To make someone "suffer on account of his religious opinions or belief" is about as un-American as it gets. Obviously the GOP doesn't agree with this, the MSM doesn't agree with this, and a lot of Hillary supporters don't seem to, either.

Another reason why I support Barack Obama!

>> I thought the issue at hand was the association between a presidential candidate and a racist pastor. The issue would have been the same if Wright was a child molester.

So .... if one of the candidates was Catholic and had been a parishoner where the priest had, um, behaved inappropriately ... then that candidate, too, should be disqualified?

I grew up in a very rigid, intolerant, ugly church, attended by all of my relatives. Some of my relatives were rigid, intolerant, and ugly in their behavior and some were the kind, wise souls that all Christians should strive to be. Yet they sat in the same pews and heard the same sermons for decades and decades. Puzzling, isn't it?

Very good point, Elizabeth. If we universally applied the standards being applied to Wright and Barack, we'd have to unseat 99% of all politicians at all levels of government.

oceankat --- Actually, I totally agree with you that if a parishoner *knew* of child molestation and did nothing, they should be treated as an accessory to a crime - or worse! I was just reacting, out of exasperation, to the first post which put no such conditions on the type of 'association' that would be tainting. ---- Although, if all you knew was that a priest had been a child molester and the candidate had been a member of the congregation, how far would the public be entitled to inquire about what he knew and didn't know?? It is a question.

As to Wright's being a racist, anti-American, hate-filled minister ......... well,

--- Obama has stated that he did not hear comments such as the ones on the videotapes which he described as "more than controversial" and "profoundly distorting" and said that he would have left the church if that was a recurring tenor of the minister or the congregation. He acknowledged only hearing ones that would be considered 'controversial'

---- There are something like 270,000+ minutes of Wright sermon's on tape but only, what?, 40 seconds on the videotapes. I wonder what the rest of his work is like? (Apparently he's well-respected - so much so that I've seen reported that Bill and Hillary Clinton sought guidance from him during their time of crisis. Can't swear to the truth of that but saw it reported several places.)

------ I've found and read one other sermon by Wright which is not only non-controversial but is quite profound and moving and gives good guidance. That's the "Audacity of Hope" sermon.

--- Of the three sermons from which clips were taken for the video, one was immediately after 9/11 and the two others were in June and Dec. 2007, just before his retirement. Since none others have been brought forth, that at least raises the question of whether he might go 'over the top' only when highly emotional. I don't know. But, then, the people who are assuming that he spewed the same filth every Sunday for twenty years don't know either, do they?

Unfortunately, there are lots of people who have no interest in turning away from the seductive "distractions" that are so much fun to talk about, the ones that Obama warned against. Because in the scheme of things, what does it matter what Wright said or didn't say, and wouldn't it be better if we had a president who had friends from all walks of life and was acquainted with many different points of view? The couple of phrases that have been so overblown in the media have been condemned by Obama. The whole issue is just an excuse. It's the same thing that happened with Al Gore, now so beloved by every progressive. In 2000, I heard lots of Democrats trashing him, and holding their noses to vote for him, or voting for Nadir, because Gore looked funny in debates, or he was a nerd or a wonk or a [substitute junior high school epithet]. Now everyone wistfully wonders what the world would be like if only.... And here we are again. And there we'll be again, just like Obama warned.

Wow! If you are referring to child molesting, that is a different story. Child molesting is an unspeakable crime. The statements by pastor Wright could be ugly, and divisive, but are not crimes.

I am not saying this because I am an Obama supporter (which I am), I am saying this because I am a relatively religious person. The relationship between a person and his/her spiritual mentor is very special. None of us can claim to know Rev. Wright as Obama does, and none of us can judge the relationship between Obama and his pastor. All I can say that if he has a relationship with his pastor in which they consider each other family, he is very fortunate and I perfectly understand why he is not distancing from the man.
And nobody can judge Pastor Wright from a 30 sec video, no matter what he said in there. The fact that Mr. Obama did not run away from his Minister tells me that his faith and his relationship with his Minister is deeper than many of those phony politicians (democrats and republicans) that go to Church for a photo-op and then never again. I don't have anything against those who do not follow any Faith, but I have it against those with fake Faith. At least with this, we know Obama is not a fake in this respect.
It is interesting to watch in this respect the interview with Mike Huckabee that went on MSNBC. (You can access it from the Real Clear Politics web site) Surprisingly, coming from a conservative, he was very understanding of both Obama and even of Pastor Wright. Respect to pastor Wright, he said that even when he (MH) was not an African-America,being born and raised in the deep South he understands where pastor Wright is coming from. It is worth watching.

well, being a long term member of a fruitcake club with an often psychopathically angry, crazy, misinformed nutcase surely can't speak well of Obama. Churchgoers are idiots anyway, but man, oh, man, when i lived in a black neighborhood in NYC, my neighbors would tell me some of the crazy shit many African-Americans believe in, like the CIA created AIDS, and contraception is a conspiracy against black people, and the KKK owns Snapple, and the reparations tax exemption, etc etc. I tell you, many black people are appalling ignorant and prone to crazy conspiracy theories, and it seems to me Obama, behing his smooth veneer and tony educational pedigree, might have more in common with crazy black America than common-sense America.

MiloRad, you comment "I tell you, many black people are appalling ignorant and prone to crazy conspiracy theories, and it seems to me Obama, behing his smooth veneer and tony educational pedigree, might have more in common with crazy black America than common-sense America."

Yeah I guess ignorance i sonly in the Black community, huh? Yeah, there are no crazy wackos in the white community saying crazy things, oh wait what about that David Koresh thing must have been a black conspiracy! That entire thing in the South during the 60's with governors refusing to integrate, yeah that must have been a conspiracy too! Your comment are ignorant, however I know nothing about you so I will not call you a racist but let me say no racial group holds an advatage when it comes to ignorance we are all complicit in that category!

And by the way if you want to have a proper discourse about the subject of race in America I am more than willing to comment! By the way I am a caucasian living in the South!

Great job, astral66!

I have a question for Hillary supporters - if this infamous tape originated from her campaign, will you still support her, knowing that she plays the race card???

My guess is "Yes, we will!" I'd love to be disappointed, but this election cycle has been an eye-opener.