It is said that "Absolute Power corrupts Absolutely". We may want to think the same thing when it comes to politicians, substituting the word "Power" for "Politics". Because it appears that Senator Barack Obama, the newest Presidential candidate; the one so vocal about his Christian faith, has decided that being President is much more worthy than standing firm on said Christian beliefs and principles. So much so, that upon the advice of his campaign handlers, he's publicly dissed his own Pastor.
I don't know about you, but the Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright, Jr., a Nationally and globally respected Pastor of the Trinity United Church of Christ; a respected Christian author and political leader in Chicago, is NOT someone you diss, or dismiss in cavalier fashion as Obama has. Consider this tidbit from the New York Times:
The Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr., senior pastor of the popular Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago and spiritual mentor to Senator Barack Obama, thought he knew what he would be doing on Feb. 10, the day of Senator Obama’s presidential announcement. After all, back in January, Mr. Obama had asked Mr. Wright if he would begin the event by delivering a public invocation.
But Mr. Wright said Mr. Obama called him the night before the Feb. 10 announcement and rescinded the invitation to give the invocation.
“Fifteen minutes before Shabbos I get a call from Barack,” Mr. Wright said in an interview on Monday, recalling that he was at an interfaith conference at the time. “One of his members had talked him into uninviting me,” Mr. Wright said, referring to Mr. Obama’s campaign advisers.
Some black leaders are questioning Mr. Obama’s decision to distance his campaign from Mr. Wright because of the campaign’s apparent fear of criticism over Mr. Wright’s teachings, which some say are overly Afrocentric to the point of excluding whites.
Bill Burton, a spokesman for the Obama campaign, said the campaign disinvited Mr. Wright because it did not want the church to face negative attention. Mr. Wright did however, attend the announcement and prayed with Mr. Obama beforehand.
“Senator Obama is proud of his pastor and his church, but because of the type of attention it was receiving on blogs and conservative talk shows, he decided to avoid having statements and beliefs being used out of context and forcing the entire church to defend itself,” Mr. Burton said.
Instead, Mr. Obama asked Mr. Wright’s successor as pastor at Trinity, the Rev. Otis Moss III, to speak. Mr. Moss declined.
Many of you who read this blog have been very vocal in your objections to my opinions about the Senator. However, the fact that he will do anything and position himself any way to make himself appealing to white voters; to the point that he is apparently okay with dissing his own Pastor, should be enough to give you pause. This is what I, as well as Skeptical Brotha have been trying to communicate to you, since most of you say you're able to think for yourselves. We just wanted you to have the facts, and communicate our opinions about this brotha. We got flamed, accused of "crabs in barrel" mentality, etc., when your own responses to our posts appeared to continue suggesting a Jim Crow mentality that says Black people should celebrate "Black Faces In High Places".
It also means, just like the Edwards' camp, that the Democrats are going to cave in and run their campaigns like the ReThugs want them to, because they're complaining that Democrats aren't being "nice". Well, "Niceness" went out the door on Capitol Hill for twelve years, and really got nasty during the last six years of Bush Cartel rule. It's bullying and I will be glad when the Democrats grow a pair and tell the ReThugs to go to hell about how to run their own campaigns. Looks like Obama wants to play "nice" with the vipers in the snake pit.
And having Black Faces In High Places don't mean squat if said Black Faces are going to vote for and implement legislation and run the country in ways that because they are catering to corporate interests in exchange for money and personal favors - to the point that the Black Communities wholeheartedly supporting them get screwed over and over again.
If Barack Obama is an example of "New Black Leadership"... think about what I highlighted in red for your consideration. There is always something when a statement is divided by the word "But" that always indicates to me that the person is about to make a compromise in their "stand" or opinion. Sometimes, it qualifies the statement for clarification; but (LOL), it usually means they're about to backtrack on their previously stated position. There should be nothing that would not make Obama proud of his pastor...but, I digress.
You know the Rev. Al Sharpton was asked to weigh in on this and he didn't disappoint:
In recent weeks, word of Mr. Obama’s treatment of Mr. Wright has reached black leaders like the Rev. Al Sharpton and given them pause.
“I have not discussed this with Senator Obama in detail, but I can see why callers of mine and other clergymen would be concerned, because the issue is standing by your own pastor,” Mr. Sharpton said.
Exactly. If you can't stand by your own Pastor when it matters, you will cave in during a spring day when the temperature gets above 70 degrees.
For those of you who want to still support Obama after this, I say to you, "Thank God, we still live in a Democracy. That is your right." But, please, do not come to blogs with your whining and bellyaching when you feel as though you got screwed by your vote for Obama, because we've been like voices in the wilderness, giving you plenty of warning not to be taken in by Obama's bling.
Four years ago, when I first heard about Barack Obama, I had the Audacity to Hope that this brotha was on the real, and would be able to demonstrate to established sellouts like Harold Ford and Artur Davis that you could obtain National Office without engaging in the fine art of selling out.
How wrong I was. I won't go as far as calling him a "Harvard Law Grad Snake Oil Pimp" though I must admit, I'm sorely tempted.
Barack Obama is just another opportunistic politician who will once again take the African-American vote as his due, and for granted.