Letters to the Editor
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@ljwalker53
I've been pondering the difference between Rev. Wright and the Falwell-Hagee-Robertson axis of evil for the better part of a week, and I think there are two differences.
First, this is Obama's personal minister. Other than some ceremonial spot on a Religious Values committee (or whatever) Wright doesn't speak for the campaign. Other than the sermons he in his own church, he doesn't give speeches of behalf of Obama the way the Big Three Right Wing Preacher Men (or B3RWPM) do for their guys. And sure, he advocates for Obama in his church (possibly in violation of FEC and IRS guidelines), but come on, Obama is going to win a straw poll 99-1 inside his own church anyway. In other words, Wright is not a political figure (though the things he says are very political), he's a religious figure as he pertains to Obama. We have no record of any of the B3RWPM (or NAMBLA) counting any Republican candidate among their membership. Plus, it's not like Obama has been trotting Wright out as a symbol of his faith, a faith that he has kept as personal as anyone in his position could.
Second, and most importantly, Obama has distanced himself from Wright's controversial remarks. When has McCain done that with Hagee? When has any Republican ever done that with one of the B3RWPM? Obama has, to use the already shark-jumped phrase of '08, "rejected AND denounced" these comments.
And while I wish he (Obama) had picked a different church 20 years ago, and while I wish he (Wright) had never said "God Damn America," I think there's enough of a difference between this and the McCain-Hagee thing that this truly doesn't affect my support.