Text of Obama's speech today

[CCTAU 3,346]

I wish there was a really strong republican candidate who would make all of this a moot point. But this country needs to be more in the middle instead of extreme right or extreme left. And right now, achmed is extreme LEFT.

No offense, CCTAU, but would you not agree that you're pretty extreme in your views?

I disagree with probably every one of them, but I have no problem with them being out of the mainstream. All I'm saying is that I'm a little surprised to hear you advocate centrist candidates when your beliefs, or at least the ones I'm aware of, are anything but.

I like to lean toward the perceived far right at times. But if you have read all of my posts, you would see that I see many things as common sense instead of just right wing.

Take the legalization of hemp and marijuana. Never smoked it but can't for the life of me figure out why we fill up our prisons with mj smokers. Welfare. See the need for it but needs to be a working welfare. Want free money, then set up work programs like Australia. It's called being on the dole. That's not right wing, just common sense. But many would label it right wing.

Assisted suicide. All for it. If a terminal patient or and individual is living in pain, why should their only 2 choices be live with it or cause a mess when you go?

But overall I believe that everyone has a choice. If that choice leaves you in the shitter, it's not mine nor my government's responsibility to pull you out. If I so choose to help, then it's my choice. It should not be mandated. If I am right wing, then there sure as hell are a lot of us.

I just think the government should defend us, use our money wisely, and quit forcing those of us who work for a living to prop up those who do not want to. To that end the republican party is closer to those views than the socialist dim party.

[autiger4life 3]

No, but you could probably vote for a moderate Republican who has actually worked both sides of the isle rather than vote for an extremely liberal Democrat who says he can work both sides of the isle but has no experience in doing so and his voting record doesn't much support.

While I would vote for McCain before Clinton, I don't want to vote for someone that I see as another Bush. He has aligned with Bush on just about everything and I just don't want that again. Many of the things that he has reached across the aisle on were things that were not fundamental issues such as campain finace. The exception is his immigration ideas and his tax plans. However, now he has flipped on taxes back to a side that I don't think makes any sense, and once again is just a continuation of the current policy.

[arnaldoabru 11]

No, but you could probably vote for a moderate Republican who has actually worked both sides of the isle rather than vote for an extremely liberal Democrat who says he can work both sides of the isle but has no experience in doing so and his voting record doesn't much support.

While I would vote for McCain before Clinton, I don't want to vote for someone that I see as another Bush. He has aligned with Bush on just about everything and I just don't want that again. Many of the things that he has reached across the aisle on were things that were not fundamental issues such as campain finace. The exception is his immigration ideas and his tax plans. However, now he has flipped on taxes back to a side that I don't think makes any sense, and once again is just a continuation of the current policy.

What gets me about McCain,I actually was a McCain supporter when he ran against W, is this:After Bush/Rove smeared him in South Carolina he becomes all lovey dovey with Bush in order align with the right wingers for his next run.He should have punched Roves beedy little ass right on the nose.

[lukeduke 8]

I wish there was a really strong republican candidate who would make all of this a moot point. But this country needs to be more in the middle instead of extreme right or extreme left. And right now, achmed is extreme LEFT.

No offense, CCTAU, but would you not agree that you're pretty extreme in your views?

I disagree with probably every one of them, but I have no problem with them being out of the mainstream. All I'm saying is that I'm a little surprised to hear you advocate centrist candidates when your beliefs, or at least the ones I'm aware of, are anything but.

I like to lean toward the perceived far right at times. But if you have read all of my posts, you would see that I see many things as common sense instead of just right wing.

Take the legalization of hemp and marijuana. Never smoked it but can't for the life of me figure out why we fill up our prisons with mj smokers. Welfare. See the need for it but needs to be a working welfare. Want free money, then set up work programs like Australia. It's called being on the dole. That's not right wing, just common sense. But many would label it right wing.

Assisted suicide. All for it. If a terminal patient or and individual is living in pain, why should their only 2 choices be live with it or cause a mess when you go?

But overall I believe that everyone has a choice. If that choice leaves you in the shitter, it's not mine nor my government's responsibility to pull you out. If I so choose to help, then it's my choice. It should not be mandated. If I am right wing, then there sure as hell are a lot of us.

I just think the government should defend us, use our money wisely, and quit forcing those of us who work for a living to prop up those who do not want to. To that end the republican party is closer to those views than the socialist dim party.

That combined with the gun control stance in your sig gets you a standing ovation sir.

[OldNewby 27]

Another take:

OBAMA DENIALS DON'T RING TRUE

by Bob Lonsberry © 2008

Written March 19, 2008

Sorry, Barack, it doesn't wash.

Your elderly white grandmother being afraid of black men who pass her on the street is not the moral equivalent of your pastor saying that black people should pray that God will “damn America.”

Your claim that you winced when your white grandmother bought into racial stereotypes does not excuse you for spending your entire adult life in the pews of a man who claims that white people in the United States government invented AIDS to “genocide” black people.

And the fact that your genealogy is racially diverse doesn't change the fact that since you got out of college you have chosen to worship at a church which preaches black nationalism. Your family history is racially diverse, but your life choices are not.

You were in the congregation, Barack, and that wasn't an accident. It wasn't a few sporadic insane rants, it was a fundamental philosophy. We've seen your church's website, we've heard your pastor preach.

And we've heard how the congregation reacted.

More at: http://www.lonsberry.com/writings.cfm?go=4

[Auburn85 432]

I have a question. Is there just a little hypocrisy in the fact that Obama was one of if not the first politician to demand that Imus be fired for racist statements? But then Obama stands behind his pastor of twenty years? Wright didn't get in trouble and resign until it became a problem for Obama's campaign.

from April 07

http://www.abcnews.go.com/Politics/story?i...1317&page=1

Obama: Fire Imus

Obama First White House Contender to Call for Imus' Firing Over Racial Slur

By JAKE TAPPER

April 11, 2007—

In an interview with ABC News Wednesday afternoon, Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., called for the firing of talk radio host Don Imus. Obama said he would never again appear on Imus' show, which is broadcast on CBS Radio and MSNBC television.

"I understand MSNBC has suspended Mr. Imus," Obama told ABC News, "but I would also say that there's nobody on my staff who would still be working for me if they made a comment like that about anybody of any ethnic group. And I would hope that NBC ends up having that same attitude."

Obama said he appeared once on Imus' show two years ago, and "I have no intention of returning."

Racial Slur Stirs Trouble for Shock Jock

Last week, Imus referred to the Rutgers University women's basketball team, most of whom are African-American, as "nappy-headed hos." He has since apologized for his remarks, and CBS and MSNBC suspended his show for two weeks.

"He didn't just cross the line," Obama said. "He fed into some of the worst stereotypes that my two young daughters are having to deal with today in America. The notions that as young African-American women -- who I hope will be athletes -- that that somehow makes them less beautiful or less important. It was a degrading comment. It's one that I'm not interested in supporting."

Though every major presidential candidate has decried the racist remarks, Obama is the first one to say Imus should lose his job for them.

His proclamation was the latest in an ever-expanding list of bad news for Imus.

Sponsors, including American Express Co., General Motors Corp., Procter & Gamble Co., and Staples Inc. -- have announced they are pulling advertisements from the show for the indefinite future.

Tuesday, the basketball team held a press conference.

"I think that this has scarred me for life," said Matee Ajavon. "We grew up in a world where racism exists, and there's nothing we can do to change that."

"What we've been seeing around this country is this constant ratcheting up of a coarsening of the culture that all of have to think about," Obama said.

"Insults, humor that degrades women, humor that is based in racism and racial stereotypes isn't fun," the senator told ABC News.

"And the notion that somehow it's cute or amusing, or a useful diversion, I think, is something that all of us have to recognize is just not the case. We all have First Amendment rights. And I am a constitutional lawyer and strongly believe in free speech, but as a culture, we really have to do some soul-searching to think about what kind of toxic information are we feeding our kids," he concluded

amazing how he has no intentions of returning to talk to Imus, yet he's willing to talk to other people overseas

[bojack34 2]

BARACK AND THE BIGOT

By Cal Thomas

Tribune Media Services

In his several explanations and denunciations of his longtime pastor,

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama asks us to believe that

he never heard any of the sermons in which Rev. Jeremiah Wright

denounced and asked God to damn America. Neither was he present, he

says, for Rev. Wright's message in which he said America got what it

deserved on 9/11 because we bombed Hiroshima and Nagasaki to end World

War II and have bombed other countries. He apparently also missed the

one about how America created AIDS. The implication appears to have been

that it was a plot to wipe out blacks, since the disease

disproportionately affects African Americans.

Other church members must have told Obama what Rev. Wright said, or he

could have viewed the sermon on the church's Website. It appears many

others besides just Rev. Wright share this point of view. If one looks

at the video, church members are standing, shouting approval and

applauding. This is not one man speaking for himself. From the reaction,

one can fairly conclude he is speaking for most, if not all, of the

congregation. But not for Barack Obama, he says.

A statement issued by the church last Sunday accused critics of

attacking "the legacy of the African-American Church." That is like

excusing racism in some Southern white churches 50 years ago because of

a "legacy" of bigotry. Hate from a preacher - black or white - can never

be justified.

I have attended enough churches over the years that if I missed a Sunday

service at which the pastor had said something as incendiary as Rev.

Wright, I would have heard about it and done more than denounce it. I

would have left that church. Obama says Rev. Wright is a "Bible Scholar"

and has spoken at seminaries around the country. He specifically

mentioned Union Theological Seminary, which is theologically and

politically liberal. Liberal seminaries teach a "social gospel" that is

more social than gospel and more the earthly agenda of the Democratic

Party than the Kingdom of God.

As the left attempts to peel off religious voters from their ties with

the Republican Party, which has used and abused them, they are

encountering some of the same pitfalls experienced by conservatives.

These include outrageous statements from their own preachers. In the

'60s, some conservative preachers denounced Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.,

calling him a fellow traveler with communists. They opposed integration

as "unbiblical." In the late '70s, they began a too-close association

with Republican politicians who were all too happy to have their votes,

but advanced little of their agenda, either because they could not, or

because they would not.

The voice that black people should be listening to is not Rev. Jeremiah

Wright, but Bill Cosby. At an event in Chicago in 2004, and at many

other venues, Cosby called on his fellow blacks to stop blaming the

"white man" for their problems. Addressing Jesse Jackson's PUSH

conference, Cosby suggested most of the problems in black America are

caused by "what we are doing to ourselves."

This is the attitude that appeals to others, especially whites, and

makes them want to help poor blacks escape poverty. Blaming whites for

black problems may empower the speakers, but it repels people who

genuinely want to assist the disadvantaged to become advantaged.

Obama says Rev. Wright is no longer among his campaign's "spiritual

advisers." Obama should not be asked which of Rev. Wright's outrageous

statements he disagrees with, but rather which ones he does agree with.

That Obama remains a member in good standing of Trinity United Church of

Christ indicates that he prefers the company of many people who have

demonstrated that they believe what their pastor has said.

The religious left will get no further than the religious right in its

attempt to use government and political power, rather than the power of

God. Political power can only empower itself and that is not real power.

As with the right, the religious left will sully its primary message in

favor of another kingdom (the world) and another king (a presidential

candidate), which violates several biblical admonitions. By rejecting

those admonitions, they are setting themselves up for frustration,

disappointment and failure.

link

[autiger4life 3]

amazing how he has no intentions of returning to talk to Imus, yet he's willing to talk to other people overseas

I think that would be because Imus has little to do with foreign policy or our security. I don't think he said I am willing to talk to anyone who I don't like, I think it has more to do with being willing to talk to people even if they are an enemy of the US.

[DKW 86 7,441]

I have a question. Is there just a little hypocrisy in the fact that Obama was one of if not the first politician to demand that Imus be fired for racist statements? But then Obama stands behind his pastor of twenty years? Wright didn't get in trouble and resign until it became a problem for Obama's campaign.

from April 07

http://www.abcnews.go.com/Politics/story?i...1317&page=1

Obama: Fire Imus

Obama First White House Contender to Call for Imus' Firing Over Racial Slur

By JAKE TAPPER

April 11, 2007—

In an interview with ABC News Wednesday afternoon, Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., called for the firing of talk radio host Don Imus. Obama said he would never again appear on Imus' show, which is broadcast on CBS Radio and MSNBC television.

Funny, but you didnt call for the firing of RJW for doing far worse and still associate yourself with him unto this day.

"I understand MSNBC has suspended Mr. Imus," Obama told ABC News, "but I would also say that there's nobody on my staff who would still be working for me if they made a comment like that about anybody of any ethnic group. And I would hope that NBC ends up having that same attitude."

UUuhhhhh, BO, you had one that you KNEW had done far worse on staff at your church and in your campaign staff as well. Hollow words.......Mr Unity.

"He didn't just cross the line," Obama said. "He fed into some of the worst stereotypes that my two young daughters are having to deal with today in America. The notions that as young African-American women -- who I hope will be athletes -- that that somehow makes them less beautiful or less important. It was a degrading comment. It's one that I'm not interested in supporting."

Though every major presidential candidate has decried the racist remarks, Obama is the first one to say Imus should lose his job for them.

BO, your two daughters were already far more harmed by the racial hatred you forced them to listen to in church. Your pastor's degrading comments apparently mean nothing to you as far as they injure your daughters and the children of all those that attend church with you every Sunday.

"What we've been seeing around this country is this constant ratcheting up of a coarsening of the culture that all of have to think about," Obama said.

"Insults, humor that degrades women, humor that is based in racism and racial stereotypes isn't fun," the senator told ABC News.

"And the notion that somehow it's cute or amusing, or a useful diversion, I think, is something that all of us have to recognize is just not the case. We all have First Amendment rights. And I am a constitutional lawyer and strongly believe in free speech, but as a culture, we really have to do some soul-searching to think about what kind of toxic information are we feeding our kids," he concluded.

BO, the coarsening of the culture is probably worst within the walls of your church. What I mus said doesnt even get into the same ball park as what RJW has said many times over.