The American Spectator

Richard L.A. Schaefer br> Dubuque, Iowa /p> p> Mr. Homnick misses the main point of the Rev. Wright controversy. Few informed people, be they of the left or right contingent believe that Mr. Obama shares the views of this extreme cartoon character. However, many feel that for twenty years, Obama used the Rev. Wright and his church to build his political machine in South Chicago and now his disgust for this low-level pastor is evident. We also feel that in the same manner he is now using the media and the American public as he claws his way to money and power. One gets the feeling from his remarks that he and Michelle do not like most of the great unwashed Americans, be they white or black. It is becoming more apparent that he is just another politician, albeit smoother and more clever than most in contorting to the masses expectations. br> — Bill Cramer br> Arlington, Texas /p>

Jay Homnick’s point, that he, like Barack Obama, knows “a number of people whose religious views and behaviors impress me a great deal, yet they are political fruitcakes,” misses a critical point, which he himself makes in his opening paragraph. The issue is not whether we all have friends and acquaintances who hold the occasional bizarre opinion.

The issue is what we do when they express them.

p>In citing the story of the Jewish law scholar whose students used a parable in order to restrain his asides, Mr. Homnick demonstrates a course of action that never seems to have occurred to Barack Obama, who blithely sat in his pew for over twenty years while the Reverend Wright spewed his venomous harangues. When, exactly, did he attempt to get his pastor to moderate his political rants? What parable did he use to express to Reverend Wright that perhaps the United States government did not deliberately introduce AIDS into minority communities? What story of the Bible did he read to his spiritual mentor in order to show him that America was not a terrorist state, or that God should not be damning us? When did he take a stand against the vicious slanders that his pastor shouted from the pulpit? Where is the record of Sen. Obama’s objection to these statements? Where is the video of him standing up in the pew and rebutting his pastor’s slanders of the nation? When did he walk out of the church? When did he inform the leadership that the reverend’s statements were unacceptable? When did the senator, who is known for his eloquence and passion, bring that eloquence and passion to bear in defense of his country’s reputation? That is the issue that Reverend Wright’s sermons have raised, and that is the issue that they would very much like us not to discuss. br> — Mike Harris br> MAJ, US Army /p>