Obama and Wright controversy

[otseng]

Senator Barack Obama broke forcefully on Tuesday with his former pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr., in an effort to curtail a drama of race, values, patriotism and betrayal that has enveloped his presidential candidacy at a critical juncture.

The press conference came in what may well be the toughest stretch of Mr. Obamas campaign as he grapples with questions about Mr. Wright as well as the fallout from his defeat last week in Pennsylvania. He set out this week to reintroduce himself but instead found himself competing for airtime with Mr. Wright and trying to bat away suggestions that he shared or tolerated Mr. Wrights views.

"The fact that Reverend Wright would think that somehow it was appropriate to command the stage for three or four consecutive days in the midst of this major debate is something that not only makes me angry, but also saddens me," Mr. Obama said.

"Whatever relationship I had with Reverend Wright has changed as a consequence of this," Mr. Obama said Tuesday. "I dont think that he showed much concern for me. More importantly, I dont think he showed much concern for what were trying to do in this campaign and what were trying to do for the American people."

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/30/us/po ... obama.html

Combining race, politics, and religion makes for one volatile mixture. There are lots of things to discuss in this controversy, but here are some questions to get the discussion going:

Should Obama be judged by the beliefs of his former pastor?
Is the attack on the black church instead of just on Jeremiah Wright?
How should the matter have been handled by Obama and Wright?
Are the issues of religion and race crucial issues for voters?

[McCulloch]

1. Should Obama be judged by the beliefs of his former pastor?
   
   The candidate should be judged by those he admits are his counselors, mentors, spiritual guides or other current influences on his or her thoughts and judgments.
2. Is the attack on the black church instead of just on Jeremiah Wright?
   
   I don't think so. It is a sad commentary on american culture and Christianity that there is a black church.
3. How should the matter have been handled by Obama and Wright?
   
   If Obama was expecting to stay a serious contender for the White House, he should have publicly distanced himself from White before any of this hit the press. If he did not have the sense to see that his mentor's views would be political dynamite, then he is not qualified to occupy a diplomatic post.
4. Are the issues of religion and race crucial issues for voters?
   
   Apparently so.

[otseng]

Should Obama be judged by the beliefs of his former pastor?

The candidate should be judged by those he admits are his counselors, mentors, spiritual guides or other current influences on his or her thoughts and judgments.

I don't entirely agree. People do not 100% agree with those in their influence. Obama had already disagreed with Wright's statements. I think only if Obama had agreed with them should we judge him for it.

Is the attack on the black church instead of just on Jeremiah Wright?

It is a sad commentary on american culture and Christianity that there is a black church.

I think I know what you mean, but could you clarify this?

I don't think either that it's an attack on black churches. Nobody is saying this except for Wright.

But, I will say that the general public doesn't understand the culture of black churches. And to take some snippets from a black church and to judge it by a white audience is to invite misunderstanding.

How should the matter have been handled by Obama and Wright?

If Obama was expecting to stay a serious contender for the White House, he should have publicly distanced himself from White before any of this hit the press. If he did not have the sense to see that his mentor's views would be political dynamite, then he is not qualified to occupy a diplomatic post.

I don't think he should have distanced or broke the relationship. Wright was obviously a significant person in Obama's faith background. He shouldn't break a close relationship just for political purposes.

I think the way Obama handled the situation was the beginning of his downfall. Even though I'm a registered Republican, I was impressed by Obama. However, now I see no proof that he will be able to carry out what he says.

He claims to want to "bring the country together".

The second point of his talk, Obama says, is to bring this country together.

"I've got a reputation for being able to work with Republicans," Obama said.

http://www.barackobama.com/2008/04/27/o ... his_co.php

But, if he can't even reconcile with his pastor friend Wright, how can he think he can work with the other side, the Republicans?

Also, he's running on a campaign of change, but as evidenced by his recent negative campaigning, it's more of the politics as usual.

He had the chance to rise above the other candidates by not partaking in negative campaigns and to reconcile with Wright. If he would've stuck with this issues and handled the Wright controversy correctly, I believed he could've locked in the primary. Now, it looks like his lead is in jeopardy.

As for Wright's handling of the matter, he had the right to publicly defend himself against all the accusations, even though Obama thought Wright should've stayed quiet.

Are the issues of religion and race crucial issues for voters?

Apparently so.

These issues play well with the press and bringing in the ratings. And I don't really see much evidence that people care much about Obama's religion. Some have questioned the authenticity of his faith, but that didn't get much traction.

Race though could be a bigger issue. It's a sensitive subject that seems to be difficult to talk about objectively. Ferraro made some comments about race (which I didn't think was offensive), and then she suffered as a result of it.