end-timer nutcase "spiritual leader" of the moment

http://www.motherjones.com/washington_dispatch/2008/03/john-mccain-rod-parsley-spiritual-guide.html

[Creideiki]

34. Close

Hagee plays to the Republican standard of "Guns, God, and Gays." And throws in a few new tunes. Ultimately no one is going to be shocked that a Republican has a nutcase for a spiritual leader because they've got the same nutcase as their spiritual leader.

This gives us something to mock, but to the McCain campaign it's called, "Solidifying the Base". And it's a shaky base right now.

[americanstranger]

21. The media needs a story.

This is being stoked mostly by Fox News, which is why I'm mystified that so many supposed 'liberals' are so excited about it.

Fox News is the fucking enemy, people. You can bet that their agenda is way different than that of good Democrats and what lies in our best interest.

They're playing a whole lot of Dems for suckers right now, that's a fact. I'm surprised that so many people are so personally invested in their candidate (yes, I'm looking at you, Clinton supporters) that they're dancing to Uncle Rupert's tune.

Wake up. They're playing you.

- as

[donheld]

29. How can they play me? I don't listen.

[americanstranger]

31. Me neither, Don.

But I sure know media manipulation when I see it. A lot of people are falling for it like a ton of bricks.

- as

[Jamastiene]

26. Becuase of the batshit insane crap he spews from the pulpit.

He makes Falwell and Robertson look like tame uncontroversial little choir boys.

[PVnRT]

64. Eh?

So, saying that America "deserved" Hurricane Katrina and 9/11 because of the gays and the ACLU, and that America should be running around the world assassinating leftist leaders, etc., is "uncontroversial"? Right.

[tularetom]

28. We've had billy fucking graham hobnobbing with presidents for like 50 years

So what if Obama's pastor is a bit over the top? Last time I looked we weren't electing pastors. And anybody named Clinton is on very shaky ground criticizing the associates of any other candidate.

It is a non issue. Nobody gives a rats ass.

[jackson_dem]

35. Yeah, AFTER they won and Graham isn't perceived the same way as Wright will be by voters

In the end it comes down to voters. Only Obama supporters think Wright will play will with voters.

[Hoof Hearted]

40. Only a small percentage, indeed, minuscule, think Wright will play well.

You'd have a better chance of being diagnosed with Schizophrenia this year than being among the population that believes this mans comments will resonate positively in the general population.

[jackson_dem]

32. Simple: Hillary and McCain, like most people, don't have a racist pastor

Only Obama had the poor judgment to attend a church with a racist pastor. Post 15 is a great response. The other fact is there aren't tapes floating around of Hillary or McCain's pastor saying racist things.

[PseudoIntellect]

47. Some people honestly think this is the thing that will ruin his candidacy forever.

...even though he went up in the polls today.

[Iceburg]

62. Some people are right -- 23 years with Wright=bad judgment/nt

[RiverStone]

49. Distraction!

During his entire time in the Senate, has anybody raised this concern before? Strange, Obama announced his presidential intentions just over a year ago and now --- all of the sudden --- his preacher is getting air time.

What kind of timing is that? Very transparent.

The blowback won't hurt Obama - but those that started another attempt to derail his candidacy.

[rodeodance]

69. hey ---BO is NOW a pres. candidate--he is being vetted. get used to it.

[JoFerret]

57. Because he sounds like a total ass

...and opinions like his tend to upset many Americans.
And because if Obama shares those views and the tone...IF...he will never get elected and should not get elected nationally.

[donheld]

72. Why is Obama's pastor being singled out for his opinions?

[Jawja]

58. He's being singled out now because

the Clintons and the GOP Corporate Media are getting desperate; and since there is a 6 week lull in the campaign, they are peddling this out now to fill the airwaves and weaken Obama going into the final primaries.

This is calculated and timed so that Obama will be on the defensive and unable to address the issues before Pennsylvania.

[michaz]

59. Why does it matter what this pastor says or thinks? He is not part

of Obama's team. Who do you know that goes to a church, any church and believes 100% of what their priest or pastor says? Let's use a little common sense here! This is a no brainer. It is just more junk to be used by people who want to think it is of some importance to try and use it. It is absolutely ridiculous!

[Vinca]

60. It's the scandal du jour. More of the kitchen sink.

It kind of backfires when some of what the pastor says makes sense. If there is a God, he/she better damn America for the slaughter of up to a million innocent Iraqi civilians. Anyone want to chat about Hillary and the secret prayer group with Sam Brownback and Rick Santorium? The one where they supposedly discuss how to bring religion into government?

[rodeodance]

67. maybe you will have to do some research on other candidates?

[zulchzulu]

70. Apparently whatever one's pastor says directly is linked to that person

If your pastor is a pedophile, you are a pedophile.

If your pastor goes to pro-life rallies in Washington, DC, well, of course, you are pro-life.

If your pastor endorsed George Bush for President in 2004, well, by golly, George Bush is your candidate.

Actually, if you're within the Hillary Clinton campaign, this is one of the last cannon balls in the depleted pile to shoot at Obama and see if it sticks.

[donheld]

74. Apparently only if your Barack Obama does it really matter.

[EFerrari]

73. Because it's all they have and it ain't much, is it? n/t