Obama looked betrayed.

[Writer]

If there is any way I could describe Barack Obama's mood at the presser today, I would describe it as feeling betrayed. What Wright did was despicable - taking advantage of the limelight he generated as Obama's pastor and capitalized on it for his personal gain, Obama-be-damned. What I witnessed today was a younger man, a Gen-X'er who grew up without a father, watch as his own "father" betrayed his efforts to run for president. I think that's the sour feeling swirling about in my stomach. I'm a Clinton supporter, but after dealing with the roots of sexism rise from the raw fertilized ground of this campaign, I'm now seeing that Spring has brought the roots of racism. I'm sickened about all of this, and even sicker to watch this act of betrayal take place between this selfish older man and Obama who has worked very hard to separate himself from the rest of his generation. I don't think Obama is quite ready to take the helm of the presidency, but I do feel for him as a person... and especially as a younger person who grew up in a single-parent household, desperately in need of mentorship and guidance.

There are fewer and fewer truly good people out there as each year passes.

~Writer~

[gabeana]

1. you are finally seeing racism!

[democrattotheend]

2. I agree.

And thank you for your classy post. Obama tried to do the right thing by not throwing Wright under the bus in March and look how Wright repaid him. Pretty sickening.

[Genevieve]

3. Thank you. I felt the same thing. nt

[QC]

4. He *has* been betrayed, and by a man who seems to have been a father figure.

I genuinely feel for Obama over this. It's hard even to watch, so I cannot begin to imagine what he is going through.

[JoFerret]

62. Who betrayed whom?

And where did it start?

[rodeodance]

5. i disagree. I think he came across as poor me. Look, I am victim.

[chimpymustgo]

12. Good point. Fact is, Obama has handled this horribly. He KNEW Rev. Wright's schtick.

He and his family have sat in this man's church for 20 years. Rev. Wright didn't go crazy overnight. Obama should have left this man's church a LONG time ago.

[Writer]

15. That is one point I should have made - Obama DID handle this poorly last month.

He did jump back and forth on whether he knew about the sermons, etc., but I don't think he neither asked nor expected what Wright did to Obama over the weekend.

[roguevalley]

55. before anyone gets their panties in a twist, go to www.americablog.com

and read other perspectives in the top few links. He looks like he found out his father is a liar and a wanker. That is was slow and painful, not tossed away like Hillary and Bill do so easily is to his credit.

[Maddy McCall]

6. He knew it was coming. He and Wright discussed this last year.

In a New York Times profile of the Obama-Wright relationship in April 2007, Wright himself predicted such a split based on the controversial remarks that were already under some scrutiny. “If Barack gets past the primary, he might have to publicly distance himself from me,” Wright told the paper over a year ago. “I said it to Barack personally, and he said yeah, that might have to happen.”

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/04/29/politics/main4056166.shtml

[The Night Owl]

7. The really amazing thing is that some Obama supporters here continue to praise Jeremiah Wright...

...even though he betrayed their candidate.

[lwcon]

13. You can bet that's stopped on a dime

Before Obama's press conference, there was wall-to-wall talk here about how awesome Wright was in his appearances this weekend.

Without a doubt, the tenor will instantly change to "how dare Wright make trouble for Obama."

___

The Vast Left-Wing Conspiracy, now at my new home: Correntewire.com

[dansolo]

32. I was pissed at Wright after the Moyers interview

His comments during the interview were a little puzzling, but I thought I was imagining things. Now with his following appearances, it seems that my gut was correct. Rev Wright is acting like he was hurt that Obama didn't defend everything he said, and seems to be acting out. That, combined with his eagerness to nseek out the limelight, and it seems like he doesn't care what effect it has on Obama's candidacy.

[EFerrari]

19. A few of us don't have to invent a soap opera in order to support

Obama's decision AND to appreciate Wright. You need to buy into it, that's your perogative.

[haymakeragain]

33. I support Obama and like Wright a lot.

I regret that Obama HAD to do what he did. What a sad state of affairs has been created in this country, truly sad.

[EFerrari]

41. Yep.. I overestimated the American public again. Oh, well. n/t

[The Backlash Cometh]

47. I'm probably one of them.

That's because I know there are two Americas, and what's happening is, that Obama knows which America he needs to play to, in order to win. Yes, it's a question of dealing with racism. Wright won't bow down to it, but Obama has no choice but to make sure he doesn't make the white folk too uncomfortable. There is probably a happy medium that Obama will be able to find because of his age, but Wright cannot because of what he has experienced.

[2rth2pwr]

8. You see racism in what Wright did to Obama?

That is quite a feat.

Wright has known Obama and his family up close and personal for over 20 years, for him to

undermine his candidacy sure says a lot about how Wright thinks he would be as President.

[Writer]

11. No. I see the reaction to the controversy as unearthing latent racism. n/t

[lwcon]

9. Obama hauled in with Wright to gain cred in his community

To some extent, this is live by the sword, die by the sword.

___

The Vast Left-Wing Conspiracy, now at my new home: Correntewire.com

[chimpymustgo]

14. Salient point!

[JoFerret]

61. Some truth to that

.

[Adelante]

10. Thank you for the kindness

I think you're right. He feels betrayed.

[phantom power]

16. Wait until he goes up against McCain.

He's going to look back on all this with nostalgia.

[Writer]

18. Probably. n/t

[EFerrari]

20. No way. McCain will be a lot easier than this has been because

the whole party will be behind Obama.

[AnnieBW]

22. He can say things against McSame

that he can't against Hillary.

[EFerrari]

31. Yep! n/t

[peaches2003]

25. And there's a lot to go after when it comes to McBush.

Bomb, bomb, bomb Iran is one thing. He's a nut. And the photo where he is hugging Bush around the waist with his head on Bush's chest will make a nice ad.

[AnnieBW]

58. Shootin' fish in a barrel

:popcorn:

[Texas Hill Country]

17. agreed.

[AnnieBW]

21. Like Luke Skywalker

when he discovered that his father was Darth Vader.

[cornermouse]

23. Obama is not a child.

He's an adult and he has no doubt felt betrayed before. He needs to suck it up and go on.

Check the bio. He didn't do very much growing up in a single-parent household since his mother was only divorced for two years before she remarried. He left to live in Hawaii with his grandparents well before she and her second husband were divorced.

[chimpymustgo]

27. Obama can't take a punch. We'll get creamed if he's the nominee.

[haymakeragain]

36. He's taking punch after bullshit punch and hasn't cried yet.

This whole process is pathetic. If Hillary campaign wasn't joining the flying monkeys it'd be a hell of a lot easier.

[barack the house]

24. That's why I fight for him so hard the world needs some good right now. His good lifts us up..

[jefferson_dem]

26. Oh man. Great post, Writer.

We forget that these are actual people, with human emotions, feelings, and vulnerabilities, running for president in all that limelight.

Thanks for the perspective.

[NotThisTime]

28. He looked betrayed because he was betrayed

When Obama tried to do the right thing by the man he thought to be like family, this man did nothing but betray him in return yesterday. That's the worst kind of betrayal.

[Writer]

30. Much agreed.

And welcome to DU!

[NotThisTime]

34. Thank you! Too important a subject to keep lurking....

[democrattotheend]

35. Hey, welcome to DU!

Love your username!

[NotThisTime]

43. Thanks & my username? It's my mantra, NOT THIS TIME..... nt

[democrattotheend]

44. Not this year!

[NotThisTime]

52. Ahhh, even better!

[democrattotheend]

54. I used that phrase in the song I wrote about Obama and race relations

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=5742029&mesg_id=5742029

[slinkerwink]

56. exactly. Obama stuck by Wright in his Philadelphia speech, and this is the thanks he gets?

[LisaM]

29. I think it is a sad, complex situation.

I think it ties in a little bit with Obama's original comments of trying to break with the politics of the 60s. The problem is, those who came of age in the 1960s - rightfully, I think - don't want to be tossed away. I have wrestled with this issue regarding Obama before. While it's normal for almost every Democratic politician to try and identify with JFK (and MLK, Jr.), JFK did not really represent the activist politics of the later 60s, the politics of Tom Hayden and the Chicago convention in 1968, the torched dreams, the shattered hopes, winding up in the divisiveness of the post-Vietnam era.

When Senator Obama made comments about not being a Tom Hayden Democrat (then accepting the endorsement of Tom Hayden) it seemed to me that he just didn't quite get the fact that the same issues that mattered in the 1960s matter now.

It's extremely symbolic to me that the Reverend Wright is on one side of the Baby Boomer spectrum and that Obama is on the other (Wright being just before, Obama being either at the very end, or just after, depending on how you calculate it). But Obama has geared his message for the most part to the Gen-X and Gen-Y crowd, which are his base, though I know that he does have a level of support among older people who like him and like the energy of his perceived youth.

I don't think the people from the 1960s need to relinquish the torch, and I don't think Obama needs to take it. I think that the torch should be shared.

[chimpymustgo]

37. Clinton/Obama?

[Writer]

40. I would like to see that. n/t

[Writer]

39. "Gen X" is more of a set of experiences than it is an age range.

Obama's disdain for the pretense of politics fits right into that.

On another point, what's driven the "torch carrying" concept is this hollow, naive concept of "post-racial America." Whoever coined the term placed too much faith in human evolution. To think that there would ever be a time when racism (or any other -ism, for that matter) would just whither away and die on account of our placing certain races in leadership positions is absurd. It's too idealistic a concept.

When Obama gave his speech last month, I think he placed too much faith in the American electorate's ability to critically reason. While the speech put the issue to bed before Pennsylvania, it failed to address people's visceral reactions to race. People are racist, and although we can break down institutions of racism and try to educate the public, people still will feel visceral reactions to the "other." Obama is now dealing with that reality, as is Jeremiah Wright.

But ultimately it comes down to a pastor and one of his parishioners. The former betrayed the latter, and for what it's worth, Obama deserves our empathy.

[LisaM]

42. But it's his disdainful attitude that turns some people (like me) off

I have always been a person who enjoys (usually, not always) all-ages interaction and gatherings, instead of us vs. them. You cannot ignore the reality of the movement of the 1960s. For better or worse, if someone is going to carry the banner of hope, it can't be hope just for those who haven't yet had their day. I'm having a difficult time expressing this, but if Gen-X is just a state, instead of an actual generation, then they still need to accept that other generations matter too. We're always talking about leaving a better world for generations to follow, but we need to accept that we can also improve things for the generations who are still here. Obama is about two years younger than I am, but I feel sometimes that I am aged out of his worldview, at least the one he talks about on the campaign trail.

[Writer]

45. Actually I think that comes from American voters who support him, not Obama himself.

I think many have bought into this idea that an African-American president will automatically heal the wounds of our racist past. Perhaps symbolically it might, as Clinton would be a symbol of female perseverance, but that won't cure the cultural racism still endemic in parts of the country. I don't think Obama himself is tossing about the idea, as he's trying to portray himself as a transcending figure; he doesn't want to run as "the black candidate." However American voters see that he's black, the media are parroting this "astonishing, historical" idea back to us, so many have been taken by the idea that this MUST BE for us to be a better nation (forget the higher qualified white female running, btw.)

In regard to generations, I don't see how any generation wouldn't matter, especially given the sheer size of the Baby Boom and Gen Y generations. The cynical, squashed-in-the-middle Generation X seems to exist merely by accident - very quietly and pragmatically cleaning up the mess that older generations have left behind. They don't seek the limelight... they seek opportunities that are sparely granted to them. For example, Obama hates doing crap like feeding milk to baby cows and kissing babies in order get votes. He thinks that's superfluous crap for photographers. But his campaign has been an intrinsically naive, emotional one, and I would prefer to see him be Clinton's veep so he can finally learn the ropes and give us 16 years of Democratic rule, not eight.

[LisaM]

51. I agree with that

Though sometimes I wish I were a politician just so I could kiss more babies! (Love 'em).

Clinton to Obama to a new FDRish person would be ideal. Heck, I would even take Hillary for 4, Obama for 8. I just want a woman president so badly.

[Samantha]

38. I saw it written all over his face the brief moment I saw him on camera

This whole incident should never have happened.

Regardless of what people might say, one (whether it's a man or a woman) is NEVER too old to get hurt. And he looked hurt.

The media and his political opponents had absolutely NO BUSINESS getting into Barack's Obama's church. Shame on them all.

And if his political opponents indulge in this kind of tactic, they think that will lure voters to their campaign? Go figure.

[chimpymustgo]

49. Obama should have distanced himself from Wright LONG before now.

[DemGa]

46. Wright looked - and acted - betrayed

Obama pissed off the wrong crazy preacher!

[dionysus]

48. nice post writer

thumbs up

[cbayer]

50. That was very nicely stated.

I think Obama was somewhat naive in thinking that if he did the right things and told the right truths, people would rise above it all. I would like to think that we could have a political system that looked past these kinds of issues as well, but we don't. I think he feels betrayed by Wright and by the whole political process.

[Tennessee Gal]

53. Oh please.

Obama said what he had to say. I saw no fire.

[Tactical Progressive]

57. You got the direction of the betrayal exactly wrong

Obama and his wife spent decades with Wright.
They were tight. Mentor/protege.
Obama wrote a book inspired by the guy.

Then he pretends he never heard what Wright was saying.
Didn't believe in Wright.
Disavows Wright and his beliefs, when those beliefs are what Wright is all about.

This is son betraying father.
Wright just said his own piece, with little about Barack in any of it
other than to let him off the hook as just playing the necessary politics he felt he had to.

Obama has been the liar in all of this, repeatedly.
And Obama has been the betrayer too.

[LVjinx]

59. Of course he's been betrayed. His media friends were supposed to make this die down

[Jed Dilligan]

60. Took ya long enough!

K/R