WT: I was only kidding. I wasn't offended.

Gerry from T-town: You have a point about the gap between 'folks' and what Walter Shapiro pointed out, using words I had been groping for, the Cool Kids Club. I don't know that it relates to Obama so much as the circus around him, which also has to do with the good Rev. Guess we'll see.

After Clinton's alleged race baiting (I remain unconvinced) in S Carolina, there were a fair number of interviews with African Americans who said they weren't offended, and that they were still going to vote for Hillary (or Obama) regardless. Ditto with the piece (I think Mike Madden?) did in PA after Obama's 'bitter' remark, which was supposed to be so offensive to them: their response, hell yeah we're bitter, what's the problem with Obama paraphrasing (I simplify, but it's a good story).

So I'm not sur ehow offended people will be in the end. As for me: Somewher eback during the Pleistocene, I saw Jimmie "Dynomite" Walker do stand-up at a comedy club. One of his great bits was the difference between white people and black people making complaints at the phone company:

White person (JJ imitating, in squeaky voice): Er, ehem ... um ... excuse me ... but, ah ... there seems to be some ... minor, surely unintentional ... ah, discrepency on my ... ah ..

Black person: I DIDN'T MAKE NO GODDAMN CALL TO AFRICA!

See, me and a bunch of other peckerwoods paid good money to be made fun of that way.

Prunes,

Your Wright/Hagee argument is a straw man and you know it. Last time I checked I don't think McCain was a member of Hagee's church for 20 years. Nor do I think that Hagee baptized McCain's children. Nor do I think McCain titled a book after a speech that Hagee gave. Nor do I think that McCain considered Hagee his crazy uncle. Shall I go on?

You lambaste Shooter, Proximity etc. all the time when they make the same type of faulty argument. You are better off just arguing its a non-issue, it holds much more water.

BREAKING...

Fox News reports that GOP Maverick John McCain has introduced senate legislation designating November 7th as Jeremiah Luther King Day.

You're an idiot, plain and simple. I may be from Tallahassee at the moment, but I did not grow up here, so stop with your silly, ignorant assumptions.

And you didn't answer my question, by the way.

Is there any way we can take Obama off the ballot, and put Wright on?

mikeinportc

Mike, you may not credit this, but I've seen that same thought in many comments at other blogs. Maybe Wright could be VP. To run for President, a man's supposed to have a "fire in the belly". After he's elected, what's needed is a fire under his ass!

Let us now praise great men; they've got a fire in the belly, a fire under their ass, and a great woman behind them. And whether you're born to greatness, or have it thrust upon you, that's a hell of a spot.

If that's oppurtunity knocking, tell it I'm not home!

Just rolled in from a great weekend in Talladega and all hell has broken loose around here.

One question though...

When will snark futures peak? I want some of that action.

Jeremiah was a bullfrog, he was good friend of mine.

I never understood a single word he said but I helped him drink

his wine.

He always had some mighty fine wine.

Sing it Joy to the world...all the boys and girls now,

joy to the fishies in the deep blue sea and joy to you and me.

I may be from Tallahassee at the moment, but I did not grow up here, so stop with your silly, ignorant assumptions.

-- Gerry from Tallahassee

He grew up in Gibsonton with the rest of the carney freaks and roadside attractions!

Apologize!

to Glenn about how next he should take on his own publishing site's absurd recent concern troll obsession, but I found myself unable to think of exactly how to say it, knowing the conflicts of interest or perhaps just awkwardness the whole idea would involve for him.

This bit of tongue in cheek understatement by him was the perfect solution to my unspoken request.

After reading one of Glenn's columns earlier, I was thinking that all he had to do was glance over a few inches from his perch there on the front page to see a glaring example of exactly what he was expertely ridiculing in the news media at large. Salon is not the only one of course but it's joined the ranks of the worst, IMO recently.

When I see the "all Hagee all the time" craze take hold like this one did or "The Family" becoming an obsessive hand-wriging topic ("Oh my, how can we EVER imagine that Hillary will live down her connection to such wackos! Oh my oh my!!") on Salon day in and day out as this has, then I'll rethink the whole thing.

Not holding my breath.

when they don't want to deliberate or engage someone with whom they disagree. They psychoanalyze her

Like, say, diagnosing them as 'racist'.

See link at my sign for another racist's identical response to Wright's media tour.

Glenn,

I completely agree that in the grand scheme of things, this issue is trivial.

However, I did find it troublesome that Bush was aligned with Falwell, and the SBC, as I don't share those values, and didn't want someone in the White House that did. I'd also be interested in finding out what McCain says about his Born Again attitude about the same crowd, after denouncing them in the previous election. I respected him back then for denouncing them, and was sickened by his 180 last year.

Now, I didn't choose *not* to vote for Bush based solely on that, it was a no brainer, but determining his allegiance to that crowd did much to tell me where he was going to come down on various social and moral issues.

Given that, I could see why *some* people would want to know Obama's level of involvement with Reverend Wright.

Certainly, there are differences. Bush, as far as I know, has never denounced the SBC crowds values, and was more than happy to get the voter support from that huge constituency.... Contrast that with Obama's recent remarks about Reverend Wright(http://www.salon.com/news/primary_sources/2008/04/29/obama_remarks/), I think we should take him at his word, and focus on more important matters, and I think he wants to do the same.