The ever continuing Story of Obama Wright Gate

Now it has gone to a new level of silly

The Story: Jeremiah Wright was White House guest (Via Ben Smith’s Blog @ Politico.com)

The recent coverage of Rev. Jeremiah Wright has often cast him as a marginal, almost fringe figure, but Trinity Church is a major Chicago institution, and Wright has long been a prominent pastor on the American scene.

And an anonymous blog set up to defend his church offers some compelling photographic evidence of this: A photograph of Wright and President Clinton, which it says was taken on Sept. 11, 1998 — the date of a White House gathering for religious leaders.

[UPDATE: The blog seems to have taken that item down; here’s the full image that was posted.]

Hillary Clinton, according to her recently released schedule for the day, was present at the gathering. Al Gore also appears in the picture.

"In the course of his two terms in office, Bill Clinton met with, corresponded with and took pictures with literally tens of thousands of people," Clinton spokesman Jay Carson told Politico.

That’s where Clinton reportedly told the assembled clerics, at the depth of the Monica Lewinsky scandal, that he had "repented."

The only reason I can see that this was even picked up by the MSM and the Bigger Blogs, is because of an effort by the Conservative Bloggers to make ALL Democrats look like hatemongers.

Nice try guys, anyone with a half a brain is going to know that Presidents often meet and are photographed with many people. This picture, as it says above, was snapped during the Clinton Monica scandal.

Of course, we are dealing with Desperate Conservatives aren’t we? Could it be that they are totally scared out of their minds, that a LIBERAL might take the white house back and they will lose those tax breaks, that they received from the alcoholic,  coke headed, village idiot, in the White House? Who’s having extra-martial sex with Coni Rice!

Horrors! Rolling Eyes

Others on this: The Trail, Telegraph, Tennessee Guerilla Women, Wonkette, Liberal Values, Spin Cycle, The Monkey Tennis Centre, Shakesville, Hot Air, The Truth About Trinity …, Macsmind, Political Machine and The Page (via Memeorandum)

Obama's church published Hamas terror manifesto

Now, I wonder if this here will make the headlines?

The Story: Obama church published Hamas terror manifesto (Via WorldNetDaily.com)

Sen. Barack Obama’s Chicago church reprinted a manifesto by Hamas that defended terrorism as legitimate resistance, refused to recognize the right of Israel to exist and compared the terror group’s official charter – which calls for the murder of Jews – to America’s Declaration of Independence.

The Hamas piece was published on the "Pastor’s Page" of the Trinity United Church of Christ newsletter reserved for Rev. Jeremiah Wright Jr., whose anti-American, anti-Israel remarks landed Obama in hot water, prompting the presidential candidate to deliver a major race speech earlier this week.

Hamas, responsible for scores of shootings, suicide bombings and rocket launchings against civilian population centers, is listed as a terrorist group by the U.S. State Department.

The revelation follows a recent WND article quoting Israeli security officials who expressed "concern" about Robert Malley, an adviser to Obama who has advocated negotiations with Hamas and providing international assistance to the terrorist group.

In his July 22, 2007, church bulletin, Wright reprinted an article by Mousa Abu Marzook, identified in the newsletter as a "deputy of the political bureau of Hamas." A photo image of the newsletter was captured and posted today by the business blog BizzyBlog. The Hamas piece was first published by the Los Angeles Times, garnering the newspaper much criticism.

This is an interesting story, it says much about Obama’s Pastor. I have noted that Obama’s Church is a member of the very liberal United Church of Christ.

The information on Obama’s Pastor continues to flow, like an open tap. I will stay on top of this.

Hopefully someone else in the Blogging World will start bringing this up as well.

If Obama is a terrorist sympathizer, what does that say about the man?

I also wonder, was he there, when this was published?

I think the Democratic Party really needs to revaluate whether or not they want this man in there or not. I mean, this could be seriously disastrous for this party.

Others: The Strata-Sphere, Sadly, No!, Gateway Pundit and THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS(via Memeorandum)

Hillary's Hypocrisy

Wow….. Just wow….

The Story: Clinton Praises Petraeus (via The Caucus)

The quote: 

As critical as she is about the Bush administration’s conduct of the Iraq war, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton gave a relatively rare shout-out to the military’s top man in Baghdad, General David Petraeus, calling him “an extraordinary leader and a wonderful advocate for our military.”

The commanding general, who has been a target of antiwar opponents and liberal groups like Moveon.org, has been a strong supporter of the escalation of American troops in Iraq, a strategy that Mrs. Clinton and Senator Barack Obama have opposed.

But Mrs. Clinton, as a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, has had opportunities to talk and meet with General Petraeus about military matters over the years, and some aides say that she respects his expertise.

At a town hall meeting just now, Mrs. Clinton laid out her plan to withdraw troops from Iraq, noting she would rely on “the best military advice we can get” to devise a “very thoughtful” approach to start removing troops within 60 days of taking office.

As she concluded her remarks, she noted that American forces in Iraq were led by “an extraordinary leader and a wonderful advocate of our military.”

Isn’t this the same woman who said to petraeus, that one would have to possess a "willing suspension of disbelief", to believe his testimony?

Of course, we are talking about Democrats here.

Others: Weekly Standard Blog, Spin Cycle and Hot Air

Obama's lead shrinks, McCain Does quite nicely….

 Believe it or not, this is not a big surprise

Story: Obama’s lead over Clinton narrows: Reuters poll (Via Reuters)

Quote:

Democrat Barack Obama’s big national lead over Hillary Clinton has all but evaporated in the U.S. presidential race, and both Democrats trail Republican John McCain, according a Reuters/Zogby poll released on Wednesday.

The poll showed Obama had only a statistically insignificant lead of 47 percent to 44 percent over Clinton, down sharply from a 14 point edge he held over her in February when he was riding the tide of 10 straight victories.

Illinois Sen. Obama, who would be America’s first black president, has been buffeted by attacks in recent weeks from New York Sen. Clinton over his fitness to serve as commander-in-chief and by a tempest over racially charged sermons given by his Chicago preacher.

The poll showed Arizona Sen. McCain, who has clinched the Republican presidential nomination, is benefiting from the lengthy campaign battle between Obama and Clinton, who are now battling to win Pennsylvania on April 22.

McCain leads 46 percent to 40 percent in a hypothetical matchup against Obama in the November presidential election, according to the poll.

One thing to note here, this is a short term loss, I highly doubt that this little flare up is going to cost Obama the Nomination, the next Primary vote is like 5 weeks away in PA. So, I highly doubt that Obama will sustain any lasting damage. Once this Rev. Wright story finally leaves the News cycle, his numbers will return to normal.

McCain on the other seems to be benefiting from this dust up, the cameras and the attention is off of him for the time being. I can imagine he is quite happy about this. Many people are predicting that many independents will flock to McCain because they see Obama is too extremist.

Well, Sorry, I disagree, Any person who has looked at how Bush has totally screwed this country up, over the last 6 years. How Bush turned the 9/11 attacks as a excuse to invade a country that had NOTHING to do with the attacks at all. How much Bush and his Administration totally mangled the handling of the war, I highly doubt that these people are going to flock to McCain. Because too many people see McCain as a continuation of Bush.

Quite frankly, and I address this to MSM, I do not think that the Independents, like me, are quite that stupid. I know that I, and many others that I know, are not.

Others: Talking Points Memo, Hot Air, The Washington Independent, Political Machine, Wake up America, Macsmind, QandO, Outside The Beltway and Roger L. Simon — More via memeorandum

Obama's Speech

Here is the Video, a link to the transcript and my personal reaction.

Here it is:

Transcript is available at TPM Election Central

Okay here is my official reaction. I watched the entire speech. At first, I thought, "Oh Boy, here he goes into his regular talking points." However, as I continued to watch, he began to discuss the current situation, and I feel he addressed them as best he could, given the situation that he is in.

I am however, quite dismayed of the reaction among the conservatives within the Blogging community. They are just downright dismissive, and that,  frankly bothers me, how is it, that the party that was, during it's formative years, the party of Anti-Slavery, is dismissive of a man, who is in one of the most unique of circumstances? How can they be so vile and hateful towards a man, that is doing his utter damnedest to calm down a situation, that was not of his own doing, you know who you are, You are Bastards! All of you! You should hang your God-forsaken heads in shame! You are doing absolutely nothing to further the discourse of the discussion of this election, instead, you are retreating to the cowardly corners of your Political Ideologies. May the Almighty God be your Judge! Again, I say, you ALL know who you are!

Anyhow, that's my reaction, I like it, I did feel, however, that he could have went a bit further, however, one must realize, that he is walking a tightrope, between not alienating himself from the black community, all elements of it, and not alienating the rest of America as well. It is not an easy thing to do. 

Hopefully, this speech will quell the nonsense within the media. At least it is a start on Obama's part.

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Breaking News: Gov. David Paterson and wife Admit to extramarital affairs

Freaking Jesus Already, can’t the married people in New York keep it in their pants? WOW! Surprise

The Story: Newly Elected Governor David Paterson Admits to affair (via New York Daily News)

Quote:

The thunderous applause was still ringing in his ears when the state’s new governor, David Paterson, told the Daily News that he and his wife had extramarital affairs.

In a stunning revelation, both Paterson, 53, and his wife, Michelle, 46, acknowledged in a joint interview they each had intimate relationships with others during a rocky period in their marriage several years ago.

In the course of several interviews in the past few days, Paterson said he maintained a relationship for two or three years with "a woman other than my wife," beginning in 1999.

Man, this is crazy, first a Governor resigns over buying hookers, and now the newly minted admits that he had an affair??!?!? What is it with New Yorkers and out of control sex? Holy Cow!

Are these people taking cues from the Mayor of Detroit or what?

It just keeps getting interesting by the minute.

Other Bloggers covering this: Talking Points Memo, TownHall Blog, protein wisdom, Little Green Footballs, Gawker, Gothamist, Wonkette, michellemalkin.com, Ben Smith’s Blogs, Scared Monkeys, New York Magazine, TPM Election Central, THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS, Gateway Pundit

Shocka!: William Kristol fudges the facts while writing his Anti-Obama Article at The New York Times

Well now, here’s a big surprise! (Well, maybe not….)

The Story: Kristol Fails To Check His Sources, And So Bungles Key Fact In Anti-Obama Column (Marc Ambinder) – (via The Atlantic)

Well it seems Mr. Kristol used one of the worst news sources…. NewsMax! Ugh… No wonder. Anyhow, here’s the fudged fact:

But Ronald Kessler, a journalist who has written about Wright’s ministry, claims that Obama was in fact in the pews at Trinity last July 22. That’s when Wright blamed the “arrogance” of the “United States of White America” for much of the world’s suffering, especially the oppression of blacks. In any case, given the apparent frequency of such statements in Wright’s preaching and their centrality to his worldview, the pretense that over all these years Obama had no idea that Wright was saying such things is hard to sustain.

The Problem is, According to Ambinder and the facts:

The error is in trusting the source without checking.

The truth is that Obama did not attend church on July 22.

He was on his way to campaign in Miami.

There is video evidence to support this, if you go to Ambinder’s article, there is a link to it.

The point of this entry is this, wasn’t this why Kristol was fired/let go/was ask to quit Time? I seem to recall that there was a huge stink about him being released from Time, because of his constant fudging of the truth.

Of course, this is a Republican we are talking about here, and in the tradition of the Republicans or more specifically here Neo-Conservatives, The truth is usually optional, when it comes to furthering your political agenda. Just ask George W. Bush.  

Update: Here is the Video, Proving Obama was not in that Church.

Update #2: Kristol Writes:

In this column, I cite a report that Sen. Obama had attended services at Trinity Church on July 22, 2007. The Obama campaign has provided information showing that Senator Obama did not attend Trinity that day. I regret the error.

Yeah, I bet he regrets the error, Lying stack of crap. He most likely got told, print a retraction or kiss your job goodbye. Which is more than this moron deserves, his track record for telling factual stories isn’t the greatest.

Also via the Huffington Post:

But according to the Washington Post’s presidential tracker, Obama did, in fact, make an "appearance" in Chicago on the morning in question: July 22, 2002. He also, later in the day, flew to Miami for a speech.

Obama’s spokesperson Tommy Vietor confirmed that the schedule was accurate but stressed that the senator did not make a stop at Chicago’s Trinity United Church of Christ.

"We have reviewed his schedule," he wrote. "He didn’t go to church that day."

Which is perfectly plausible. Just because Obama was in Chicago doesn’t mean he attended church. But he was, in fact, in Chicago that morning.

Of course, not to be lost in all of this is the fantastically poor job Kristol did in his column in which he apparently failed to run a basic Google search, or, for that matter, call the Obama campaign.

The Times must be proud.

Not mention the Republicans themselves, Not the formal G.O.P., I’m talking about their Operatives, Rupert Murdock’s boys (and Girls!)  spreading the stupid misinformation.  Like I’ve said a bunch of times in the past. I’m all for debating the issues and all, and sorting out the differences between the Democrats and Republicans, but using underhanded tactics like this, is just flipping wrong. Before anyone comes and says it, yes, I am quite aware that the Democrat’s do the same stuff, and yes, I do think that it is wrong and Yes, I will bitch to the high heavens about it on this Blog, if and when it happens. You can bank on it.

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Then why in the heck did he even bother to run?????

Good grief, the more I hear about this stupid story, the more I wonder about Obama’s Judgement Ability.

The story: The Rev. Jeremiah Wright was an early concern, Obama aide admits (via LATIMES)

Quote:

After he moved to Chicago in the mid-1980s to work as a community organizer, Barack Obama forged close ties with the Rev. Jeremiah Wright — joining the pastor’s Trinity United Church of Christ in 1988 and using the topic of a Wright sermon, "the audacity of hope," as the title of his most recent best-selling book.

But more than a year ago — long before some of Wright’s more incendiary sermons became hot-button videos on YouTube, forcing Obama to publicly renounce his pastor last week — the Obama campaign had a sense that Wright’s sharp tongue might spell trouble for the Illinois senator.  (For a sermon sample, click on the Read more line below.)

That was the word anyway Sunday from Obama’s chief strategist, David Axelrod, who acknowledged during a conference call with reporters that Wright was disinvited …

from Obama’s official candidacy announcement on Feb. 10, 2007, in the shadow of the Old State Capitol in Springfield, Ill.

Wright had been expected to lead an invocation of some kind, but never appeared.

“There was no doubt that there was controversy surrounding him,” Axelrod said Sunday.  “And we didn’t want to expose him … [or] make him the target and a distraction on a day when Sen. Obama was going to announce his candidacy.”

My question is, if Obama was keenly aware of this man’s hateful rhetoric, then why the heck did he even bother running for President? I mean, to be quite honest with you, from what I’m reading across the Blogs, people are becoming quite concerned with his campaign. 

I, Indeed, have some worries about his ability to lead the country, if he cannot make judgement calls, as simple as that one.

More from the Story:

The topic is clearly uncomfortable for Obama and his aides, personally and politically. Axelrod’s comments came only after prodding from a reporter and after he had initially suggested that Wright’s absence that day was due merely to the fact that the temperature was in the single digits.

And even as Obama has condemned some of Wright’s rhetoric and distanced himself from his longtime spiritual advisor, doing so has not been easy.  Wright remained on an African American religious advisory committee for the campaign until Friday.

“Rev. Wright married him, introduced him, as he said, to the church, brought him into the church, into Christianity, baptized his children,” Axelrod said.  “So this is a painful thing for him because he condemns the things Rev. Wright said, but he also knows him as a person.”

I’m sorry, but that is not a good enough excuse for me. I am not buying it, nor am I not buying the story, that he did not know about the sermons that the Networks have been playing, I think he knew full well, but never thought that they would get picked up by the news people. Which tells me, that he did not really think this through.

I look for Obama’s campaign to tank here in the next few months and Hillary get the Nomination. Because I have been reading the Blogs and there is quite a bit of "buyers Remorse" amongst the Liberals.

It should be very interesting, indeed.

Others: TalkLeft, FREEDOM EDEN, Taylor Marsh, Telegraph, Bang the Drum and The Huffington Post and More via Memeorandum