Obama’s campaign knew that they would have to cut ties with his controversial church sooner or later. Fair or no, the campaign clearly recognized that the antics at Trinity United were a gaping PR wound that wouldn’t heal as long as he didn’t make a clear break. Like Dunkin’ Donuts in the idiotic Rachel Ray controversy, the Obama campaign really wants to spend its finite resources talking about something else.
McCain handled the same problem by cutting his two embarrassing ties at the same time. That cut the number of embarrassing news cycles in half, but it still was THE story for at least a brief moment.
Obama did McCain one better. Most non-obsessive news readers only retain a couple of stories at a time. What do you think people will be talking about next week? What do you think the usually Wright-crazy Clintonites will be talking about?
Carpe diem.
Ben
I don’t know. I don’t think it’ll really satisfy the critics, and it probably won’t end the issue in the eyes of newscasters.
Still, I can hardly blame him, this whole issue is just crap and shouldn’t be newsworthy.
Ed in NJ
All these months and I still don’t know the names or have access to all the sermons of John McCain and Hillary Clinton’s pastors. I don’t even know the names of the churches they attend. Why is that?
barkleyg
“What do you think the usually Wright-crazy Clintonites will be talking about?”
Senator Clinton:”Well, I have no reason to believe that he is a Muslim”, buttt……..
Calouste
No religious test shall be required for any office of trust under the Constitution*.
* Unless the candidate for that office is a black leftie, in which case all the gloves are off
nightjar
My guess, in the end, whether it’s the Wright thing, or Ayers, or flagpins the only people who will use it to not vote for Obama are people who were looking for cover to not vote for him anyway. Anything to deflect the real reason.
Woodrow "asim" Jarvis Hill
It sucks.
But it sucks less for both sides that months more of this TUCC bullshit.
Obama wants, and needs to, focus like a laser on the failings of McCain as a candidate. He tried his best to hang on, to do right by the church, to defend it when, frankly? The politically expedient thing would have been to cut them off 2 months ago.
He didn’t, and I’m proud of him for holding out as long as he has, under the circumstances that he has.
Original Lee
I’m with Ed and nightjar. People will talk about Obama’s 20 years with the church as evidence of his lack of judgment, but I don’t think that priest said anything that hasn’t been said on the Internet over the last few weeks. He shouldn’t have done it from the pulpit, IMO, and it was supremely stupid of him to think he wouldn’t be under scrutiny, especially since he’s a friend of Obama’s. So why are we even hearing about this stuff? Why is it OK to parse the sermons at Obama’s church and not Clinton’s or McCain’s? Um, because he’s a black scary cryptoMuslim? JeezoPetes. I demand a better MSM.
Original Lee
Also (I nearly forgot), how often have any of the candidates been in “their” churches over the last 5 years? (Not that it should matter.) If McCain has been in his more often than Christmas and Easter, I would be truly surprised.
Zifnab
I’m really just waiting for the next volley is going to be. This is only going to get more imbecilic and trivial as we approach November.
And while Obama’s done a respectable job of damage control, the wingnuts don’t care. FOX will trot this back out whether or not people actually care. That’s what you get when a single political party owns one or more major media outlets.
The only thing that will keep Wright from resurfacing again… and again and again and again… is a major political sex scandal, an even bigger Obama “scandal”, or the sudden rapture of millions of rich blond skinny white girls.
Just say’n.
dslak
Ayup. They’ve got Obama leaving his church as the headline on their website, with the battle over delegates second.
mts771
Recently spoke to my Republican father, and he’s really angry about Obama’s church. If I had to use some pop psychology, I’d say the church thing just lights the fuse for his underlying racism. He’s a genuine racist too – uses the N-word everyday – can’t see a black person without referring to them as one, etc. etc.
Wisdom
Ah, the friend that could not be abandoned was abandoned. The pastor that could not be abandoned was abandoned. The church that could not be abandoned was abandoned. And so shall the people of Iraq.
Good thing they’ve kept that wife locked up, wouldn’t want to get stuck having to dump her too before November.
Tim F.
Good thinking, Wisdom. Better vote for the Republican who abandoned more positions, pastors and wives than most of Congress added together.
zoe from pittsburgh
For pete’s sake, it’s just a church. Obama is not responsible for everything that anyone who enters the church says or does– otherwise every Catholic in the country should have collectively stood up and left the church.
It was the honorable thing for him to do– apparently the MSM has been harassing nearly everyone attached to the church.
The Grand Panjandrum
Heh. I guess McCain dumping the woman who stood by his side while he was a POW (and severely injured in an auto accident) so he could marry an heiress doesn’t count. Of course, being a member of the Keating Five doesn’t count. And neither doesn’t his most recent inability to tell the difference between all those Muslim fellers, you know, those Shia and Sunni and … well dammit! Its all so confusing, but they are ALL AQ anyway. But then we won’t consider his brave “unescorted” walk through the market in Baghdad. Or his inability to get the number of troops STILL in this fucking war right. Or his vote AGAINST the new GI Bill because it might entice all those lowly enlisted guys to get out and get an education. Naaaahhhh, we won’t consider any that.
Tim F.
Heh is right. You caught me editing my comment; right after posting it I remembered that McCain abandoned his first wife.
cbear
You might want to check on the whereabouts of your lovely wife Harriet my friend. She got out again.
Wisdom
Good that you leftists find so many equivalencies with your candidate, I look forward to all the rationalizations and hoop jumping you freaks will be doing come election time.
What a fresh change.
And TGP, at least McCain has been to Baghdad. Fantasize all you want about the troops not seeing through Obandonalots GI Bill games. We’ll see who they vote for come November – maybe you’ll get lucky and the DNC can figure out a way to get the military vote counted like Florida.
zoe from pittsburgh
What do we do with GOOPer trolls, ladies and gentlemen?
The same thing you do you see a chimp eat his poo at the zoo.
IGNORE. IGNORE. IGNORE. Move along.
cbear
Speaking of fresh changes—don’t forget to bring an extra pack of Huggies to the Minneapolis convention. You’ll want to be freshly diapered for the after-hours parties.
nightjar
Thank God for you Wisdom. Your our first genuwhine wingnut troll for what seems like years. Now go fuck yourself.
Kevin
I think it’s pretty much a given that anyone who feels the need to use a word like “Wisdom” for their handle in a blog comment will be dispensing a load of bullshit.
Tim F.
Yeah, sure, equivalences. You’re sitting here whining about Obama’s wife when McCain already dumped his. Oh, and most of McCain’s policy positions are, as they say, no longer operative.
Obama still has his original wife and all of the policy positions that he started with. That makes them unequal. Brain trust.
Michelle O
Im sure glad thats over because the conversation wasn’t helping my kids.
Carol
Wisdom, best be careful what you wish for.
No matter how you or I feel about Wright, Hagee, or any other minister, priest, or preacher…I’m seeing some segments of our country go pretty much batshit crazy over microscopically scrutinizing every utterance in candidates’ chosen place of worship.
Now we’ve seen two candidates engaged in a spate of renunciations and breaking-off sometimes longstanding relationships.
Again, I am going to very carefully stay away from commenting on how I may or may not feel about any of the people involved from either the Dem or Republican side, and instead ask both of us to focus on the overall dynamic.
Remember the principles this country was founded upon?
With this sudden frenzy of religious scrutiny, we’re edging into territory that doesn’t sit very well with me as an American.
It shouldn’t sit well with you either, regardless of whether you and I have a [D] or an [R] next to our names on our voter registration materials.
Michelle O
“well played”
pfffft. indeed.
SamFromUtah
With this sudden frenzy of religious scrutiny, we’re edging into territory that doesn’t sit very well with me as an American.
To me it looks like this kind of thing has been going on at least since Reagan’s reign, during which we all discovered that God is Republican and Jerry Falwell His prophet, etc. The exaggerated Christian posturing and anti-Muslim crusading of the Dumbya years have made it worse, though.
Wisdom
No doubt you were similarly concerned for Jane Wyman. No doubt that worked well for you.
At least McCain has policy positions. When exactly is President Obama going to start withdrawals?
Gay marriage?
Smarticvs
Roe v. Wade —> Rise in Religious Right.
Rick
Here we go.
I visit NO QUARTER almost daily to see the latest smear coming from the clinically deranged Hillary devotees, led by Larry Johnson. Here it is, from the man himself….
“BREAKING NEWS: Michelle’s Whitey Problem>>”
“New and dramatic developments. This is a heads up. I’ll post the news Monday morning by 0900 hours. Now I know why people who have seen the videotape say it is stunning. Barack’s headaches are only starting.”
Just as the the DNC’s RBC rules against Lady Macbeth’s demands, up pops the long rumored, (in Larry Johnson’s Republican circles and on NO QUARTER), horror of Michelle Obama’s supposed racist rant at church that will explode (?) the Obama candidacy. HMMMmm…. Who would have thought. One of Larry’s tags on the post is “RACE CARD”. Exactly.
The Macbeths will do anything not to relinquish power and control of the Democratic Party to anyone.
Hillary and Bill should form their own party, just for their sycophants … the HILL-BILLY PARTY. It’s what they expect Democrats to become.Their buddies Joe Lieberman and Zell Miller would be glad to speak at their convention.
Bring back Samantha Powers – she was right. In the unlikely case that the Macbeths are able to destroy Obama as a candidate, it time for Al Gore to step up and save all 300 million of us from the prospect of either a McCain Administration, or deranged Clinton White House.
The Grand Panjandrum
He against torture before he was against it. He was against Telecom immunity before he was for it. He was against Bush’s tax cuts before he was for them. Ah yes consistency.
Obama? Go to his website and read up on what your next President stands for and against.
Tim F.
Sure, John McCain has positions like I have bowel movements. Every day there’s a new one.
He can’t hold onto his wives. Is McCain a Methodist? An Episcopalian? He’s said both. McCain only attached himself to two pastors and he ran away from both in disgrace.
In other words, for every standard by which you want to measure Obama your guy loses by ten miles. That won’t stop the flailing though, nor should it. I’m enjoying the show.
Otto Man
To be precise, he has all the policy positions.
He’s been both for and against making the Bush tax cuts permanent. He’s been both for and against most of the legislation with his name on it — campaign finance, immigration reform, you name it.
We’ll be in Iraq for 100 years, … no, wait, 50, … no out by 2013!
r€nato
McCain is going to be the McGovern of the GOP.
Wisdom
And the leftelligencia of this very site was rabidly defending Rev. Wright before they were against him.
Not that I ever said I was a McCain fan, but with all these “flaws” he’s still a Hero. Come November, it doesn’t matter how many flaws you can find, I’ll still be enjoying the smoldering crater of another democratic superhero craptacular.
Tim F.
So is Randy “Duke” Cunningham. I don’t think you realize that well tapped out a long time ago.
AnotherBruce
“When exactly is President Obama going to start withdrawals?”
Before 2013. And in what century is McCain going to start withdrawals?
Doonhamer
Odd; most people in November will have long put Senator Clinton’s candidacy behind them.
I, on the other hand, will be savoring the thrashing that Senator Obama and the Democrats will have administered to McCain and the downticket Republicans. The spying torturing little war criminals will have absolutely no idea what hit them.
Doug H. (Fausto no more)
Aw, how cute, its a twenty-eight percenter! If you poke it, I wonder if it’ll squeak.
PK
I know what will make it squeak. Gay marriage!
Doug H. (Fausto no more)
No, that just gets it to play Men’s Room Riverdance.
Splitting Image
“Not that I ever said I was a McCain fan, but with all these “flaws” he’s still a Hero. Come November, it doesn’t matter how many flaws you can find, I’ll still be enjoying the smoldering crater of another democratic superhero craptacular.”
In other words, he’s the best we’ve got, and if I convince myself that he’s good, I can convince everyone else he’s good.
Has it occurred to you that other people are a little more skeptical than you?
Incertus
Given the last eight years, he has little reason to think so.
Doonhamer
Skunks have Men’s Rooms?
debrazza
Well played always sounds so much better in French: bien joue.
Halteclere
Basically “Wisdom” is anticipating the Republicans will try a coup to change the settled election rules at the last minute if things don’t go their way (yea don’t laugh, some day it might happen). Who would of thought that the Republicans were so bereft of ideas that they would have to resort to mimicking Clinton’s oh-so successful campaign strategy?
jake
Le win.
And we’re glad to hear you’re so regular.
Warren Terra
Hi folks,
This isn’t actually relevant to the post, but there doesn’t seem to be a recent open thread, and it’s too good to pass over:
For anyone not familiar with him, Atrios is a longstanding, highly influential blogger, who has a massive audience. If you’re not familiar with his style, he doesn’t write much these days, but has a constant stream of links, short, often cutting and judgemential statements, and open threads. His open threads are often headed with jokey comments or questions.
Take, for example, this Open Thread post from today:
That’s not only a typical open thread for Atrios, it’s actually one he’s used occasionally for a long, long time. And it may be highly germane to point out that Atrios has not endorsed a candidate this primary season, and has mostly not gotten involved, although he has written some recent posts criticizing some behavior from the Clinton camp.
Now here’s the funny bit: Pup Tent Democrat saw that Open Thread post, all six words of it, and took it personally. Even better, it inspired an entire Talk Left thread of 206 comments – and while not all comments were topical, no-one pointed out that Atrios was just poking fun at the irrational behavior sometimes displayed by supporters of all candidates. Commenter after commenter just comes back with their (often more extreme) versions of Pup Tent’s response (unsurprisingly a version of “well, you say we suck, but you need us“) without realizing that the comment wasn’t even aimed at anyone in particular.
Priceless.
Beej
So far, Wisdom, McCain has looked pathetic as a presedential candidate. It’s really very sad to see a genuine war hero looking so clueless. I think the Dems are going to win very big in November, not necessarily because they are all so enamored of Obama, but simply because McCain is really bad at this running-for-President thing. At least as judged by what’s gone on so far.
Dennis - SGMM
Look no farther than McCain’s recent fund raiser in Phoenix to see how his campaign will resonate with the American people. His “senior moments” will increase in frequency until the day he goes into full Grandpa Simpson mode in public. He’s a thin-skinned, volatile, dinosaur who’s distrusted and disliked by his own party, running on policies recycled from the most comprehensively failed administration in recent history. The only politicians more lame than he is are the pack of dwarfs that the Republicans’ deep bench provided to run against him.
Rick Taylor
Hehehehehehe.
You’re so vain, you probably think this song is about you!
wasabi gasp
Warren, you should get a bus and give tours of the blogosphere.
wingnuts to iraq
and “Wisdom” isn’t in Iraq because…?
What’s my name again?
Plantsmantx
“And TGP, at least McCain has been to Baghdad.”
So has Obama.
GoMS
This difference being that McCain didn’t know he was in Iraq. He thought he was in the Bronx visiting some poor neighbourhood!
Unfortunately, with what Clinton is doing now, there will be another 4 yrs of Republican nonsense in the US. Too bad, but that’s how it’s going to go.
America is not ready for a non-white male for President…as much as it pains me to say that!
JenJen
Not to mention that Obama totally pwn3d’d the RNC by renting out the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul to give his victory speech on Tuesday.
Floats like a butterfly, stings like a bee.
Johnny Pez
That’s why Angry Johnny is going to lose in November, because Obama has all the Win.
Person of Choler
“Not to mention that Obama totally pwn3d’d the RNC by renting out the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul to give his victory speech on Tuesday.”
I had not until this time appreciated the full range and force of Mr. Obama’s genius.
Only an intellect the size of Einstein + Newton + Leonardo could have the vision to realize that you could totally pwn3d somebody by renting a hockey arena in St. Paul, Minnesota to give a political speech.
pseudonymous in nc
Obama could join a church where the sermons were given by Jesus Christ, and you’d still get newspapers sending people to the Church Of Jesus Christ, No, Really, The Actual Jesus Christ to report on the sermons, and the pundits would pick over the reports, and the juicy bits would be chopped up and served up on YouTube.
No association can survive that sort of scrutiny and treatment. Four years ago, you had people tracking whether John Kerry took communion. It’s just that Obama, and to a lesser extent McCain, have been chosen for special treatment based upon their religious affiliations.
That’s a real danger sign for politics. If Mark Halperin and his buds decide that it matters what sort of bag you use to pick up your dog’s crap on walks, you’ll get the political paparazzi following after you.
bago
If he draws a bigger crowd than the convention, with no protests, it kind of sends the signal: PWNED!
Person of Choler
bago,
The only crowd-drawing that counts in a presidential election is the crowd that shows up for casting ballots in the Electoral College.
I fully expect that Obama will in fact win the election, but I simply don’t get the significance of filling a hockey rink in ueberliberal Minnesota with His supporters.
Shucks, you could fill a sizeable hall in Minnesota with the ashes of Adlai Stevenson for a draw.
Karmakin
Person of Cholor:
See the point? See it going over your head?
WOOOOSH.
It’s actually the same arena that the RNC are having their nomination convention.
You know something? I’m pretty sure even though he doesn’t always show it, Obama really gets a kick out of this sort of thing.
El Cid
@ pseudonymous in nc:
“Obama’s current pastor, Jesus Christ Himself, has stirred up controversy recently when his famous teaching about giving a man a fish versus teaching him how to fish was contradicted by Jesus himself giving away free bread and fish to a hungry crowd — instead of teaching them how to fish as he had been supposedly been telling everyone to do. The scandal is growing, and pressure increases on Obama to distance himself from Jesus.”
Joking aside, it is pretty unfortunate that no one in the pastor position at this church seems to have either the ability or interest in preventing a PR sh*tstorm for their former congregant.
Carol
Not this year, bub. People are being kicked out of their homes in such numbers that they probably will be sleeping in churches before its over, gas is going to $5 a gallon, we are a truck bomb or two away from disaster in the middle east, people are having to take out payday loans to eat. McCain couldn’t even talk about home economics, let alone the kind that puts food on tables and roofs over heads.That’s why he talks about Iraq all the time: he doesn’t really understand money. His wife handles it all and probably gives him an allowance.
In such a world, Rev Wright, flag pins, et cetera somehow lose their compelling value.
Dennis - SGMM
Hey! McCain is for green energy. We give the oil companies our green and they give us some energy. He’s also a great recycler. He’s recycling the failed policies of the Worst President Ever.
What could go wrong?
croatoan
Obama’s initial reaction to the Reverend Wright scandal is what made me want him to be president. (I knew I’d vote for whoever the Democratic nominee was so I hadn’t committed to a candidate at that point.)
Most politicians would have ditched Wright immediately at the first sign of trouble, in as brief a statement as possible, but Obama didn’t do that. He gave his great speech on race and addressed American racial issues frankly. If he wins the presidency I think it will be a historic speech.
I’m pretty liberal. I love American President and freely admit I loved The West Wing because I pretended that was real and the Bush administration was the TV show. Obama sounds like that, like I want the president to be.
Unfortunately, we don’t live in an Aaron Sorkin movie, and the media ignored an important part of his speech:
Person of Choler
Hello Karmakin, you say that, “It’s actually the same arena that the RNC are having their nomination convention.”
I do indeed miss the point; I heard the whoosh as it went by. The arena is also a venue for hockey games (if the Minnesota Whatevers haven’t moved away) and concerts and such. Anybody with enough cash for the rental, insurance, and security can rent the joint. So what’s the big deal?
To a certain type of mind, I guess, this is some sort of brilliant maneuver. But, how it advances proof of his fitness for the Presidency is simply beyond me.
nightjar
Obama ditches a pastor. At least he didn’t ditch his wife who waited faithfully for him to return after being a POW for six years. And all for riches to start his political career. Just remember Critterdumb, every time wingnuts bring up Wright, we’ll bring up McCain’s telling his wife in her hospital bed that he’s divorcing her for a rich and beautiful Bimbo.
liberal
Wisdom wrote,
The insinuation that Obama is a leftist is laughable.
If you look at his voting record, he and Hillary are about the same, ideologically. Hardly the most liberal Democrats in the Senate.
Of course, anyone to the left of Bush-McCain is a “leftist,” so …
Visceral
The Clintonians’ new argument:
“Look! Obama had to cut ties! Wright and Trinity Church were everything we said they were. Obama knows it! That’s why he left. That’s why he’s made such a big deal about leaving. But it’s not real. After everything Obama said in defense of Wright and Trinity Church, you know he still believes. You can’t walk away from your church; at least not on the inside. Not only is Obama an America-hating black supremacist, but now he lies about it! He was just being evasive before.”
jones
whether you think Obama agrees with the white hating preachers at Trinity, it has to be disturbing he allowed his young daughters to be exposed to this kind of hate for their entire lives, and he and his wife have been drinking it in for 20. Nicely played Obama, way to pass the torch and keep racist resentment and hatred of an entire race by the young members of another race institutionalized and accepted for another generation! Nicely played!
Jess
After pawing through practically every word that Wright ever uttered from the pulpit, Obama’s critics found how many minutes worth of questionable comments? Something like five minutes worth? All from the past few years? How is does this add up to 20 years of hate speech? Give it up.
And by the way, you might want to read the Bible sometime–Wright’s love vs. hate ratio is a hell of a lot better. Even Jesus said some questionable things. And you’ll be hard pressed to find one single church that hasn’t housed some mean-spirited attitudes from time to time, but most Christians say you have to concentrate on the good and overlook the bad. Do you agree with this? Or do you reject Christianity entirely?