If I were running Sen. Obama’s campaign, I’d be running for the door after Tuesday’s presser on Jeremiah Wright. (On a sidenote, I can’t call Wright Pastor or Reverend anymore because the beliefs he’s espousing aren’t part of any Christian theology.) Sen. Obama’s opening statement is so filled with laughable statements that it requires its own post. The opening paragraph is questionable at best:

Before I start taking questions I want to open it up with a couple of comments about what we saw and heard yesterday. I have spent my entire adult life trying to bridge the gap between different kinds of people. That’s in my DNA, trying to promote mutual understanding to insist that we all share common hopes and common dreams as Americans and as human beings. That’s who I am. That’s what I believe. That’s what this campaign has been about.

Considering the fact that Sen. Obama’s wife has talked in extremely divisive tones and considering the fact that Sen. Obama chose to attend a church with an extremist divisive pastor, I’m not convinced that it’s in Sen. Obama’s DNA to “bridge the gap between different kinds of people.” The best I can do is say he hasn’t proven that yet.

Granted, he talks a good game but that’s meaningless. The main thing that I pay attention to are his actions. He wasn’t part of the Gang of 14. He didn’t contribute to the Grand Bargain. He certainly didn’t seek middle ground on troop withdrawal. After weighing those things against his claims, I’m left wondering where the proof is of his being a uniter. At this point, I can’t even prove that he made an effort on the important issues of the day.

Yesterday we saw a very different vision of America. I am outraged by the comments that were made and saddened over the spectacle that we saw yesterday. You know, I have been a member of Trinity United Church of Christ since 1992. I have known Reverend Wright for almost 20 years. The person I saw yesterday was not the person that I met 20 years ago. His comments were not only divisive and destructive, but I believe that they end up giving comfort to those who prey on hate and I believe that they do not portray accurately the perspective of the black church. They certainly don’t portray accurately my values and beliefs. And if Reverend Wright thinks that that’s political posturing, as he put it, then he doesn’t know me very well. And based on his remarks yesterday, well, I may not know him as well as I thought either.

How are Wright’s beliefs differ from Michelle Obama’s? I don’t think she’s disturbed enough to think that the US government invented AIDS to kill African Americans. However, it’s obvious that she’s as bitter towards America as Jeremiah Wright.

I’m not buying into his faked outrage, either. The things that Wright said this weekend are just repetitions of the things he said on the YouTube videos? Why shouldn’t we think that he’s finally upset because Wright is damaging his political career, not because he’s upset with Wright’s hatred?

We’ve heard Sen. Obama state that he wasn’t in the church for any of those sermons. Let’s accept that as fact for this discussion. You’ll notice that Sen. Obama hasn’t said that he didn’t hear about those sermons. Let’s take it a step further. If Sen. Obama said that he didn’t hear Wright preach those sermons and that he didn’t know that Wright had preached those messages, why should we believe that? as Mort Kondacke said tonight, he’d have to be awfully naive or awfully inobservant to not notice. I heartily concur.

Some people are saying that his press conference finally puts this issue behind Sen. Obama. They’re sadly mistaken. This isn’t over by a long shot.

Technorati Tags: Obama, Press Conference, Jeremiah Wright, Michelle Obama, Racism, Election 2008

Cross-posted at LetFreedomRingBlog

1. Actually, Gary, Hussein attended the Wright “church” for over twenty years in an attempt to “convert” the obviously unbalanced “pastor” of the flock to a kinder, gentler position of “bringing us all together.”

   And if you believe that, I’ve got a great deal on some ocean beachfront property in Vegas for you…

   Comment by Carlos — May 3, 2008 @ 8:49 am