Thoughts on Obama and Wright

Let's be clear, there are any number of Rabbis whose services I attend, but I've yet to see a problem that I really needed to go to them for, because I think that Rabbi Hillel's distillation of Torah while standing on one foot ^* pretty much covers the situations that I've encountered.

I like most of the Rabbis I've met. But I disagree with some of the things that they believe^†.

In terms of what Wright's opinions mean about Barack Obama, the answer is that it means very little. It is only among the Christofascists who expect parishioners to act in lock step with their pastor.

That being said, the assault by the right wing on this is not swift boating. It's Willie Horton.

Truth be told, swift boating was far more benign than Willie Horton.

The purpose of swift boating was to attack Kerry on his (only) strength as a candidate. The purpose of Willie Horton was to create an association Michael Dukkakis and a violent black criminal. It's goal was to make him a black rapist.

Obama's problem as a candidate, largely as a result of his skin color, is that he cannot be an angry candidate, because America fears the "Angry Black Man", and Wright is an explicit attempt to make him into such.

It's unfair. It has very little to do with the facts. The only thing that is important is if/how Obama puts this issue to bed.

^*You can see the story here. The end state is that Hillel said, ""You want to learn a great deal quickly, don't you? Very well, I shall teach you the Torah while you stand on one foot. This is our Holy Torah: 'What is hateful to you, do not do unto others.'"
^†They have almost all been way too hawkish on Israel, even though I consider myself an Israel hawk.