Obama Condemns His Pastor's Controversial Remarks, Right Wing Bloggers Unconvinced

Posted by Jeff Fecke, Shakesville at 7:17 AM on March 15, 2008.

In a characteristically eloquent post on HuffPo, Barack Obama blasts Rev. Jeremiah Wright:

I vehemently disagree and strongly condemn the statements that have been the subject of this controversy. I categorically denounce any statement that disparages our great country or serves to divide us from our allies. I also believe that words that degrade individuals have no place in our public dialogue, whether it's on the campaign stump or in the pulpit. In sum, I reject outright the statements by Rev. Wright that are at issue.

I pause only to note that I hope this means we won't be hearing any more "periodically down" nonsense from you, Barack. At any rate, Obama continues on to explain how he could remain in a church with a minister who sometimes says outlandish things:

As I have written about in my books, I first joined Trinity United Church of Christ nearly twenty years ago. I knew Rev. Wright as someone who served this nation with honor as a United States Marine, as a respected biblical scholar, and as someone who taught or lectured at seminaries across the country, from Union Theological Seminary to the University of Chicago. He also led a diverse congregation that was and still is a pillar of the South Side and the entire city of Chicago. It's a congregation that does not merely preach social justice but acts it out each day, through ministries ranging from housing the homeless to reaching out to those with HIV/AIDS.

Most importantly, Rev. Wright preached the gospel of Jesus, a gospel on which I base my life. In other words, he has never been my political advisor; he's been my pastor. And the sermons I heard him preach always related to our obligation to love God and one another, to work on behalf of the poor, and to seek justice at every turn.

Which makes some sense. Look, I know many of the readers of this blog have wandered from the religious paths we once followed. But having belonged to churches over the years, I can tell you that I didn't always agree with what my minister was saying; still don't, always. Nobody's said anything as outlandish as Wright's anti-Hillary sermon, but I've definitely heard people say things I disagree with, and say them from the pulpit. And criminy, I'm a Unitarian.

I have a good friend who's Catholic, as is his wife. They're also in favor of birth control, pro-choice, pro-gay rights, pro-women's equality. So why do they remain in the church? Well, it's where they feel most connected spiritually. That doesn't mean there aren't things they disagree with in their church, nor that they weren't disappointed by the selection of the current pope. But they still feel grounded in that church.

So do I tell my friend that he's horrible for staying in a church that sometimes preaches things at odds with what he believes? No, I don't, because I'm quite fine with him finding and staying in a church he feels connected to. And I feel the same way toward my friends who are atheists and agnostics and Lutherans and Methodists...all of us find things we disagree with in our chosen faith traditions, but that doesn't mean we must chuck them all.

Obama seems to be saying that he found faith in his church, but not necessarily a political ideology. Unstated, but also true, Obama found a community in that church -- one of the major reasons people join churches is to find community, after all.

I think when Obama says, "All of the statements that have been the subject of controversy are ones that I vehemently condemn. They in no way reflect my attitudes and directly contradict my profound love for this country," that he means it. For me, that's sufficient.

But not for the conservatives. Oh, they're still mouth-foamy and stuff. John Cole has a good roundup of the lunacy, including this beauty from Dan Riehl:

Also, if that’s the case and Obama is a disciple of Wrights, exactly what type of change does Obama have in mind when it comes to race relations in America? The church also celebrates Kwanzaa. I wonder, is this something Obama intends to continue if he’s elected president? His holiday cards are pretty generic … for a committed Christian.

Which of course gets to the heart of this particular controversy. It's not that Obama's minister has said some nutty things. Anybody who's been to church ever has seen their minister say some nutty things. No, it's that Obama's minister said those nutty things while being black. And Barack Obama listened to that minister while he was black. They celebrate Kwanzaa at Obama's church! A pretty black holiday, isn't it, hmmm?


Will the conservatives make an issue of this in the fall? Of course they will, but they were going to blow something up ridiculously out of proportion. If they didn't have this, they would have run ads comparing Obama to Farrakhan. If Clinton somehow gets the nomination, they'll run ads saying Hillary Clinton was a secret lesbian who killed her lover Vince Foster. If John Edwards is given the nomination somehow, we'll hear that he used his wife's cancer to get ahead.

If 2004 taught us anything, it's that the conservatives will seize onto anything, no matter how small, and use it to tar good people. Barack Obama joined a large, prominent African American church, one that included among its membership Oprah Winfrey, Tiger Woods, and Michael Jordan. And at that church, he found community and a faith that fit him -- as well as a minister who sometimes went over the top. Obama's now said, flatly, that when his minister went over the top, that was wrong. I was satisfied when the Clinton campaign rebuked the statements by Ferraro, and I'm satisfied with Obama rebuking these statements by Wright. As for this sentence -- "I also believe that words that degrade individuals have no place in our public dialogue, whether it's on the campaign stump or in the pulpit." -- everyone's chosen candidate should tattoo that to their foreheads.


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Jeff Fecke is a regular blogger for Shakesville.