The Faux Michael Pfleger Flak: A Commentary
Within minutes of publishing the video of Michael Pfleger mocking Hillary Clinton for crying on the campaign trail earlier this year, we received endless comments.
The responses ranged from comparing Barack Obama to the devil (citing Satan’s deception in the Garden of Eden) to focusing on the role of religion in politics. We appreciate all points of view and encourage them across our site.
With that in mind, this writer would like to chime in:
It’s fair to consider those with whom Obama surrounds himself. But voters that are quick to judge the candidate based on words do not leave his mouth need to step back and ask themselves a vital question:
How will this affect Barack Obama as President of the United States?
Respond to Michael Pfleger’s remarks on Hillary Clinton however you please; then, ask yourself how they’d practically affect Barack Obama as president.
With a mocking tone that runs counter to the unity themes preached by Obama throughout this campaign, Pfleger acted irresponsibly.
It’s impossible to fathom what he thought he was accomplishing by even bringing up Hillary Clinton’s tears during a sermon.
So it’s fair to criticize the priest, but it’s equally irresponsible of voters to not consider follow-up questions such as:
- Does Barack Obama’s association with men such as Jeremiah Wright and Pfleger have any practical impact on his presidency?
- Do words - again, not even said by the candidate himself - affect the economy?
- What about the war in Iraq?
The point, I hope, is obvious:
As Obama himself admitted in his ground-breaking speech on race, it’s important to raise issues and to ask questions. Let’s keep a dialogue going.
But let’s also not lose sight of the bigger issues facing the country, issues that are responsible for thousands of troops dying and millions of people losing their homes. No matter what you think of Michael Pfleger’s remarks, I challenge anyone to tell me how they affect those who cannot pay their mortgage.
Isn’t that what this election should be about? What it has to be about?
There’s one more point to be made, regarding the practical implications of what priests say…
John McCain was recently forced to back away from the endorsement of John Hagee, after the preacher said that Hitler was sent by God to force the Jews to flee to Israel.
Just as I won’t judge Obama for anything his spiritual advisors have said, I certainly won’t presume that McCain shares this distorted view. But it is worth nothing just how McCain picked up Hagee’s endorsement to begin with.
He sought it out. Because McCain is aware he must capture the conservative base of Evangelical Christians, he has made a point to call upon those in this field to support his campaign. The problem? He hasn’t even bothered to run a Google search on them.
Isn’t this an issue that deserves more examination? No rational person out there can think that Obama believes in Wright’s “God damn America” rhetoric, nor can he/she believe that McCain is anti-semitic. But we can listen to Obama explain his association with this pastor in a thoughtful, realistic manner, as he did with the aforementioned speech on race.
Compare this to the transparent actions of McCain, those that are entirely politically-based. He seeks out a pastor - any pastor, apparently - for an endorsement; then, he rejects him as soon as he utters words of hate. For all the talk of those who claim they don’t know where Obama stands, isn’t it time we asked the same of John McCain?
The obvious conclusion to all of this is that religion should be as far away from politics as Britney Spears should be from her children. But that’s a commentary for another day.
NATIONAL
May 30th, 2008 at 11:50 am
I am thankful that Barack Obama has denounced this “other” paster for taking the same road that Mr. Wright took. Also, I am glad that McCain decided to denounce his own as well for the same reason. But I can’t help but think what was going through McCain’s thick head for seeking an endorsement from a paster that insulted the Jews. I mean, it’s one thing for a black community to criticize certain white people because of the dark history of slavery and lynching in America, but it’s another to criticize a religeous community that has suffered thousands of years of slavery and even a hallucaust. In that case, I state my question: Was McCain even using his brain when looking for endorsements from Pasters? Obama and Clinton never took endorsements from pasters.
Speaking of Clinton, I’m surprised about her reaction to Obama’s rejection of Pfleger. Obama made it clear that he won’t support any views that are counter to his messages of unity and change and that the comments from the Paster are unacceptable, yet Clinton responded by thinking that Obama hasn’t denoucned Mr. Pfleger [I guess she didn't get the memo]. This is why I hate Clinton more and more. It sounds like she’s trying to deceive her supporters. In that case, it won’t work for her because Mr. Pfleger will be tossed into the recycling bin just like Obama did with Mr. Wright.
May 30th, 2008 at 11:59 am
Hillary will play into the emotion of this just to keep her political aspirations afloat. If Hillary came out and said “I know Obama does not agree with Pfleger and I am not upset by his comments,” she would do a lot of good not just for the Democrats but for her own political future. It would be simple and corageous and help with party unity.
May 30th, 2008 at 12:26 pm
This is really funny.
If somebody would dare speake this way about Mr. Obama it will be
stormy weather, but apparently you can talk about Hillary and then apologize and Mr. Obama comes out like the good guy thAt has had the misfortune to surround himself by crazy friends.
what it is iteresting here is the fact that he has done this for more than twenty years and that did not bother him until he decided to run for the white house, so now those friends are not good any longer and I wonder why is that?
May 30th, 2008 at 12:30 pm
OMG…..
What is wrong with all you Obama supporters????? I assimilate Obama’s affiliation with Trinity Church of Christ, its leaders and doctrine as if Hillary had affiliation to a church with a large congregation of todays nonviolent KKK members. Its the same difference…what would happen to Hillary is exactly what should be happening to Obama!!!! It is reverse RACISM!!!!!
May 30th, 2008 at 1:07 pm
What saddens me is how Clinton supporters are going to vote for McCain if she is not the nominee. What a small minded view that is! I am an African American woman and based on alot of conversations I had had with other blacks, if they give Clinton the nominee, she WON’T win in November because many blacks will stay home. Regardless of what anyone thinks, no democrat can win the general election without the black vote. I have attend church regularly since I can remember and pastors comment alot about politics. It doesn’t mean they speak for me. All of the major black issues in this country were addressed in churches since the sixties because we couldn’t organize anywhere else. To link a pastor’s comments to a specific person means that you do not understand the black church experience. Our churches are bigger than the person standing in front on Sundays. We don’t go around church hopping because someone said something we don’t agree with. I reallly wish those leaving un-informed comments spend a couple of Sundays going to a black church. You will truly change your perspective. If you are not willing to do that then you have no right to comment. Just my opinion.
May 30th, 2008 at 3:00 pm
What “saddens” me is that Obama’s supporters think we should not question him. Just blindly follow and ignore what the people he has as spiritual advisors say and do, don’t draw any conclusions from anything you hear about this unknown man regarding his character.
Obama chooses to attend this church that is extremely hateful. Five days after 9/11 J. Wright gave his sermon. They were still picking through the wreckage in NY hoping for survivors. Now during this campaign this nut job from Chicago who has preached at this church before makes a truly racist and devisive sermon. When you look at all of the comments Obama has made “after a hard day”, his wife accidentally let slip, J. Wright and Father Mike’s sermons you begin to see a pattern.
This man chooses to belong to this church. The fact that he had his daughters baptised in this church means he is promising to let them be raised in this church. The reaction of the people sitting in the pews standing up and clapping in agreement with racist language tells us everything we need to know. I don’t buy the apology, the fact that Obama isn’t influenced by these people, that this is a black church experience I don’t understand, or anything else that is being spun here. Do you actually think the black community has the market cornered on pain and suffering. How good do you think the immigrants had it?
I am a DEMOCRAT and Obama is not getting my vote because I won’t vote for a man who I feel does not represent me and may even hate me. You want to threaten Black people staying home well here’s a little of your own back. I will stay home. White people will stay home or maybe some will even vote against the candidate we have been waiting eight years to run. This is “uniting” people? Are you effing kidding me? This is the “change we can believe in?” I know I don’t.
May 30th, 2008 at 4:35 pm
Please, Obama supporters [and I am proud to be one!...]: stop damaging our cause with scurrilous, thoughtless remarks!
May 30th, 2008 at 8:27 pm
Whatever the case may be, there is no crying in politics. Hillary showed weakness when she cried and there is no taking that back. The way Obama has been attacked over the past months, shouldn’t he be the one who is crying? Has he? No. I do not want a president who cries at the drop of a hat. We have villans out there who want us dead to deal with and they would just laugh at her and attack us if she was the commander-in-chief. Go home and take care of Bill for a change and wait for Chelshea to get married and give you some grandbabies.
May 31st, 2008 at 1:25 am
The only issue I have with this pastor thing is that if it was somebody associated with Hillary Clinton, the media would have attacked her and called her all kinds of names and said she was heartless, but all Obama has to do is say oops I denounce that and all the priest has to do is apologize. Now, I don’t necessarily believe the media is biased one way or the other, but let’s not fool ourselves. If Hillary had done the same thing, people would crucify her. I hear people where I live calling Obama the next Messiah for this country, and I have to admit, it freaks me out a little bit. I think Obama could probably say anything he wanted to at this point, because he is the golden child that can do no wrong. We’ve already seen that with the fact that every criticism anybody ever makes about him gets turned into they’re racist and uneducated, and don’t want hope or change in this country. I want hope and change in this country, and I’m a college educated person, but I just can’t handle the way that Obama supporters have demonized Hillary Clinton. As an undecided voter, it’s not necessarily the best thing for the presumptive nominee’s supporters to make fun of the other candidate, because like or not, he needs her supporters to win in the fall. Making fun of them and calling them stupid isn’t going to make them want to vote for Obama. He might not say those words, and neither might the priest, but sometimes who you are affiliated can have an effect on your judgment in certain situations. I don’t think it’s small minded to vote for McCain over Obama for the simple reason that if I was a Clinton supporter, and was made fun of by Obama supporters as much as they are made fun of, I wouldn’t want to vote for that candidate either.
May 31st, 2008 at 3:39 am
In the movie the God Father, anytime anything bad happened he never was around. He always apologized. but who gave the ordered . The people in the church once again laugh And said aman they thought that was a Jesus Christ sprit filled message my my my. If Senator Obama becomes president look what we have to look forward to. The cabnet member called Hater, hate thats what thay do. Poision,poision words comming from the hate and Blame not my fault I was not there, I didnt vote. He has one of the worse voting record in the US Senate I dare an Obama supporters to check. count his no votes It doesnt look much like a positive change into the oval office. Wonder who else is going to crawl out from under a rock that is for him. There are far better AA people that are qualified to be President and people want to rush to this person. This is If there needs to be a AA hero/ leader Why not reach for the best. Why settle? Why not be your own hero?