Another pastor problem for Obama

First there was Rev. Jeremiah Wright. Then there was an endorsement by Minister Louis Farrakhan.

Now Chicago priest, Father Michael Pfleger, is on the hot seat for comments he made at Sen. Barack Obama's church, Trinity United Church of Christ.

You can see the clips below, courtesy of someone in the audience recording the sermon.

Pfleger is a white priest who is very close to Rev. Wright, and is a close friend of Farrakhan. He also has been a big supporter of Obama.

What makes this truly a hot media story has nothing to do with Father Pfleger's comments. It is the fact that Sen. Barack Obama is running for president, the comments were made in the pulpit at his church, Trinity United Church of Christ, and were made by a white Catholic priest who is an ardent supporter of him.

Had Pfleger made his comments in his church, and wasn't an Obama supporter, folks would summarily ignore what he said. Look at that fool Pastor David Manning out of Harlem. He has said some of the most vile comments imaginable about Obama, even alleging a gay relationship with Rev. Wright, and although he has often appeared on conservative radio shows - and even Hannity & Colmes TV show - he has largely been ignored.

Pfleger made his comments during a more detailed sermon at Trinity on the day the United Church of Christ on the same day the UCC wanted to have a dialogue on race. Will there be a broader discussion on what folks think is white entitlement? Nope. This will be caught up in a major political discussion.

What I'm shocked at is how Pfleger didn't realize that even mentioning Obama, Clinton or McCain would somehow be ignored. This is nuts. Absolutely nuts. I don't get why pastors who have chosen to get involved in the political process - knowing full well the toxic mixing of race, religion and politics - would even go there.

The comments were dumb to even make, even if he thought them! Have I heard them said before by whites and blacks about Clinton? Yes! Have I heard whites say blacks feel entitled to the president? Yes! But do you say it publicly? Of course not! The emails I've gotten from whites, blacks, males and females that are far worse than what Pfleger has uttered would never be said by a public person who has endorsed either candidate.

If he had referenced Clinton feeling entitled to the nomination, no one would have gotten upset. Why? Because that has been discussed for months on television and radio. But the mere mention of her being entitled to the nomination because she's white? Oh, yea, this was easy to see it would blow up.

Pfleger's statement on the matter: ''I regret the words I chose on Sunday. These words are inconsistent with Senator Obama's life and message, and I am deeply sorry if they offended Senator Clinton or anyone else who saw them.''

Obama's statement: ''As I have traveled this country, I've been impressed not by what divides us, but by all that unites us. That is why I am deeply disappointed in Father Pfleger's divisive, backward-looking rhetoric, which doesn't reflect the country I see or the desire of people across America to come together in common cause.''

Pfleger speaking on entitlement at Trinity United Church of Christ:

Here is Pfleger ripping Fox News and defending Rev. Wright:

Comments

[Energize]

I agree Roland.

Even if what they are thinking is true, why can’t these men JUST preach Jesus and pray for the family at church? Why?

The Obama’s lives are being threatened, the race is fierce and I am sure mentally taxing and he has to continually back track because these preachers need to get their political opinions heard in a pulpit at this very moment. That family can’t even worship in peace because of preachers. Sad.

I hope Obama does not go to Iraq with John McCain. Remember Ron Brown.

[deva]

Hi Roland,

I saw this last night on CNN. I can't believe he went there, however many people say this same thing. Most comedians say this stuff all the time but I guess they are not up in Trinity saying it. Why don't they say no cameras allowed--do you think this is a set up?

[Tee]

While the Priest was funny and saying what a lot of us have been saying since this started, he should have known better. I just do not understand why these people can't just shut the F--- UP! By now we all know that the slightest thing said regarding Obama is going to be blown out of porportion. I was glad to see Chris Matthews this morning on Morning Joe dismiss this even though the woman kept trying to make something out of it.He was exactly right in saying the story of the day is still Scott McClellan period! Quite frankly the pastor issue is a wash, everytime they bring up an Obama pastor they should mention McCains.

[NKC]

It definately was not wise for Pfleger to make these statements given the heat of the moment in this presidential race. A wise man (or woman) knows that the media is looking for a distracting story to salivate over.

I volunteer for the Obama campaign in my hometown. The major theme from the campaign headquarters is RECONCILIATION with Clinton supporters. They are asking us to be cordial in our conversations and blogs. I too have spewed venomous political comments.

This is (was) a heated race and Clinton supporters are pretty ticked off right now. At this moment, the last thing that the democratic party needs is a continual divide. I hope Mrs. Clinton herself will soon adopt this theme, but that's another story. At any rate, if you're an Obama supporter and truly want to see a democrat win the White House, be mindful of what you write and say in your internet blogs and your political discussions with Clinton supporters. The stakes are too high and we all have to engage in positive political action if we want yeild the results that we hope for.

[Wright]

Hi Roland

Father Flager and Trinity are doing exactly what the media are doing to them.
Using the media to make money. Like I told you before, whenever you ask yourself "why did they do that" it's to make money. That clip is the biggest infomercial on the television this week. The End Game in today's world is making money. Examples: War in Iraq, 9/11 (Insurance Money), War On Terror, Polygamy, Oil & Gas, Housing, Scott McClellans book and running for president of the united states.

[HUGgy bear, GOD's Leading Lady]

Let THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH PREVAIL over the spirit of ERROR.

"To every thing there is a season, and a TIME to every purpose under the heaven." It is TIME for this wicked 'CULTURE Of DECEPTION' to come down. By the grace of GOD ALMIGHTY it will soon come crashing down, and great will be the fall of it.

Roland: Can you honestly say that you cannot spiritually see what is happening?

Too bad everybody (including the so-called "Black Church") is trying to keep their "job"; trusting in the 'DOLLAR'. May the GOOD Lord give all of us the strength it takes to be on the side of TRUTH in these evil days. Amen.

[Jocelyn]

To all church leaders everywhere, the pulpit is a Holy place. Use it for Holy teaching. For this you will answer to God. If you are lax in your teaching you don't belong in the pulpit. My next point, Senator Obama is not responsible for this man. Next Clinton does not have to apologize for her racist remarks, her coded RFK remarks, Bill's racist remarks, Bill's condescending remarks, Ferraro's racist remarks, Ferraro's sexist remarks, Rendell's racist remarks, or her underhanded remarks toward Future Democratic Nominee Barack Obama. So, Clinton kiss Obama's grits. God bless Obama. OBAMA 08!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Frazier]

i AM TIRED OF THE MEDIA BLOWING THINGS OUT OF PORPORTION OR LOOKING FOR SOMETHING THEY CALL "BREAKING NEWS". WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME OBAMA ATTENDED THE CHURCH? OBAMA CAN NOT CONTROL WHAT OTHERS SAY OR DO SO WHY BLAME HIM. THE PULPIT IS TO BE USED FOR GOD'S GLORY NOT MANS.

[HUGgy bear, GOD's Leading Lady]

Jocelyn:
May GOD ALMIGHTY bring down every pulpit that has been and is being used to keep 'The People Of GOD ALMIGHTY' in BONDAGE. In the name of CHRIST Jesus I pray. Amen.

[Michael7]

Roland,

I concur with your statements on this matter.

I too saw Morning Joe when Chris Matthews was on and agree with him when he asked Mika, "What is the story here?" With a war going on, high gas prices, people out of work, a mounting foreclosure crisis, the Scott McClellan book and the meeting of the DNC tomorrow on the Florida and Michigan debacle; this is the lead story of the day? Really!!!?

The timing of this video is too coincidental for me, coming two days before the DNC meets about Florida and Michigan, with thousands of Hillary supporters coming to DC to support the failed campaign of their nominee. These folks are hoping to somehow change the rules their nominee agreed on in the beginning of the race to now favor their nominee so she can overturn the votes of the people in the states who voted for Sen. Obama to be the Dems nominee.

These people have fallen for the oakey doke that Sen. Clinton has told them about the people of Michigan & Florida being disenfranchised, even when Sen. Clinton herself has said the votes in those states should not count. I guess in the mind of Sen. Clinton the rules only count when they are in your favor.

Pastor Moss, the new pastor of Trinity Church, may want to take a look at the sermon of the next pastor(s)(as well as his own)sermons BEFORE they get up in the pulpit to preach in order to avoid this kind of mess that taints Sen. Obama directly or indirectly. Pastor Moss needs to understand that this church is under the media microscope and whatever goes on there will be played across the nation in an attempt to damage Sen. Obama. Pastor Moss can preach against the war, rising gas prices, social injustice, etc; just make sure that whatever he says cannot be miscontrued negatively against Sen. Obama. Because we know that there will be people who are planted as "moles" in the congregation with all manner of recording devices whose sole purpose is to record a sermon that will be harmful to Sen. Obama's chances of winning the nomination and the presidency.

There is a bigger purpose at stake here, so now is not the time to derail it.

[Jiv]

Let the Clintons say and do whatever they must, there are 5 days left for their complete demise:

1) Saturday, May 24

2) Sunday May 25

3) Monday May 26

4) Tuesday May 27

5) Wednesday May 28

I will be counting down the days from today until Wednesday.

[Jiv]

Sorry, here are the right dates left for the sore losers
===================================================

FIVE DAYS TO THE END OF THE CLINTONS

Let the Clintons say and do whatever they must, there are 5 days left for their complete demise:

1) Saturday, May 30

2) Sunday May 31

3) Monday June 1

4) Tuesday June 2

5) Wednesday June 3

I will be counting down the days from today until Wednesday.

[Jiv]

Sorry, here are the right dates left for the sore losers

=========================================

FIVE DAYS TO THE END OF THE CLINTONS

Let the Clintons say and do whatever they must, there are 5 days left for their complete demise:

1) Saturday, May 31

2) Sunday June 1

3) Monday June 2

4) Tuesday June 3

5) Wednesday June 4

I will be counting down the days from today until Wednesday.

[kpm]

Have you seen this latest Ferraro outrage in the Boston Globe? http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2008/05/30/healing_the_wounds_of_democrats_sexism/

It's clear the HillBilly campaign is doing whatever it can to stoke the ire of women and white men as a last ditch effort to create a race- and gender-war within the Democratic Party and steal the nomination.

It's also disturbing that the Globe allowed this political has-been to abuse its platform to grab the spotlight she so obviously misses after having been relegated to the sidelines for so long.

Dean, Pelosi, and Reid: Get some backbone and close down the HillBilly campaign before it ruins the Democratic party!

[onlythetruth]

LOL - that sounded like a skit from Saturday Night Live. Personally I'm sick and tired of Hillary crying as if someone has stolen the primary from her. Hillary basically wants the DNC to change the rules just so that she can.

If that's not elitist I don't know what is.

This is not another pastor problem. This is a white person finally telling the truth. And what better way to get the truth out than to go to Trinity Church.

[Jiv]

Here is the end of Ferraro's article:

"Whom he chooses for his vice president makes no difference to them. That he is pro-choice means little. Learning more about his bio doesn't do it. They don't identify with someone who has gone to Columbia and Harvard Law School and is married to a Princeton-Harvard Law graduate. His experience with an educated single mother and being raised by middle class grandparents is not something they can empathize with. They may lack a formal higher education, but they're not stupid. What they're waiting for is assurance that an Obama administration won't leave them behind.

Hope, change, and inspiration don't do it. A speech on racism might persuade editorial boards, but to these voters it's "just words." Obama has less than six months to make the case."

Turn around everything she said about Obama's education, single mother, grandparents etc and apply them to Hillary. If Hillary had these qualities and other outstanding qualities, why then did she NOT win since she also has the name recognition added to these things? Ferraro is not only a racist, her mind shows that she is also dumb. No wonder she did not contribute anything to Mandel's ticket.

Now, look at her concluding words:

"Hope, change, and inspiration don't do it. A speech on racism might persuade editorial boards, but to these voters it's "just words." Obama has less than six months to make the case."

If hope, change, and inspiration are not important to the voters, why then did Hillary lose miserably? Whey then did Hillary lose with her race-baiting and lies and bad management skills? Did Ferraro forget that Hillary is $25 million dollars in debt because of her lack of experience in managing money? Did Ferraro forget that Hillary's campaign was full of in-fighting and disarray? Did Ferraro forget that Hillary has a brand name popular to every person in the world?

Obama's has less than six months to go, but why does this concern her now? Is she saying, "yes, we for'ked Obama and delayed his egneral elections so that he can lose to McShame?" If this is what Ferraro is asking then, we say to her, "Go home and die, because Obama does not need racists and idiots like you to help him in winning the general election"

[Carolyn]

Hannity,Fox tv,Limbaugh etc are going to play this continuously because the issues brought up by Mccleen, the suicides by soldiers, and the war will not be mentioned on their shows. Why would anyone bring attention to a church, that is watched more than any other? And at a time that is crucial to obama.I believe this Priest knew what he was doing. Now is the time for foolish to stop. Obama is at the finish line. Pray everyone we all have something at stake.

[Nola]

I think that the G. Ferraro speech is more disturbing than what this priest had to say. I have been saying the same thing - that Hillary feels that she is entitle to this position - an now that she has lost she is crying and blaming everyone else for her poor performance. It is getting on my last nerve that some women cannot accept the fact that this woman did not work very hard initially because, she believe she was going to be the next president and then when she looked around this man (Obama) had out organized, raised more funds, and drew more people, had earned the right to be the Dem candidate for president. The bottom line is that for years we have been told that if we wants something - we have to work harder(200%)and never have an attitude - Senator Obama has worked very hard, very smart, and has always been respectful of Hillary.

[Jiv]

I will NEVER lose any sleep in the next five days. Simply sit back and enjoy how Bill and Hillary make a complete fool of themselves. This is America, not a banana republic. Americans are smarter than you think and believe!!!
=====================================================

Clinton faces new pressure on 2 fronts
Top party officials want her to bow out soon, and campaign insiders are losing faith in her strategy.

By Peter Nicholas and Janet Hook, Los Angeles Times Staff Writers
May 30, 2008

WASHINGTON -- Hillary Rodham Clinton is coming under growing pressure from Democratic Party leaders and elected officials to quit the race, while some of her own supporters seem reluctant to rally behind her strategy for salvaging her presidential ambitions.

Intervening in the primary fight, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi are sending public and private messages to superdelegates urging them to make a choice once primary voting ends Tuesday.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-dems30-2008may30,0,3769001.story

[PJay]

This was very entertaining. I got a good chuckle from it.
He happens to be right on.

I agree with Carolyn that this is being played ad nauseum on faux to take the attention off the REAL stuff that doesn't bode too well for their regime for whom they are spokespeople.

[Jiv]

Some people have a very short memory. What is the difference between the pastor's words and the words of Richardson of New Mexico?

Richardson said that the Clintons have the feeling of entitlement and this is why they call people names when people make informed decision about whom to support.

One difference here is that the Pastor says that Hillary was crying because of this feeling of entitlement. This is also true - she cried because Obama was beating her handsdown. Ferraro cried "affirmative action and sexism"

Another difference here is that many white people feel the same entitlement spirit. This is also true. Simply look at the attitude of many women and men in politics. They feel like blacks should only vote, not run for the presidency. Why do you think Bill said, "The other black candidate" and "Fairy" while talking about Obama in SC and NH?

Look, face the truth - Hillary has been in politics for more than 35 years. She has participated in more than 15 important elections for governor, Senate, and presidency. She had more experience than Obama in conducting campaigns.

YET, she has been EXPOSED AS INCOMPETENT AND WOEFULLY INADEQUATE WHEN COMPARED TO HOW OBAMA MANAGED HIS CAMPAIGN. THIS SHOULD INFORM YOU ABOUT WHAT IS WRONG WITH HOW THIS NATION IS MANAGED - WHY AMERICA IS IN IRAQ, WHY THE ECONOMY IS GOING DOWN, AND WHY YOU PAY $4 PER GALLON FOR GAS. IT'S ALL CONNECTED TO LEADERSHIP QUALITY.

[Jiv]

Clinton falls behind Obama in state, poll says
Carla Marinucci, Chronicle Political Writer
Friday, May 30, 2008

A new poll of California voters appears to undercut Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's argument that she is the stronger presidential candidate in big states, showing that her long-standing support in the nation's most populous state has eroded among Democrats - and even women.

The latest Field Poll shows that Illinois Sen. Barack Obama - who lost the Feb. 5 California primary to Clinton by nine points - is now preferred as the party nominee by a landslide 51 to 38 percent among the state's Democrats, according to a poll of 914 likely party voters taken May 16-27.

And in a head-to-head contest with presumed GOP nominee Sen. John McCain of Arizona, Obama does as well as Clinton, both of them beating the Republican by 17 points among a cross section of voters likely to cast ballots in November. Obama also leads McCain 59 to 24 percent among critical decline-to-state or independent voters, who make up 20 percent of the California electorate, the poll showed.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/05/29/PLQE1100CC.DTL&type=politics

[Jiv]

Issues, please!!!!!!!
===========================

Veterans 'quarter of US homeless'
8 November 2007

The report calls for more support for military veterans
One in four homeless people in the US is a military veteran, even though veterans make up only 11% of the adult population, a report has found.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7085081.stm

==================

US veterans sue over 'poor care'
Monday, 21 April 2008

US veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are suing the government, claiming inadequate care is leading to an increase in suicides.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7357909.stm

==================================

US army suicides at record level
Friday, 30 May 2008

The US army has said the number of suicides in the military last year was the highest since records began, with 115 recorded.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7426875.stm

[nic]

The problem seems obvious to me. Christian ministers are simply running out of things to talk about. Rather than using Sunday afternoons to practice their religion, they want to talk about sociology, politics, history, etc.
It's not their fault, it's a natural result of the fact that Christianity has very little to offer people in the way of spiritual development...it doesn't teach people how to deal with anger, only that Jesus loves anger...it is by nature, a divisive and destructive ideology that does nothing to improve societies on any aggregate scale. Though it supposedly helps a few people feel a sense of "salvation" (like our President), it offers, in my opinion, a childish, irrational and illogical way of looking at the world, and not much more.

That being said...I have to say, here for the first time, that I completely agree with everything I've heard from Rev. Wright, and now Father Pfleger. I guess I just haven't heard either of them espouse Christianity yet...and yes, I know it offends people, and upsets others for the damage done to Obama's campaign, but...can you blame them for speaking the truth?

"If my thoughts & dreams could be seen, they'd probably put my head in a guillotine" --Bob Dylan

[Pamela]

It's time for the media to stop focusing on the comments of people who do not speak for the Obama campaign...it is old, tired and annoying!

If the media wants to focus on comments...focus on the divisive comments that have come directly from Hillary Clinton's mouth instead of trying to excuse her for them.

We all know that she prays for the Obama campaign to implode (it won't) by any means necessary and yet she keeps getting a pass on what she actually says!

She means everything that she says and makes a point of choosing her words very carefully so that she has an out by giving a meaningless apology.

Obama raised the bar in this race from the very beginning knowing that he needed to offer the American people more than the same ol' tired political BS...Hillary didn't!

Barack Obama will be the next President of the United States!