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The Audacity of Racism

Submitted by Christian Grantham on March 18, 2008 - 4:38pm.

Honestly, I'm not sure what I would think today of Bill and Hillary Clinton if they sat in the pews of a white racist spewing hate in the presence of their daughter for 20+ years.

Today, Obama attempted to address those concerns in a speech on race. He also admitted that his family was present while some of those controversial statements were made by his spiritual advisor Rev. Jeremiah Wright. Despite how he felt, he continued to bring his family to the church.

Maybe confusion isn't the right word. Maybe saddened is better given my hopes for Obama's future. I'm very confused by Obama's statements today that while he disagrees with his pastor he still believes statements like those of Rev. Wright "have helped shape the political landscape for at least a generation" the same way Ronald Reagan did.

With all due respect to Sen. Obama, Rev. Jeremiah Wright isn't like an uncle or a grandmother you tolerate. You don't choose your family. You do choose what church to bring your family to and to fund with your own money.

It was quite a good speech,

Submitted by Rob on March 18, 2008 - 8:19pm.

It was quite a good speech, though I feel Obama missed an opportunity to say more about the responsibility of African-Americans to improve their own situation; the oblique comments he made on the subject needed to be fleshed out. As to the question of the Rev. Dr. Wright, Jonah Goldberg made the same point Christian did in perhaps an even more pointed analogy:

If John McCain had spent twenty years hanging with Pat Robertson, describing him as his mentor, attending Robertson's church, having his kids baptized by Robertson, having Robertson officiate at his wedding, giving him the inspiration for the title of his career-making autobiography, collaborating with him in political organizing, and then tried to dismiss criticism by calling Robertson his lovable uncle who sometimes goes too far, there is no way on God's green earth Yglesias or his crowd would call this "trumped up."

Goldberg

Submitted by Christian Grantham on March 19, 2008 - 9:52am.

I didn't see that. Thanks for sharing it. What disturbs me is knowing my own liberal colleagues would be the very people railing against McCain if the shoe was on the other foot. It's as though racism is OK when it's a Democrat you really like. If you cannot confront racism within your own family, church, community or party, you are not the kind of leader America needs in the White House.

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