"New" Hurricanes Affect Presidential Politics: Gustav and Jeremiah Wright

While all eyes are focused on hurricane Gustav, slated to touch down in New Orleans and dramatically impact the Republican National Convention by raining on Senator John McCain and Governor Sarah Palin's coming out party... another hurricane, by the name of Jeremiah Wright, re-emerged the same day and could drown out the presidency of Senator Barack Obama.

Just when the Republicans had thought the horrible Katrina debacle was finally behind them, Hurricane Gustav, deemed the mother of all storms, charged toward the nation's coast... intent on reminding Americans of how badly President Bush and the GOP legislators dropped the ball. Talk about awful timing.

Off in another part of the country and with far less media attention, Hurricane Jeremiah Wright––the fiery former pastor of Trinity United Christian Church where Obama spent the past 20 years as a member––swept through Houston, Texas, and mentioned Obama in his sermon, causing tongues to wag and re-opening Pandora's box. Talk about awful timing!

Hoping to damp down any potential negative commentary that the catagory 3 Gustav could bring to McCain/Palin's trek to the White House, the GOP hierarchy wisely scaled back opening day activities of the much 'ballyhooed' convention. Not wanting to appear aloof or indifferent to the suffering of the people of Louisiana, McCain and his new V.P., quickly journeyed to Mississippi to demonstrate their commitment and avoid a similar disaster such as occurred three years ago.

Meanwhile, team Obama, still feeling the effects of Rev. Wright's Greatest Hits tapes that were played incessantly on the internet and main line news outlets... and have caused his poll numbers to steady decline since March, did not need Wright to pop back up in the news, or associate himself with Obama at this juncture of the campaign. Even though Obama has distanced himself from his former pastor, Hurricane Wright's glowing comments during a sermon at Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church Houston, seems to give a 'quasi-endorsement' of Obama's candidacy and opens the flood gates for a repeat of the incendiary tapes that turned off many white voters. Said Wright of Obama:

"The Lord turned the ordinary into the extraordinary. Y'all just saw it this past week. It was on national television," Wright said to applause. "This ordinary boy just might be, come November, the 4th, this ordinary boy from a single parent home with a daddy from Kenya and a mama from Kansas. This ordinary boy just might be the first president in the history of the United States to have a black woman sleeping at 1600 Pennsylvania, legally."

How Obama's campaign reassures a 'skeptical' populace that he is really through with Wright, while thwarting the avalanche of negative publicity sure to follow these comments... remain to be seen.

In the meantime... two hurricanes, two campaigns... if not handled right, could disastrously affect the Presidential campaign of one of these camps, and determine who sits behind the presidential desk January '09.

Why Obama Didn’t Leave His Church Sooner?

by Frances Dean, Dallas, TX; Guest Blogger


During a recent televised broadcast of the Trinity United Church of Christ, the newly elected pastor Rev Otis Moss, III, delivered a profound message entitled, "I'm Included".

Pastor Moss spoke on how there is “good, bad and ugly” in our families, but how God included everyone by having the writers of the bible list the genealogy throughout its history. This prompted me to think about our country––America––and how there are some who consistently want to write off "Black Americans".

After listening to the Trinity broadcast, I flipped over to C-Span where an author was there criticizing Senator Barack Obama for not leaving his church. This author’s prevailing question was, “how could Senator Obama stay at Trinity for so long?”

Well, this sparked me to submit this entry to this blog site and pose the following question to White America: "How could you live in a country that allowed slavery, Jim Crow, segregation, lynching of Black Americans, unfair wages to African Americans during times of war, sub-standard housing, unfair wages to African Americans who did the same type of jobs as Whites, denying Black Americans the Right to Vote, and all the other ills that were done in this nation?

The constant asking of the question ‘why Senator Obama didn't leave his church of 20 years’ is crazy because White Americans didn't leave America. How many of you, and your forefathers, stayed here–– even though this country is not, and has not been perfect? Even though she transgressed against a group of people by stripping them of their homeland, language, history and culture?

No… Whites didn't leave or abandon America… even after the tragic assassination of the leaders of this land, i.e., President John F. Kennedy, Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., and Attorney General Robert Kennedy. Many of you watched and wept for these tragedies …but how many have repented for the evils of the past?

Many of you watched and wept during the Civil Rights era as dogs ripped into the skin of Black youths, Black churches were bombed or burned down, and Dr. King was killed for defending the rights of all Americans, including hungry white children from the Appalachian mountains, and garbage men in Memphis who wanted to receive fair wages. White Americans… you didn't leave America, as a result of these acts. You stayed. And, even through the hatred and evil times of integration of public schools and busing… you watched and you wept, but you didn't leave America.

So, to ask Senator Obama to leave his church because of its imperfections is inconsistent. But moreover, after he finally left… the question now being asked is “why did he stay so long?” Well, White Americans may find the answer to this Obama question if you can answer the question: “why you stay in America with its imperfections”.

Whether many of you like it or not, Black Americans are not visitors in this country–– we are family too. Even though America has not yet lived up to its reputation that “all men are created equal”, we are still family too

Looking back over the past history of this country, some may ask the question to Black Americans: “If this country is so bad, why don’t we leave? Why do Blacks remain in this country? The only reason I can think of is this: Love. Yes, love of our country. Black Americans love this nation… no matter what it has said or done to us or to our descendants. We still love America.

Now, to put the “why Obama stayed in his church so long” question into perspective. Perhaps Obama felt he needed to understand the Black experience better… to get a better grasp on what his Afro-centric side had been through so that he could become the leader that he is today.

Just maybe… without the sounds of Trinity United Church, Senator Obama would have been a different type of person. So, please lay off of the political rhetoric and let's get down to the real issues that affect us as Americans.

We're all still here and we need change so that America can march on ‘til Victory is Won!

Your comments are welcome.