Her Only Chance

And this is the only way to the nomination for Hillary Clinton. Scandal, either by way of Trinity United Church of Christ (which, Obama announced on 6/1/08, he now has left)- or not.

When we last heard of Jeremiah Wright, following Senator Obama's denunciation of the minister's remarks made at the National Press Club, the punditocracy, not averse to picturing Obama as the victim, argued that Wright was out to harm the Illinois senator's candidacy. The Wright uproar thus far has come in two parts: following release of his two incendiary sermons and upon his appearance at the National Press Club. Support for the leading Democratic candidate, given his unique ability to appeal to our need as Americans for change, declined in the wake of the first event insufficiently to threaten seriously his candidacy. Following the second event, support declined further. I was never convinced that Wright was committed to harming Obama (as against merely wanting to further his own interests) but, if most of the media and other analysts were right, the former pastor of Chicago's Trinity United Church of Christ is coming back. Maybe soon, maybe between the convention and the election, but sometime before November. And the third event likely would be fatal to Obama's chances.

There is another possibility, however remote, of a scandal related to Mr. Obama's famous church. Larry Johnson, the former CIA agent and Clinton partisan with a website whose vituperative postings make for entertaining, if less than edifying, reading, claims the existence of what he characteristically refers to as a "whitey" tape. This alleged tape pictures Michelle Obama making incendiary, race-based comments while on a panel with Nation of Islam minister Louis Farrakhan at Trinity United Church of Christ. I suspect the tape either a)has been doctored by Roger Stone or some other slimey Repub operative; b)is not as explosive as claimed by Johnson; c)will not seem the light of day; or d)will for some other reason not prove very significant. If, however, it is as Johnson is arguing, and hoping, it is, Barack Obama will not become the 44th president of the United States of America. We need to hope that such an event never occurred- or that if it did,any tape depicting it is released soon, giving Hillary Clinton a serious chance to be nominated. If such a tape is released after the nomination is formally granted Barack Obama, it would be devastating- not only to us as Democrats and progressives, but especially to America.

UCC Commercials

Now that the controversy pertaining to Jeremiah Wright has ended, continued, or gone away for now, we can look back at a controversy regarding Reverend Wright's denomination, the United Church of Christ.

The United Church of Christ is a mainline Protestant denomination which formed in 1957 from the union of the Congregational Christian Churches and the Evangelical and Reformed Church. It follows a "congregational" church polity, in which nearly complete autonomy is afforded individual congregations, which would account for the existence of a particular church and pastor outside of the mainstream of Christian thought.

In 2004, the UCC released an ad entitled "Bouncer" and in 2004, an ad named "Ejector," both aimed to emphasize the denomination's commitment to diversity. Both ads were rejected by the three major commercial networks, whether because of they were of an "advocacy" or religious nature. Reports at the time(s) indicated that the commercials would be aired on some cable networks, though I never saw either and am not sure of the outcome.

Still, whatever one's view of the issues involved, these interesting and provocative ads are well worth the viewing. Here is a link, first, to the "bouncer" ad, then to the "ejector" ad.

http://isjusttosay.blogspot.com/2007/12/united-church-of-christ-bouncer.html?showComment=1197218640000

http://technorati.com/videos/youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DKRcv9u9x3z8

Obama Corrects Himself

After watching a portion, and reading the transcript, of Barack Obama's press conference on 4/29/08, I got to thinking of his historic speech in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, given to respond to the concerns about his campaign engendered by the comments of his then-pastor, Jeremiah Wright. Obama had said of the African-American church:

Like other predominantly black churches across the country, Trinity embodies the black community in its entirety - the doctor and the welfare mom, the model student and the former gang-banger. Like other black churches, Trinity's services are full of raucous laughter and sometimes bawdy humor. They are full of dancing, clapping, screaming and shouting that may seem jarring to the untrained ear. The church contains in full the kindness and cruelty, the fierce intelligence and the shocking ignorance, the struggles and successes, the love and yes, the bitterness and bias that make up the black experience in America.

And this helps explain, perhaps, my relationship with Reverend Wright.

Now, at his press conference, Obama has said:

His comments were not only divisive and destructive, but I believe that they end up giving comfort to those who prey on hate and I believe that they do not portray accurately the perspective of the black church (emphasis mine).

Much better. Reverend Wright's rants may or may not "portray accurately the perspective" of Trinity United Church of Christ, but they certainly do not portray accurately the black/African-American church. Good that Senator Obama set that straight, finally.

Reverend Wright vs. Reverend King

"The eleven o'clock hour on Sunday is the most segregated hour in American life."
-Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.


"Unashamedly black and unapologetically Christian." (emphasis mine)
-motto of Trinity United Church of Christ, Chicago, Illinois


Perhaps Barack Obama's pastor, Rev. Dr. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr., would like to explain why he believes the segregation deplored by Dr. King is now acceptable, even laudatory.