misquotes I'm reading about Rev. Wright around the internet. I guess I shouldn't be surprised.

It's a simple concept. How can Americans or any country for that matter when they government does uspeakable things without provacation over and over again not expect it to come back into there back yard. "the chickens coming home to roost" That is what Rev. Wright meant. A simple concept that everyone knows is true, but simply refuse to acknowledge. That is somethng I learned as a child.

Rev. Wright said some serious truths, and because the media tried to create some non-exitant crap, everyone is regurgitatiing the same nonsense.

The media took sound bites (out of context)from years ago (I guess they couldn't find anything else) and created controversy.

Now eveyrone is calling him a wacko and racist. A man who started educational programs for young children, made it a point to be inclusive in his church with people  with Aids. WTH.

The media is a nasty piece of machinary. we all know that. I saw Fox show Rev. Wright dancing at the NAACP, implying with again their stupid sounbite, that "look how wacko this man is", but they refuse to show IT IN THE CONTEXT OF HIS SPEECH.

i'm actually  surprised at the comments here.

People can feel free to judge me based on 20 year personal relationships.

I totally think Sen. McCain should be questioned about his association with Pastor Hagee. However, Sen. McCain does not have a personal long standing relationship with Mr. Hagee.

And try as you might to make this a racial issue it has nothing to do with race (except for the portion Rev. Wright is drawing in himself). This has to do with the personal association of a presidential candidate with a vain lunatic.

And gays are crazy if they attend an anti-gay church. I already consider them suspect because they fell for the whole fairytale to begin with.

American politics is well-versed in the double standard, especially when it comes to matters of race.

Unfortunately, the gay community is familiar with it as well.

I don't know that I've studied many reports on Wright's opinions, right or wrong. But I haven't disagreed with anything I've heard so far. I'd be compelled to believe that Obama is aligned to his opinions as well. I can see how those opinions would inflame many of Obama's white supporters.

"We all know people and I'm quite sure that some of these people have done or said things that we might not agree with but that doesn't change the fact that we know them." That's the 'crazy uncle" analogy. But does your crazy uncle baptize your kids. Is your crazy uncle your mentor and spiritual advisor while at the same time a vocal political commentator?

Obama would have distanced himself from Wright from day one of his campaign If Wright is the crazy uncle. Most politicians don't bring their Misters or their pope into their campaigns (African American Religious Leadership Committee). I can't shake the feeling that his association with Wright has more to do with Obama being mixed-race and needing 'Black" cred to get elected in Illinois. Wright has 'black Liberation' cred, something Obama doesn't want to associate with as a Presidential candidate. I just feel like if Obama gets elected, he still won't be as black as Pres. Clinton.

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Don't mind him.  Some people are just hell bent at hating Obama.  Have you read previous threads re: Obama & Clinton?  Some of the "rationale" some posters have used to justify their dislike of Obama & support for Clinton are f'ing nuts.

The answer is no...I don't believe they never talked politics. When you are considering a run for the highest office in the land I'm sure you seek guidance from the important people in your life. I don't believe that Rev. Wright and Sen. Obama never discussed politics.

I do consider it important to know who a candidate associates with. I wouldn't vote for a person who is a member of the KKK or associates with the organization. I wouldn't vote for a person who supports or associates with Fred Phelps. I wouldn't vote for a person who is a current/former employee of the oil industry.

For the record John McCain has said he disagrees with Pastor Hagee's comments on gays. Comments that Hagee has since retracted...an action that is also nothing more than political maneuvering.

Then I'm naive. Because if it's all about race then I wonder why the black church community is rallying around Sen. Obama and not protecting their own.

You should research your info a little better.

The "fellowship" is a conservative prayer group that Hillary attends so she can network with the Republicans on their turf.

BTW...Sen. Obama is also a member of "the Fellowship".

And you guys can't have it both ways...before he was known for his outspoken and brash style of preaching...it's "how they do it" in black churches.

Now all this stuff is a total shock.

Right...okay.

First, Sen. Obama is not my first choice...but I will vote for him. I never said I wouldn't vote for him.

Second, Sen. Clinton's pastor is not pro-Hitler.

Third, Association, by my definition, is a relationship with the person. Sen. Obama and Sen. Clinton attending a prayer meeting for the purposes of doing business means nothing to me. At the end of the day they have to deal with all sorts of people who I don't agree with. However...the people that they choose to associate themselves with in their personal lives directly reflects who they are as people.

One of the main reasons that it's good to know these things, especially about Sen. Obama, is that he's a big unknown. Sen. McCain and Sen. Clinton have a long history in the public eye. More than anything the Rev. Wright situation has shown that Sen. Obama is really just a typical politician. He played the political damage control script to the letter the past few days. Just like any other politican would.

Let me start off by saying I don't dispute anything you said - Byrd's KKK membership, leadership, or the fact he seems to get away with a lot of things I find deplorable. I find it truly amazing that with his history, he is regarded as the distinguished elder statesman in the Senate. I even find it stunning that he stands on the floor of the U.S. Senate and reads the Bible at times to make his point - I don't really think Bible passages belong in the congressional record, I think it violates the Constitution.

I also grew up in West Virginia, Byrd's state. Moreso, I grew up 2 miles from his hometown of Sophia. This is a small town, coal country, blue collar. Race still divides there. I can't imagine how it divided 80+ years ago when he grew up there, it was...awkward for me growing up there, hearing some of the racial things.

We're talking about an area that even when my parents grew up, was oddly structured and controlled: 5 miles further from Sophia, is Slab Fork, where my mom grew up - named for the Slab Fork Coal Company, which owned the town. Sole employer. Owned the schools, one for whites, one for blacks. Paid the employees 80% in company script, spendable only in the company store. Mine Superintendant ruled the mine and the town as a super-mayor. Mine workers were all-but-owned - you didn't quit, because then you lost your house, since the company owned it. You didn't complain about the appalling safety in the mines, the hours, anything, because being labelled as a troublemaker got you fired, and kicked out of your home.

I'm hardly defending his past - but his was a unique world to grow up in. He is a product of his environment. He's also changed over time, grown, repudiated some highly distasteful, hateful things in his past. He's loved in the state of WV because he's King of Pork, he earmarks more federal money for the state than anyone he could be replaced with, he's the senior Senator, he gets the choicest committee charimanships. He's a master of every procedure and rule the Senate has to move or derail legistlation. He'll never leave office for anything his said or did because he's too valuable to the people of the state as an advocate.

I met him several times when I was in school - He brought school group I was in a book on Russia the day after returning from delivering the approved SART treaty for Reagan to sign. I do know him to be intelligent and thoughtful, and a fundamentally good person.

All that said, I'm not convinced that Wright isn't a good person - his actions with outreach programs and his church speak to that. I think the media has run amuck, and I don't think it's really relevant to Obama's candidacy. People belong to church for a lot of different reasons, fellowship, community, outreach programs, family, music. Sermons may, in fact, be the least interesting thing (to me, anyhow) about Church. An I think lately, maybe he's striving for, well, for lack of a better word, a bigger pulpit, or maybe he's being manipulated by other political forces. I doubt it's all as simple as the talking heads want to make it for us, or as sensational.