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March 16, 2008

Sharp Knives

Oh, but I am sermonizing this morning. After all, it is Palm Sunday, isn't it? That's right...I've got time to give my full views on the political bloodletting that took place this week. Such glee, such hypocrisy, such self-righteousness, such "we know what is best for you" goings on. So many apologies. I don't know where to start. Ferrarro, Obama, Wright, Spitzer.

Let's dispense with Client #9, Eliot Spitzer. Arrogance was a word used to describe him. Abuse of power, another. No friends to bail him out. (Of course, we know that this is how the game is played. If he'd had friends in high places, we would've only heard a whisper.) My goodness. A modern day morality play. Not a lot of sympathy for Client #9, plenty for his wife and family, because he knew what he was doing. And, if he is as bright as they say he is, he knew he would be outed eventually and what the consequences would be. Should he be prosecuted for dealing with a prostitute? Or, ostracized because he had, heaven forbid, an affair? Pulleeze. A whole lot of people would be in court or shunned on that issue. Black, white, male, and female. His wife will deal handily, if so inclined, with that matter. But the other legal issues? If you can make them stick, so be it. Enough, already.

Now to Obama. I'm spending an inordinate amount of time listening to the pundits, liberal and conservative; some with whom I agree, some I don't. Some I disagree with vehemently. But what I find interesting (but not surprising) is that the round tables discussing the Rev. Wright remarks are white with a token Black at the table. Excuse me. Just what makes these people experts on the African-American religious experience? How many have attended a service in a Black church on a regular basis, other than the obligatory MLK Day observations? If they were raised in, or regularly attended a Black church, they would be accustomed to the rhetoric, the style of delivery, and the history behind it. Is the tenor/fervor of the sermon or the content an uncomfortable reminder? Does it prick the conscience? Jewish people treasure their history and are not asked to repudiate or reject what is said, no matter how outlandish it may seem or whether you disagree with it. Israel is taboo. Why must Blacks be so willing, or coerced, to forgive and forget, reject and repudiate? Why is it every time an African-American speaks to matters of concern, it becomes racist, demagoguery, hateful?

And though Obama gives lip service to those who paved the way for him, he "transcends" race. Obama even suggests that what happened to Blacks "is in the past," and says he did not suffer the indignities referred to in Wright's sermons. Just what I've been saying all along. Obama's Black experience is limited. He also states that he wasn't present for those sermons. First, he's opened himself up for fact-checking. Second, he might not have been there for those particular sermons but he heard about them. And he heard others. 20 years at the church? Give me a break. Unless...he only showed up for the traditional Easter, Christmas, and Mother's Day services. You know how us Christians are. For the record, in case you're interested, Wright was oh, so right when he said Hillary couldn't identify with being a Black male and she had never been called a "Nigger." Now, she has probably been called a "Nigger-lover," but never a "Nigger." Having to walk the political tightrope, Obama, in his response, threw Rev. Wright under the bus.

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/politics/2008/03/12/cooper.ferraro.controversy.cnn

Rev. Wright, after marrying the Obamas, baptizing their children, and being his "mentor," was not invited to participate in his presidential announcement ceremony? Hmmm. Somebody knew there was going to be a problem.

So now there is a witch-hunt to find more terrifying sermons by Black ministers. I saw clips from sermons all around the country. Sound bites carrying angry, hateful, terrifying rhetoric. And I would probably be nodding my head, saying amen, or rising to my feet in agreement because I heard what was said before the sound bite. And, I'd come out of church telling the world that "pastor really laid it on the line, today! He spoke a mouthful." For all the offense some have taken, I take offense at being told which religious leader, or political leader, I can follow and what they can say. How they can lead me, inspire me, provide food for thought. What is acceptable.

Now, just when are we going to stop with the apologizing? Political correctness has exceeded sensible bounds with this election. Over half of what has been termed racist statements don't even meet the bar. Most of it has been fact. If Obama didn't possess the oratorical skills, charisma, acceptable looks (read that as non-threatening) AND, if Hillary Clinton wasn't running, he would not be this far along in the race. Don't be fooled. America STILL isn't ready for a Black president.

Only now are they starting to check him out. It came out this week, but was buried under all the other garbage, that he sponsored a bill to provide a million dollars to the hospital where his wife is employed. It didn't pass but that revelation led to looking at other bills he has sponsored and the beneficiaries. I'm sure more things will be revealed before it is all over. The knives are being sharpened.

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