It appears the row over his pastor Jeremiah Wright has indeed dented Barack Obama's presidential campaign - it's too early to tell whether it's gifted the nomination to Hillary but it's certainly halted the sense of momentum he had before it broke.
Just by way of a little reminder though we shouldn't forget that Senator Obama isn't the only one with troubling assocations with belligerent and nutty men of faith - watch Senator McCain squirming as Tim Russert questions his volte face over Baptist preacher Jerry Falwell:
That clip is a couple of years old and for those that don't know Russert was reminding him that in 2000 he took a pop at George W Bush for aligning himself with fundamentalist preachers like Falwell and Robertson for electoral gain. It appears in the run up to his successful bid for the Republican nomination Senator McCain suddenly saw merit in Dubya's approach!
A quick search online will enlighten you to the world according to Jerry Falwell but a few gems to save you the trouble:
Falwell also supported segregation, referring to 'civil wrongs legislation' and associating himself with segregationist politicians like Maddox and Wallace - his later amended his views on race though.
In anticipation of any comments to this effect let me point out that I'm not drawing strict parallels here - Jeremiah Wright has been (and remains as far as I know) Obama's pastor of some 20 years and is, by Obama's own admission, a spiritual mentor and deep influence on him. It's therefore right that Obama has to put Rev Wright's disgraceful comments in context and go to some lengths to explain his association with him - I happen to think his Philadelphia speech did this admirably, others will disagree.
Senator McCain doesn't have anything like these close ties to Gerry Falwell and so, for all his unappealing electoral opportunism in courting him a couple of years back he still doesn't have the same burden of explanation that Obama does. And of course Jerry Falwell is now dead which, from a media perspective somewhat drains the relevance of the association. But I mention it just, as I said above, in the interests of balance. Of course we draw conclusions about people from the company they keep and it's fair to do so. Few, of any, in public life won't have an association somewhere which they'd rather not have to defend when running for office. But ultimately we should judge people by the things they say & do, not the things said and done by cohorts, however close or distant.
Just by way of a little reminder though we shouldn't forget that Senator Obama isn't the only one with troubling assocations with belligerent and nutty men of faith - watch Senator McCain squirming as Tim Russert questions his volte face over Baptist preacher Jerry Falwell:
That clip is a couple of years old and for those that don't know Russert was reminding him that in 2000 he took a pop at George W Bush for aligning himself with fundamentalist preachers like Falwell and Robertson for electoral gain. It appears in the run up to his successful bid for the Republican nomination Senator McCain suddenly saw merit in Dubya's approach!
A quick search online will enlighten you to the world according to Jerry Falwell but a few gems to save you the trouble:
On the 9/11 attacks: "...throwing God out of the public square, out of the schools, the abortionists have got to bear some burden for this because God will not be mocked and when we destroy 40 million little innocent babies, we make God mad...I really believe that the pagans and the abortionists and the feminists and the gays and the lesbians who are actively trying to make that an alternative lifestyle, the ACLU, People for the American Way, all of them who try to secularize America...I point the thing in their face and say you helped this happen."
"[homosexuals are] brute beasts...part of a vile and satanic system [that] will be utterly annihilated, and there will be a celebration in heaven."
"AIDS is not just God's punishment for homosexuals; it is God's punishment for the society that tolerates homosexuals"
"The idea that religion and politics don't mix was invented by the Devil to keep Christians from running their own country"
Falwell also supported segregation, referring to 'civil wrongs legislation' and associating himself with segregationist politicians like Maddox and Wallace - his later amended his views on race though.
In anticipation of any comments to this effect let me point out that I'm not drawing strict parallels here - Jeremiah Wright has been (and remains as far as I know) Obama's pastor of some 20 years and is, by Obama's own admission, a spiritual mentor and deep influence on him. It's therefore right that Obama has to put Rev Wright's disgraceful comments in context and go to some lengths to explain his association with him - I happen to think his Philadelphia speech did this admirably, others will disagree.
Senator McCain doesn't have anything like these close ties to Gerry Falwell and so, for all his unappealing electoral opportunism in courting him a couple of years back he still doesn't have the same burden of explanation that Obama does. And of course Jerry Falwell is now dead which, from a media perspective somewhat drains the relevance of the association. But I mention it just, as I said above, in the interests of balance. Of course we draw conclusions about people from the company they keep and it's fair to do so. Few, of any, in public life won't have an association somewhere which they'd rather not have to defend when running for office. But ultimately we should judge people by the things they say & do, not the things said and done by cohorts, however close or distant.
1 Comments:
He might still get in becasue of the complete moral bankruptcy of Clinton, as shown in her latest explanation of her "under fire" claims.
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