Democrat Strategist Susan Estrich says in a column about Wright and Oboma:
No, the issue was never whether Obama took his message from Wright or shared the reverend’s rants. It’s always been about judgment. Judgment and character.
Why did he join that church, stay in that church, remain loyal to Wright, refuse to condemn him when his sermons became public, compare him to an uncle and even his white grandmother?
Why didn’t he follow Oprah’s lead and quit a church that was known among African-Americans in Chicago not only for its charitable work for the needy of the South Side but also for the extremist rhetoric of its charismatic pastor?
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And so the question lingers: What took so long? Why did it take the Bill Moyers interview and the NAACP speech and the National Press Club appearance for Obama to reach the conclusion that Oprah reached without any of them?
Why did he defend a man who clearly, by these recent appearances, has shown himself to have absolutely no loyalty to his former parishioner, who couldn’t be doing more to help elect John McCain president if he tried? Was he really fooled by Wright?
Did he really believe him to be a better, more decent, more honorable man than he was? Or was he afraid that black voters would be offended by his denunciation of someone who, at least initially, was advertised as a respected figure in the black church?
He joined the church and stayed a member and for twenty long years tolerated a bigot and demagogue because it was politically expedient!
(To read the rest of the column click on the title for a link)
