Nobody's paying much mind to your petty power trips.

Please don't be obtuse, because the only insult is to yourself.

you are right, I do not have a Black friend. But does that matter, suffering is universal.

The Right-wing media will put out a tape per week, from now until election day. While all of John McCain's contacts witht the Hagee's of America will get a 100% free pass, as always.

And the Mainstream media will be played by the Republicans right through President McCain's second term in office, at the end of which we will start hearing our reporters and pundits declaring, "How did the Republicans manage to fool and manipulate us, AGAIN?"

Bottom line is MANY religious leaders condemn the population of the U.S. EVERY sunday! Rev. Wright is no more or less offensive than all the other ministers telling us we're all going to hell.

Now here is the tricky part. IF you find Rev. Wright really objectionable but have never thought about all the others who say similar things, then the problem is not with Rev. Wright or Obama, but with you.

This is similar to the OJ trial. People enraged he got off, but these people were not enraged by the multitude of innocent black people historically and currently incarcerated or executed.

I would like to note that I personally do find Rev. Wright offensive but no more so than I find any other religious leader. And as well I do think OJ was guilty but to me its just another sad chapter in this country's sad excuse for a justice system.

I really do not understand how you reached the conclusions that you did Joan.

I thought Rev. Wright came across very well, patriotic even. He professed his love for our country and how he disagrees with our policies at times.

If you weren't playing the gotcha game and so eagerly taking his comments out of context, you would've caught the actual comments that should be damaging to Obama. But like most of our establishment press, you're too fucking lazy to actually do your work.

The most damaging part was when he said that Obama was a politician and his speech in Philly, was Obama saying what politicians say. THAT IS A SUBSTANTIVE CRITIQUE OF OBAMA. Not this petty, who loves America the most bullshit. You sound like a republican.

it seems barack has to fight the under and above ground rumors he is a secret muslim or the wright association he is a south chicago black panther. should we not judge both the democratic candidates by what they do and say rather than what others say-whether it is bill clinton or jeremiah wright or even pastor hagee?

my suspicion is those most bothered by any of these comments, would not have voted for any of these candidates; and statements by others only gives them an acceptable excuse to validate their biases.

yes, wright's view of america is grim; but how can i judge where he is coming from as a white, middle class, over 60 voter. you know i have heard it said, older women have said to hillary they have waited an entire lifetime to vote for a woman for president.

well, as a child of the 60's i remember driving from my home in the midwest to attend lsu and seeing for the first time a "white only" drinking fountain at a filling station in mississippi; or experiencing walking back to my dorm on the lsu campus after hearing jfk had been assassinated seeing the only people of color on the campus men digging a ditch standing with their hats in hand sobbing; or worrying about my husband coming home after night classes from UofH the night mlk was assassinated, i have waited my entire adult life to vote for an african american for president.

Senator Obama has offered up his superior judgement as a reason for considering himself as the Democratic nominee. The Jeremiah Wright situation casts major doubts on Obama's judgement. This has less to do with what Wright says, and more to do with Obama's horrible political handling of this issue. For Obama to consider Wright as a spiritual mentor and than for Obama to plead ignorance of Wright's views is disengenous at best.

More important is the lack of reasonable judgement on Senator Obama's part on how the media and the Republicans would tar Obama with Wright's controversial statements.

Did Obama truly believe this would not be an issue?

...the Karl Rove machine might be a place where Joan Walsh could land.

Repeat after Wright.

The Rev. Wright flap is not going to go away. McCain will use it to beat Obama about the head and shoulders if he is the nominee, and probably successfully, too.

For Wright to stand before his congregation on September 16 shouting damnation at our country as a whole is incomprehensible. I am shocked that his own congregation did not call him out on it. Nothing justifies taking two planes and killing thousands of innocents. Nothing!!! Shaking the finger and placing blame are a negative style which is not effective in inspiring people to go forward. Instead, it encourages them to fret and fume and more or less stew in their own juices. Perhaps Rev. Wright has done some good for his people in other ways but his whole pulpit style reeks of old-time religion...lightning and thunderbolts coming out of the heavens to punish errant peoples.

On another note, it is infuriating to me when Obama openly courts Republicans with positive comments about their governing goals and policies, particularly when it comes to the courts. As far as I'm concerned, the only way to keep corporations from walking all over us is to slap lawsuits against those which engage in practices undermining the quality and integrity of the products they manufacture in an effort to increase profits. I don't see anything positive about the Republican agenda...not one thing! It truly favors business interests over the needs of the people and creates a third world atmosphere in our country.