MCcain's already using Wright to paint Obama into a corner. Any more obvious observations? You're so astute it's almost cute.

also profoundly depressed by Joans post. I found myself thinking this post might be either too short, or too long,

for Joan to win back the Salonistas. It's too long because already, for some people, the thrill is gone, the honeymoon

is over, even Joans's fans are starting to ask tough questions. It's too short because the "conversation about Joan" we all keep promising to have has barely begun, and it would take longer than November to hash out how much

Joan's role in Salon should mean to her. But Joans post had

to be troubling to anyone who cares about race relations, American politics or the campaign. Now there are new and longer excerpts from Joan's other postings, and Joan will also post again monday morning. Clearly the Joan story isn't going away. My goal in this post is to try not to treat Joan the way Joan seems to treat the idea of America; to not utterly damn Joan because some of (a lot of? I'm not sure) what Joan has said is disturbing and wrong. I am grateful to Joan for posting so much. I enjoyed her thoughtful conversation with herself. But the whole idea that Joan has been attacked over "soundbites," and if we saw her entire posts, in context, we'd feel differently, now seems ludicrous. The long posts Joan posts only confirm what was in her snippets (and the longer excerpts out today are even more troubling) and it could be especially deadly for Joan but that's not why I am posting - I profoundly would like to get in contact with AJCalhoun and Tom Payne and if you read this -

please contact: "schwarzfilmdo@aol.com.

I am an Anglo pastor to a mostly Native American church. Today's lectionary readings included Paul's beautiful proclamation to the philosophers on Mars Hill. Much of its power lies in Paul's ability to reach out to people where they were and lead them into the truth. Wright reaches out to people who have experienced racism and pulls them into lives of activism and caring for others who have been marginalized. We may wish they could just listen to NPR and then go out and do likewise, but that's not where they start out.

In Paul's story, and in so many others, Paul had to move on and let the Holy Spirit continue God's work in that place. Paul couldn't close the deal. He wasn't perfect. He made mistakes throughout his ministry. But he grabbed onto people, and that required going where they were.

I am a Clinton supporter, but I am also a student of prophetic preaching. This country needs more of it. It's not white bread; it's hard stuff to hear. But if it makes someone — even you, Joan — think, "racism is wrong, no matter which direction it comes from," than the Spirit is working in Jeremiah Wright. It's a language you may not understand, a language with which you may not be comfortable, and a language of which I frequently disapprove, but it's the real deal, and it's not the heresy you'd like to think it.

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.

Repeat after Wright.

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

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?

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.