Letters to the Editor
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And which man do you blame for this one?
I mean, if Hillary, a 60 year old lawyer makes her bad decisions because of some man (probably Mark Penn) presumably you do too. Since her suggested need to have a man make her decisions came from you, it is fair to suggest that you indeed operate that way ... and to try to dig this "grandmother" hole deeper, that is a really bad decision.
Really, really time for Salon to get a new editor.
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@katetex -- a little hypocritical?
I mean you are worried about democrats being too nasty and tearing the party apart. I suggest people look back through you recent postings and wonder at the hyper partisan nastiness, the ranting about bogus stories concerning Obama, the ranting at Obama supporters, and say -- wow!
Actually, you might want to try this as an exercise yourself -- just don't wear the rose tinted glasses.
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Why is Joan Walsh being so easy on candidate Obama?
She might have by now, in a less guarded moment, paraphrased the candidate along these lines to characterize some recent troubling signs:
“I have praised the baby Jesus for 20 years in the same church. (Now vote for me, vote for me!) . . . and I condemn – condemn! – the crazy shit that got said there, including the vile, vile suggestion that the policies of Our Country could have had anything to do with the 9/11 attacks (See? I’ll say anything I think you need me to, to get your vote.)”
Is the anger and distress really about the observations of Ms. Walsh? Or about the unacknowledged sense of being duped and let down by an idealized and ultimately disingenuous Daddy figure?
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@Reality Based Liberal
Sen Obama's is perfectly capable of making his case re: Pastor Wright without you bringing up Sen Clinton's religious affiliations. Sen Obama's problem comes from some of his supporters who think that his candidacy is advaceed only if Sen Clinton is shown to be as bad or worse. Thus far it seems that Sen Obama is dealing with this in a way that is responsive to the concerns of his supporters. What he does not need is this stuff. To extend this: yesterday when news of the breach of Sen Obama;s passport file was reported the usual suspects, esp at Huffington Post, blamed a Clinton ambassadorial appointee at State. Posters were absolutely certain that Sen Clinton was behind that event. Subsequent reporting on Sens Clinton and McCain having the same problem showed that bloggers are as capable of dishonest interpretation and outright lies as are journalists in the MSM.
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it's all simple for me now
over this process,i have grown in my respect for Obama,and been so disgusted with the Clinton chase for power,no matter what,and the press,who are just a bunch of children,that it is simple.
i will vote for Obama,or i will not vote,because for the first time in my voting life i believe in someone,like i did RFK when i was a kid.
and people in the press like Joan are part of the reason why-Joan,you just never got it,and if you don't get it,i can't explain it....
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Other's Have Opinions
After reading through the blogs, it occurs to me, that if people don't see the way Obama supporters see it, you are just so wrong. I didn't realize we had so many people out there that know exactly what Obama is thinking and where he is coming from. Sorry folks, but not one of you really know Obama or his motivations. You can only go by what he says. Granted you give him a lot of leeway, perhaps, if you could see through your hatred or misgivings regarding Hillary, you could give her the same respect.
Not everyone agrees with Obama and, yes, we see faults in his bringing up his grandmother. Does that makes us unable to "see the light?" No, we are not nitpicking either. To me, it goes to the heart of the matter. Obama is torn between this two "families" and that is okay, but that doesn't make it right to say things about his grandmother.
This country has a long way to go regarding race and gender. Don't count us out if we don't support Obama. Believe me, we do "get it."
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Alan Bennet is correct when he refers to all this "Whataboutery?". Pastor James David Manning posts his sermons to YouTube and he could give Jeremiah Wright a good run for his money
This pastor in Harlem (Atlah Worldwide Church) would not be out of place at The Mad Hatter's Tea Party as his sermon "Obama had a white momma" (seen on YouTube some days ago) is so over-the-top that it's somewhere in the stratosphere. Pastor Manning is an educated man whose sermon ranged over the outrageousness of Obama t-shirts worn by white women with 54-D breasts to calling Obama himself a mackdaddy, a word which I've never heard before. The sermon is replete with insults and it seems to me that all these men-of-the-cloth who stray into the political arena are egomaniacs whose tub-thumping has little or nothing to do with spiritual matters. Nonetheless, it is Joan Walsh, who is not a pastor, who's getting lashed in these letters for offering a mild opinion. I'd like to say that Obama's American grandmother is a private individual and she should not have been put in the glare of the spotlight by Barack Obama to ameliorate the effect of Wright's words. I note that he called her "a typical white person" but, even then, he was equivocating. He's never lived in Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and he has some nerve in setting himself up as an expert on what is a "typical white person". He can say a typical white American, if it's his experience that this rift exists between the races in America but he should confine his words to what he actually knows or believes he knows.
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Obama deserves balanced and courageous support by Joan Walsh
Dear Mrs Walsh.
I am a 67 year old white conservative.
I would like to invite you to consider being as courageous as Barack Obama is in his historic speech by being very balanced in your comments about Barack and his relationship to his church and Reverend Jeremiah Wright and his recent comments about “typical white people”.
I am older than you and I have known for most of my adult life that the African American church has a wonderful supportive and healing dynamic within its walls and sermons like what we have witnessed do take place and they serve a great purpose. These sermons are done out of all the years of racism that our parents and grandparents and corrupt and greedy politicians and institutions have created against the African American Community. Even though Barack may have been tired when making the comment about “typical white people”, the comment is exactly correct. I hope you noticed that the astitue David Gershen also made this same aggreement the other night on CNN and ask people to move on.
You are a powerful voice in today’s world and I am a great fan of Salon and your work, however if we are going to change America for the better we need leaders like yourself to really show courage and balance.
Reverend Jeremiah Wright has a long life of dedication to the poor and to trying to help. His life is not this sound bite. Every-time you refer to it without a balanced analysis of who he really is and the very nature of this church,you do yourself a disservice and America will continue to be stuck in its long time race fanaticism.
Please consider being as courageous and inspirational as Barack by taking time to explain to your audience that Barack should not be condemned for his association with this wonderful church. This church like so many give the truth about what is real in America, and we need people like you who are supposedly intelligent and of a higher consciousness to explain why what Barack is inviting us to do is one of the great moments in our life. He is creating an opportunity for America to move forward and move into a higher morality and ethical behavior. He represents to me the greatest human consciousness that I have ever heard speak in my entire life.
Sincerely yours.
David Darling