Campaign to smear Obama with words of preacher reeks of hypocrisy

This entire flap about Obama's minister and his comments should be dismissed with one simple question: Does Obama share those particular views which many find offensive?

If the answer is no, and you'd have to be grossly ignorant and gullible to suppose it's not, then there is no issue. Finito, end of story.

But of course, it's not over, and the usual gang of press and Republican flacks will chew it and mull it and pretend it's a big deal and keep it going as long as they can (or until some other titillating story comes along).

There have been a couple posts here regarding John Hagee, the nut-job fundamentalist who preaches Armageddon, demands an immediate nuclear attack on Iran in order to fulfill biblical prophesy and get this Armageddon/rapture thing on schedule, and refers to the Catholic Church as "the Great Whore", among other bizarre and radical things.

John McCain appeared side by side with him and praised this guy and welcomed and said he was very grateful for his support.

How many video clips of Hagee spouting things that any prudent person would regard as outrageous and dangerous did you see at that time?

Zero?? What a surprise. Unless you saw it here or on Bill Moyer's Journal (which even PBS now runs in the middle of the night) you didn't see any of it.

Then there's another preacher who's said things that make Obama's pastor seem tame, and McCain is accepting his fervent endorsement as well.

But when Obama's former (he's resigned from the church much before all this came out) pastor says things that will get people inflamed, we suddenly get to see the clips literally every minute and a half for 48 hours straight.

It's not like there's no video of Hagee, so that can't be why. So what is the reason for this bizarre double standard?

Obama condemns the statements, if not the man, states that he'd never been in church when Wright made the comments in question, and disavows them and removes the guy from association with his campaign.

But this isn't enough to end the discussion for those who are desperate for something to pin on Obama.

John McCain actively SOUGHT and ACCEPTED the support of whack-job Hagee, travelling to appear at his side, warmly accepting his support, etc.

Anyone see anything kind of ... dishonest or a double-standard perhaps?

Are only black religious figures subject to being considered dangerous or outside the mainstream? Do only black preachers scare people enough to be used as a campaign attack?

Consider this piece by Frank Schaffer, who's father Francis was one of the key figures in the rise of the evangelical "Religious Right"s rise to influence in the Republican party.

When Senator Obama's preacher thundered about racism and injustice Obama suffered smear-by-association. But when my late father -- Religious Right leader Francis Schaeffer -- denounced America and even called for the violent overthrow of the US government, he was invited to lunch with presidents Ford, Reagan and Bush, Sr.

Every Sunday thousands of right wing white preachers (following in my father's footsteps) rail against America's sins from tens of thousands of pulpits. They tell us that America is complicit in the "murder of the unborn," has become "Sodom" by coddling gays, and that our public schools are sinful places full of evolutionists and sex educators hell-bent on corrupting children. They say, as my dad often did, that we are, "under the judgment of God." They call America evil and warn of immanent destruction. By comparison Obama's minister's shouted "controversial" comments were mild. All he said was that God should damn America for our racism and violence and that no one had ever used the N-word about Hillary Clinton.

This silliness and craven attempts to portray Obama as some secret Muslim or black mysterious boogie-man who's radically different from you white Christians and is hell-bend on the destruction of America... well... as you can plainly see, it's just silly. Not to mention incredibly hypocritical and shamefully dishonest.

So why are people trying to pretend it's not?

PS. Quad Cities Examiner writes a post sniffing that expecting us to believe Obama when he states that he'd not heard Wright make the comments is ridiculous. She thinks that it's clear that he's lying through his teeth about this.

Of course, there's no evidence he lied, but then again, since when do these types need fact.

It so happens that Prince of the Neo-cons, Bill Kristol wrote in his New York Times column that Obama actually had been in the pew when Wright made the inflammatory statements. This is big stuff. Obama lied. His source? World Net Daily, a right wing rag that makes the gossip sheets at the check-out counter look like the Times of London.

As any normal human should have known, this was patently false. The Obama campaign quickly pointed out that Obama wasn't even in the state when Wright delivered the statements in question.

Kristol was forced to add a "note" explaining that he regretted this blatant error. (lie.)

This is all it takes to have a gig writing for the New York Times? Publishing any right wing tripe that floats up on the internet as fact? Yikes.

As any fairly rational 7 year old could have known, Obama wouldn't be saying he wasn't there if he was. The stakes are far too high.

Think QCE will be posting a correction or apology for her being utterly wrong in flatly stating that Obama was lying? Don't hold your breath.