by Melba Dagan

Created on: May 07, 2008

For the last few weeks we have all watched as Senator Obama has practically jumped through hoops to avoid denouncing his friend and mentor, Jeremiah Wright, for his racist, unamerican and unchristian speeches. At first he took the stance that Wright was entitled to his opinion and that he, Obama, could most generously allow him to speak his mind as it had nothing to do with him personally. That argument fell apart when it was pointed out that Obama had been a member of Wright's church for twenty years. No one stays in an organization, including a church, for that long unless they agree with what is being said.

Then he said he could no more denounce Wright than he could denounce his 'white' grandmother, like being his 'white' grandmother was the most distasteful thing imaginable but had to be tolerated because it was a fact. When that brought a flurry of remarks and questions he tried to ignore the media's remarks by acting as if it would all blow over if he just ignored it.

Finally Obama made a few public comments to the effect that he didn't agree with Wright's statements and that they didn't reflect what he himself was about. That, of course, again raised the question of why he remained a member of Wright's church for twenty years if he didn't agree with the message Wright preached. He followed this up with remarks to a group of wealthy Californians to the effect that poor white people in the American heartland were in such a hopeless condition that they clung to their guns, religion and antipathy to anyone different from themselves in order to give their own lives meaning. Needless to say, this did not go over well with the millions of hard working middle class white Americans who felt that their freedom of religion and their right to bear arms was being attacked, and by a man who wanted to be the next President of the United States. Obama's declaration that he didn't agree with what Wright preached suddenly lost a lot of it's punch.

But, when Wright insinuated that Obama made that remark because he had to due to political pressure it seemed to raise Obama's ire and he stated that he absolutely did not agree with Wright and was offended by the suggestion that he was doing some political posturing. At this point, most intelligent and informed people agreed with Wright about this and felt that Obama was doing what he had to do to stay alive in the campaign.

It had become painfully obvious that Obama agreed with Wright's message of Marxist communist rhetoric about the oppressed blacks and that they had to revolt, even using violence when they thought necessary, to throw off this terrible bondage of democracy. Forget that they were freed after the Civil War and were given even more legal and lawful rights and protection after the Civil Rights Movement. White people were still running the government and must be brought down. Needless to say, this is not a message that is meant to bring unity and a cohesive and cooperative society. No, it is meant to stir unrest and unlawfulness. It was also painfully obvious that if Obama wanted to remain a viable candidate in the Democratic campaign he needed to distance himself, and quickly, from such inflammatory rhetoric.

But, we are all left to wonder just how much of Wright's message has become an integral part of Obama. He may have finally publicly denounced Wright's message but his own words, and those of his wife, reflect a leaning toward the same ideaology. And the really big question voters are left with is do we want a president who, by his own words in his books and publicly, hates and distrusts more than half of the population? He may have finally denounced Wright but is it too little too late?

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