Obama's Problem

While discussing Democrat candidates at a party some six months ago, I voiced the opinion that Barack Obama could have a problem because of his preacher and his separatist views. I say this not to show my clairvoyance. It wasn't an original thought of mine but one I saw somewhere on the Internet. I say this to note that I, some random person, knew that Barack Obama's preacher was spouting hateful rhetoric.

On Friday, after a firestorm began in the previous week, Barack Obama announced that he was unaware of any hateful speech for Rev. Wright until the beginning of his presidential campaign. I find the disingenuous. Barack Obama attending this church frequently, named one of his books "The Audacity of Hope" after a Wright sermon, but coincidentally never happened to be in attendance when Wright accused the US of creating the AIDS virus, implied the US deserved the 9/11 attacks, or said "God Damn America"; a convenient ignorance of the hateful views of the most important religious figure in his life? And even though this information was revealed, he still kept this man on his campaign in a minor role?

No matter vehemently he denounces the words of Wright, or racial intolerance in general, Obama stood by this man while it was politically expedient and a politician in Chicago. As watchers of politics we often imagine, what clever move a politician can make to get out of a sticky situation; Obama's flowery words on racial tolerance are his latest maneuver.

I don't believe that Obama agrees with the words of Reverend Wright. It's possible that he agreed with them more in the past, or sympathizes with the anger, but I don't think that Obama should be burdened with being a Black Separatist, or AIDS conspiracy nut or whatever else Wright has advocated. I do think he should be burdened with the fact the he tolerated this behavior, that he continued to attend and support a church which advocated for these things, and that he placed a person with these political views in an important place in his life.