In the past week, Senator Barack Obama faced serious problems with his campaign due to the controversial statements by Rev. Jeremiah Wright. Today, Senator Obama spoke to the nation from Philadelphia.
“Barack Obama roundly condemned the remarks of his controversial pastor on Tuesday but also took several steps to explain why Rev. Jeremiah Wright’s incendiary rhetoric is still valid.
Going to great lengths and several times repeating his reason for his continued association to Wright and his membership at Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago, Obama said the pastor introduced him to his Christian faith and continues to perform God’s work on Earth.
“As imperfect as he may be, he has been like family to me … I can no more disown him than I can disown the black community. I can no more disown him than I can my white grandmother,” Obama told an audience at the Constitution Center in Philadelphia.
Hoping to thread a tough needle, Obama is seeking to return his campaign to the place it was until about a week ago, before his image was tarnished by the details of his relationship to Wright, who has been Obama’s spiritual adviser for 20 years.” (Fox News)
– Did you watch his speech?
– If you did, what do you think about it?
– Has your opinion of Senator Obama changed?
– Will this controversy hurt his nomination?
– Who will you vote for? Obama, Clinton or McCain?
I read his speech. It was extremely well written, thoughtful, and inclusive. No other candidate is capable of such clarity of thought.
Barack Obama is an exceptional candidate for president, and shines even more in comparison with what we have endured as of late.
He has my vote.
cyberpatzer
I didn’t watch or read his speech, but why is he to blame if his pastor said something? I don’t quite understand this kind of game, blaming someone for something some other one did or said, as though Obama is not an adult person who can think and make up his own mind. I think all of this is just to keep the press busy.
Are you trying to stir something up here? What has this got to do with ‘your interests’ or chess?
Actually, they are both interesting candidates, and on balance, I favour Barack Obama and expect him to be a distinguished President.
Just out of curiosity Susan, what are your own political beliefs?
Obama has clarity of thought and purpose! His speech was excellent! I vote for him!
But Susan, you are entitled to an opinion…what do you think???
I bet Susan won’t be giving her opinion in public 😛
e4.
I read his speech. It was a well-written, insipred speech that was, unfortunately, a long time coming. Any presidential candidate should consult his or her advisors and make prudent choices, but this one should have been a no-brainer for a man of clear, consistent character, which evidently, Obama is not. My opinion of him has changed, negatively, because of his indecision. I don’t think he will be hurt in his bid for the nomination.
Obama needs to be able to respond casually rather than forcefully if he wants to defeat the steady (albeit boring) McCain nationally. As yet, he seems to vary between silence and deafening roars.
I don’t think Obama is the obvious choice this year; McCain is somewhat moderate whereas Obama is very much liberal. In a time where reconciliation and healing is what the country is so aching for, I don’t think a having a democratic congress and liberal firebrand as President is going to help that to happen. I think at this point McCain is my choice.
Obama is a hypocrite. He should have spoken out against this pastor a long time ago and not even signed him on as his spiritual adviser for his campaign. 20 years of attending church with this bigoted pastor and he only decides to condemn his comments now that he has been exposed!
He can’t pretend he didn’t know his pastor of 20 years was like that. If thats where he feels comfortable he is no US president.
His wife thinks USA is such a bad place too.
He’s not qualified in any way to be a president, and this incident has finally made people look at him realistically.
.. and John Mccain is useless too. Being locked up for 5 years is a personal suffering, but does not qualify the guy to be a pres. He is too angry and erratic.
if the whole world (except for the us) were to vote
for obama or mccain, 95% would vote obama. another republican would be another 4 or 8 years of disaster for planet earth. brothers and sisters in the us – keep your spirits high, we know how much youre suffering becuase of the republicans and we are all with you in your fight for justice! impeach bush and his pack of criminals and vote obama!
peace and blessings from your brothers and sisters in the world
There is a double standard unfortunately now in America. Blacks can say whatever they like and have total freedom. An example is when Kanye West on a televised award show came out of the blue and said “President Bush doesnt like Black people”! Where as DJ Don Imus made comments in comedic tones where he wound up being fired and had to apologize to just about every African American in the the U.S.! The things Mr. Imus said were tame compared to what African Americans call themselves in hip hop songs all the time. Don Imus is just a mere disc jockey as Barrack Obama is running for the highest office in the land, and he can have a pastor of a 20 year association with who chose to make statements of the kind that crucified Bobby Fischer for saying. Barracks pastor said in a sermon “whites blew up our own towers on 9/11!” He also in a rant said repeatedly “Goddam America”! This pastor of hate also said “white people invented aids to kill blacks”!? After comments like these Mr. Obama still chose to be mentored by this man and have him on his campaign board! How can he bring people of all races together in America when he associates with a Malcolm X like Preacher? For Barrack to say that he stands behind his pastor but doesnt agree with everything he says is the same as if Hillary Clinton had ties to the Klu Klux Klan for 20 years but she doesnt agree with everything they say and believe, and then go on National television to explain whites attitudes in America!
qoute annon 11:35
Just out of curiosity Susan, what are your own political beliefs?
———————————-
did you mean?
just out of curiosity Susan, would you like to play cat and mouse?
I bet she doesn’t, she is a chess player!
In America the succesor to ancient Rome has many problems. One is this absurdity called politically correct. When in fact it is incorrect to be this way. In the land of the free and the home of the brave the core of its beliefs are crumbling and the constituion may as well be torn up and burnt.
Free speech is fine and well
as long as you dont say anything derragatory towards Blacks, Jews, or homosexuals.
Obama – big deal.
He has as a lot of great ideas – but ideas are the cheapest commodity around.
If all it took were ideas the USCF would have been reformed already, In the case of the USCF (as in the US Government) the best politicians will call the shots and set the agenda.
Obama strikes me as naive and inexperienced with a very limited track record.
If American wants to vote for a dream, so be-it, but that dream will come apart when it must confront the Real Politik of the US and World Governance.
I predicted this for the last set of USCF elections -remember all the cheerleading and high hopes? Now we have stagnation, recrimination and lawsuits. I am sorry to say it – but I predict the same for Obama.
Sorry for being so negative but you asked for our opinions.
Obama’s middle name is Hussain… Wait until he’s nominated as the Democrat’s candidate and you’ll see how this will be played by the republicans. As much as I don’t care, the so-called swing voters in redneckland care enough to make him unelectible.
I can see that Annon 2:48 writes politic with a K (politik) and still seems to believe he/she knows what is best for America, I have news for you politic which ends with a k never worked
k- only when used pejoratively.
Def: Governmental policies based on hard, practical considerations rather than on moral or idealistic concerns. Realpolitik is German for “the politics of reality” and is often applied to the policies of nations that consider only their own interests in dealing with other countries.
Lyndon Johnson for example:
http://www.dvdverdict.com/reviews/americanexperiencelbj.php
A very impressive and emotional discourse and mentioning “stalemate” twice, how nice. See below
It (Constitution) was stained by this nation’s original sin of slavery, a question that divided the colonies and brought the convention to a stalemate until the founders chose to allow the slave trade to continue for at least twenty more years, and to leave any final resolution to future generations.
It’s a racial stalemate we’ve been stuck in for years.
Susan Polgar you are great!
America is not ready to vote in a woman or a black man….sorry. Watch.
I liked Obama distancing himself…what else whas he going to do? But You’r reader strike a good poiont..he knew all along what a nutjob this pastor was..if he didn’t the he’s an idiot…and I don’t think he is.
He’s got as much dirt under him as anyone else…..
God I wish I didn’t see Zeitgeist..I’m losing faith in everything.
The US presidental elections in Sweden:
the largest Swedish daily newspaper Aftonbladet is conducting a net vote
The Swedish have so far voted:
McCain : 10.5 %
Clinton: 34.6 %
Obama : 54.9 %
54.847 people have voted so far
Did Clinton divorce her lying and mentally ill treacherous husband?
And that is why I am glad that Sweden does not vote for our president.
USCF candidates were better than these.
Just out of curiosity Susan, what are your own religious beliefs?
That pastor is absolutely disgusting.
Of course evil people use Christianity or any other religion as a cover to spout or do any vile thing.
Obama has only distanced himself from this pastor since being found out, NOT before. TAKE NOTE. THAT IS VERY IMPORTANT.
A great pity this did not come to light 3 months ago – Obama would be nowhere now if this had been the case, and now the danger is great that he will be the Democratic Candidate.
Anybody who condemned Fischer’s comments and now votes for Obama is surely a hypocrite.
Ok, I am not American, so probably I do not have your clarity of mind, but let me ask a few questions concerning these “disgusting” remarks by this priest (which in any case Obama has distance himself).
(a) He spoke of the prejudice black peopel face in America. This is a fact
(b) In the above context he said the famous “God damn America” to add “for treating some of his people as less than hummans”.
Whether you like it or not, historically this was a fact. Of course things are much better now, but racism has been a historical (unconvinient) reality.
Ok, very harsh conclusion (“God damn..”) but if seen in the context it is not SO outrageous.
(c) What he said about 9/11. He said that US has brought violence to several palces in the world (being outside US I can asure you that this is the belief shared by the vast majority of people around the globe, inlcuding alies in western europe where myself comes from).
He then said, that “we (Americans) are getting back what we gave”… Of course the actual 9/11 was a horrible thing, and the priest does not aprove it. The only thing he says, is that it was predictable, considering what US has done to other places in the world. Ignoring all the dictators that in past 30 years US supported (in Latin America for example) I will just point out two facts:
How did Taliban came to power? With support of US (to fight against communists).
How did Sadam came to power? With US support (to fight muslim fundamentalists, since as you may not know Sadam was an example of a cicular (as opposed to religious) leader).
These are the two latest enemies of US. People that came to power with US aid. Therefore, isn’t there some element of true in the statement that you get back what you give?
Well, I am not an American either.
As such, I say thank god that America since World War 2 has been prepared to stand up and go to the expense and trouble of combating aggression in this world, something most of the gutless governments of Western Europe have not been prepared to do.
On the whole, America has been (with flaws) a power for good in the world.
Most of the ‘violence that America has brought to the world’ has been in REACTION to aggressive regimes.
Japan started the war. The nuclear bombs were used as part of that. Far more lives were saved by using them to shorten the war than were taken by them.
Also they strengthened the bargaining position against the vile aggressive Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin. And, he may well have used them himself first otherwise.
It was not really known at the time that the Taliban would be so bad. Would you have preferred the Soviets to have totally taken over Afghanistan? This would have been far more dangerous at the time. Unfortunately, sometimes it is necessary to use a lesser evil in order to be able to combat a greater one.
I was delighted that America removed Saddam Hussein [and a lot less delighted with the handling of the situation since]. I considered Saddam Hussein as extremely dangerous. Although I didn’t particularly believe that Saddam had weapons of mass destruction at the time, I was certainly concerned that he would get them in the future. How far along the road towards nuclear weapons would he be now if he had been left unmolested, without sanctions, with all that oil money? Is this what you would have wanted?
I agree with you that America should never have supported Saddam in the first place. At the time, I couldn’t understand American support for Saddam in the war against Iran and thought it was a mistake. However, just because a mistake was made doesn’t mean it shouldn’t have been corrected later.
Let’s suppose that America went totally isolationist (as before World War 2) (and as Obama undoubtedly wants to do). Would the world be a safer place? I really don’t think so. Who would stop the aggressive regimes then?
Yes, black people have been treated badly both in the past and now. But this is not just an American phenomenon. Right through history, and in almost any country you care to name, there is prejudice against minorities. This seems to be an unfortunate condition of the human race, not just peculiar to America. The pastor is attacking the wrong target.
You say Obama has distance himself. Yes, of course he does NOW, because it’s politically expedient to do so.
But why did he not do so VOLUNTARILY many moons ago if (as he NOW claims) he did not agree with these comments? Please explain this.
And it is not just what this pastor says. It’s also the way he says it, the tone of voice, the body language. He is a demagogue of the most sleazy type.
Japan did not start the war with the US. The US naval blockade, starving Japan of resources, was an act of war.
Oh, and Japan did not provoke this by taking over French Indo-China and refusing to withdraw when requested?
To say nothing of Japan’s brutal, unprovoked war against China.
Japanes are suckers. Not to say that their chess players are among the worst in the world, showing the IQ of the nation as a whole.
Such a stupid comment is beneath contempt.
The Japanese should stop killing the whales, though.
Haha! Good one. Have you noticed that US best chess player is Japaneese? Nakamura is his name. Or is it Kamsky (Russian) the best US player? Or is it Caruana (Italian)?
And btw, tell me the rating of US best player in GO or in Japaneese chess?
Or do you want me to compare US and Russia in chess and make conclusions about the IQ of Americans…
“Or do you want me to compare US and Russia in chess and make conclusions about the IQ of Americans…”
America has all of the money and technology. I thnk American IQ is just fine.