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Edited on Wed Mar-19-08 09:47 AM by thesubstanceofdreams
Some Hillary supporters who probably didn't even watch Obama's speech keep repeating like a broken clock that "Obama has still not explained why he chose to keep Wright as a pastor for 20 years". The fact is, he did, clearly, directly, in detail, and eloquently.
I will try to summarize the main points from my recollection; for the exact words the full speech is available elsewhere on the internet(s).
He started by saying that if all he knew about was Wright was the two minutes of hateful speech that the media are repeating nonstop, then he would be shocked as well. But that Wright is a lot more than that.
He said that Wright helped bring him into christianity. Even though I'm an atheist, I can see that that this is a fundamental issue in Obama's spiritual life, which helps explain his "family member I disagree with" vision.
He explained that Wright's church has done a lot of very positive social service for the community (he gave specific examples, like HIV/Aids).
He acknowledged that Wright has been controversial, and made a great analysis of how Wright is a product of his time (growing up during the segregation era), and that his views are representative of the black community of his generation. He concluded that disowning him would amount to disowning the black community.
By using his white grandmother as an example, he made the point that one can love and receive love from someone while realizing and fringing at the shortcomings (and more to the point, the racism) of that person.
So this is comprehensive explanation. You are free to disagree with it. But to claim that he didn't provide an explanation is disingenuous, smearing and a blatant lie.
Thank you.
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