The minister of hate

NY Post Editorial:

Which of these outrageous positions of his pastor and longtime spiritual advisor, Rev. Jeremiah Wright, does Barack Obama endorse?

That African-Americans should not say "God Bless America," but rather "God damn America" for "killing innocent people"?

That 9/11 was a case of "America's chickens coming home to roost"?

That Zionism has an element of "white racism"?

The one implied by his decision to make a pilgrimage to Libyan dictator Moammar Khadafy with Louis Farrakhan - a man Wright's church has hailed for having "truly epitomized greatness"?

These are not idle questions. And certainly not unfair ones.

Just two weeks ago, the Democratic National Committee put out a press release asking the same kind of questions of John McCain, the presumptive GOP presidential nominee.

The attack concerned Rev. John Hagee, a leading televangelist who endorsed McCain's candidacy; the DNC demanded that McCain renounce Hagee's support because of the minister's past anti-Catholic and anti-Muslim remarks.

Noting McCain's statement that he was "not endorsing some of [Hagee's] positions, the DNC asked: "Which Hagee positions does McCain endorse?"

Well, right back at 'em.

Hagee, it should be noted, has merely announced his support for McCain, with whom he's had no longstanding relationship.

...

Ronald Kessler at the Wall Street Journal has more on the irreverent Wright.

In a sermon delivered at Howard University, Barack Obama's longtime minister, friend and adviser blamed America for starting the AIDS virus, training professional killers, importing drugs and creating a racist society that would never elect a black candidate president.

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"We've got more black men in prison than there are in college," he began. "Racism is alive and well. Racism is how this country was founded and how this country is still run. No black man will ever be considered for president, no matter how hard you run Jesse [Jackson] and no black woman can ever be considered for anything outside what she can give with her body."

Mr. Wright thundered on: "America is still the No. 1 killer in the world. . . . We are deeply involved in the importing of drugs, the exporting of guns, and the training of professional killers . . . We bombed Cambodia, Iraq and Nicaragua, killing women and children while trying to get public opinion turned against Castro and Ghadhafi . . . We put [Nelson] Mandela in prison and supported apartheid the whole 27 years he was there. We believe in white supremacy and black inferiority and believe it more than we believe in God."

His voice rising, Mr. Wright said, "We supported Zionism shamelessly while ignoring the Palestinians and branding anybody who spoke out against it as being anti-Semitic. . . . We care nothing about human life if the end justifies the means. . . ."

Concluding, Mr. Wright said: "We started the AIDS virus . . . We are only able to maintain our level of living by making sure that Third World people live in grinding poverty. . . ."

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I may know some people this ignorant, but I certainly have not listen to them preach this kind of hate for 20 years. Gateway Pundit notes that Obama gave $22,500 to Wright's church in 2006. It should be noted that despite the title of his congregation it is not affiliated with the churches of Christ. Now that Howard Dean has set the standard on disavowal of preacher statements it will be interesting to see how many of Wright's statements Obama is willing to stand by.

It should be noted that Sean Hannity has been a voice in the wilderness on this subject for months. It appears that with the ABC News report in the mainstream media the statements have finally gained traction. Wright clearly has his followers. One of them called Rush Limbaugh yesterday and asked him which of Wright's statements were untrue. If he had to ask the question, it suggest that he is not intelligent enough to comprehend a response.