Diplomacy 101-Before you trash your close friend and Pastor in a "Historic" speech on race relations

[2rth2pwr]

it would be a good idea to have a face to face meeting to prepare him for what you are about to do.

The man has been there for him for at least 20 years, he introduced him to Christianity, married him, baptized his children, blessed his home

Obama took his words to use as the title for his bestselling book (did he share any of the profits?), and ministered to his community.

Obama: I tried to talk to him before the speech in Philadelphia. Wasn’t able to reach him, because he was on a — he was on a cruise. He had just stepped down from the pulpit. When he got back, I did speak to him and the — you know, I prefer not to share sort of private conversations between me and him.
http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2008/04/29/obama-saddened-by-the-spectacle/?mod=WSJBlog

I'm sure that Wright was beside himself to find out that while he was away and couldn't speak for himself, his friend and member of his congregation

trashed him and his reputation in a speech aired live around the world to millions!

If nothing else, with all the money available to Obama, he could have chartered a helicopter to visit his dear friend.

One of the foundational parts of Obama's campaign is his self-touted ability to bring people together and perform a new kind of diplomacy.

I think we have just witnessed the 50 car pileup in the fog that is a direct result of his ham handedness.

Can we trust this man to deal with leaders of countries that are so different culturally from us when he can't work things out with his buddy?

[dionysus]

1. flamebait fail

thank you for wasting a thread :)

[cliffordu]

13. Really! I love it when they waste one shooting blanks!! TUZLA

[jefferson_dem]

2. Well, we know we can't trust Hillary "duck duck sniper fire" Clinton.

So that rules her out.

[ProSense]

3. You really have nothing else, huh? More like: Desperation 101 n/t

[niyad]

4. if that quote of obama's is accurate, it reminds me of the "stuff" comment'

the man is supposed to be more articulate than that.

oh, and guess what? most cruise ships have internet and ship=to-shore communication.

[islandmkl]

5. were you advising Obama to make the call first?...

or Rev. Wright to make the call telling Barack to fire up the bus because the Rev. was getting ready to start some more fires?

[2rth2pwr]

8. Why sucker punch a friend when he's not ready?

[cliffordu]

16. "Who can count the angels dancing on the head of a pin??"

From the Lion of TUZLA to your ears....

[rateyes]

22. A Hillary Clinton supporter is asking that question?

:shrug:

[Window]

42. Why sucker punch your wife, child and supporters on national TV???

Talk about beating a dead horse. Every time you desperate Clinton supporters bring Rev. Wright up, I'll be sure to bring up Monica Lewinsky, plus.

What's good for the goose is good for the gander.

[2rth2pwr]

43. Yay for you. Hillary won her seat facing people shouting that.

[ShortnFiery]

6. That's the point that many people willfully devoid of conscious WILL not permit

themselves to SEE: Obama did NOT disrespect Rev. Wright ... ever. He didn't throw, the MAN, "under the bus" ... in fact, he was gracious when a man that he had admired disrespected him.

I've never respected Barack Obama any greater than I did yesterday after hearing hims speak.

Obama's truly a INSPIRING LEADER. :patriot:

IMO, we're blessed to have him! ;)

[2rth2pwr]

11. Well, apparently the good Rev Wright saw things differently.

He didn't seem too happy with what Barack had done to him in PA.

[cliffordu]

21. We'd like to thank you for pointing that out -

in the mean time Obama just picked up another endorsement that makes about 4, I think, for the day.


How's that FOX thing working, anyway? any traction??

[rateyes]

7. Here you go:

Thought you might need more straws at which to grasp.

[PBS Poll-435]

9. But....But....I left a voice-mail!

[NJmaverick]

10. I see your Hillary banner, and I have to wonder about those crocodile tears

you are shedding for Rev Wright

[LSparkle]

12. He did NOT trash his pastor ... he tried to place his remarks in context

Wright could have chosen to join the conversation about race, but
instead he chose to amplify his own more separatist views. Obama
is trying to move BEYOND our misconceptions about race, whereas
Wright probably feels challenged by that -- his generation has a
lot invested in the struggle and is going to find it difficult
to stop fighting.

At least Obama tried to bring Wright along ... but Wright chose
to stay stuck.

[IndianaJones]

14. so you feel Wright is a separatist? nt

[LSparkle]

25. I think some of his views could be described that way

His speech at the NAACP focused on the differences between
whites and blacks, stressing how "different" doesn't mean
"deficient," but focusing on differences nonetheless. In order
to lift up his congregation, he's tried to make them feel
proud of their heritage -- and rightly so -- but maybe at
the expense of examining more closely how we're more alike
than different.

[2rth2pwr]

27. Can you imagine the pain and the hurt you would feel if after devoting

your life to others, to commit to helping others and spending decades building up a church and a reputation, a member

of your church who has become the most famous, disses you and compares you to his racist Grannie?

Right at the twilight of your life's work, you have chosen a successor after many sleepless nights, you have prepared your new living

quarters, and after selflessly not taking any time for yourself. The one time you can get away from it all and enjoy a cruise, you are

stabbed in the back, unaware the knife has slipped in, until after you return to land.

Can you not see the pain? The anger? the betrayal? the humiliation? The out and out destruction of your entire life's work?

Have you no compassion left?

[LSparkle]

32. You forgot the *sarcasm* thingy ... Obama only trashed the FIGHT ...

He was trying to explain the reasons WHY people resent and
distrust each other, NOT THE PEOPLE HAVING THAT FIGHT.

Wright is invested in the old politics of "the struggle"
and probably doesn't want to get over it ... He can't
conceive of a world where blacks and whites really DO
GET ALONG ... It's symptomatic of the fights he's fought,
the times he's lived in. If Wright was offended by
Obama's speech, then maybe he's not the tough Marine
he once was ...

[Forkboy]

15. Speaking of diplomacy...how's that "obliterate" comment playing in other countries?

Responding with understatement to a question in the British House of Lords, the foreign minister responsible for Asia, Lord Mark Malloch-Brown, said of Clinton's implication of a mushroom cloud over Iran: "While it is reasonable to warn Iran of the consequences of it continuing to develop nuclear weapons and what those real consequences bring to its security, it is probably not prudent in today's world to threaten to obliterate any other country and in many cases civilians resident in such a country."
---
The Saudi paper called Clinton's nuclear threat "the foreign politics of the madhouse," saying, "it demonstrates the same doltish ignorance that has distinguished Bush's foreign relations."

The Saudis are not always sound advisers on American foreign policy. But they understand that Rambo rhetoric like Clinton's only plays into the hands of Iranian hard-liners who want to plow ahead with efforts to attain a nuclear weapons capability. They argue that Iran must have that capability in order to deter the United States from doing what Clinton threatened to do.

That's some great diplomatic acumen there!!


And hey 2rthiness2cower, why didn't Wright give Obama a heads up before HIS comments?

This is incredibly weak, even by your exceptionally low standards.

:hi:

[2rth2pwr]

18. Wright was looking for payback this past weekend, and he got it.

[Forkboy]

28. I note you don't address the Hillary comment. I thought diplomacy was important to you?

After all, you wanted diplomacy real bad with Uribe, and now with Wright. Where's your consistency? Here I was thinking you were serious about diplomacy.

[2rth2pwr]

30. I agree that the word obliterate was a poor choice, and I am sure that her foreign policy advisors

have been busy sharing that with the relevant parties.

[Forkboy]

31. Then I'm sure you'll forgive Obama for this very minor infraction, since her's isn't a big deal.

Right?

Or you could just admit that this thread is an epic fail where you tried to get Obama with something so trifling as to be laughable. :shrug:

[2rth2pwr]

34. Obama has run on the idea that his was a new kind of politics, a politics

that could transcend racial and partisan divides. He can't even get along with his own pastor.

How's the transcending of racial and partisan divides working out?

Without his ability to unite and transcend what does he bring to the Presidency?

[Forkboy]

36. So if you don't claim to stand for anything you don't have to stand for anything?

Nice way to get around actually having any courage, ethics, or ideals. I should try that.

[2rth2pwr]

37. You have that market cornered.

(couldn't help myself)

[Forkboy]

39. I know you can't help yourself. That explains your OP.

But once again you dodge a simple question. I wonder why?

[2rth2pwr]

40. Because I disagree with the premise, that's why.

[Forkboy]

41. Of course you do. It points out your hypocrisy, so your not liking it is expected.

Thanks for playing.

[Symarip]

17. Keep beating that horse...

I think his nostrils are still moving.

[DemGa]

19. Wright certainly has acted like a man betrayed

That Wright essentially called Barack a liar tells me this was not a set-up to benefit Obama.

[yourguide]

20. Are you joking?

THIS is what you got...he couldnt get in touch with him because he was on a cruise? That's it?

[Avalux]

23. Drivel.

You've been trashing Obama for awhile now a post like this really has no relevance.

[Maribelle]

24. This truly reflects poorly on Obama's judgment in a few ways.

While I totally understand and even have compassion for the outrage Obama and his wife must feel over their former pastor's actions on the weekend, the slowly-timed outrage seems to have fallen flat. It seems to me this entire Wright problem has been a ticking time bomb that Obama should have better-managed long before he was pushed to the stage of outrage. That's exactly an important aspect of leadership and judgment. Obama missed this opportunity.

[Forkboy]

29. See my post #15

Seeing as diplomacy is so important to you I'd be curious to hear your thoughts on how dangerous Hillary's comment was in the eyes of many around the world.

[graycem]

26. Geeze

In your mind, what would be the absolute perfect scenario for Obama to deal with Reverend Wright. Do you work for the news media? First he didn't repudiate the man, but the comments, that wasn't good enough. Then he repudiates the man and the comments, and that's not good enough, because he didn't do it fast enough. Then he did it, and he shouldn't have because the Rev. was on vacation. It is apparent that nothing is good enough. So, I guess it's back to the old rule, you can't please everyone all of the time.

I hope you show this much outrage and concern for people going hungry, for the high price of oil, people losing their homes, and dying in an unjust war. Really. We all, including you, should reexamine what matters.

[NYCGirl]

33. Did Carville try to call Richardson before he called him "Judas"? NT

[2rth2pwr]

35. delete

[Window]

38. Rev. Wright was Sen. Obama's pastor. He was not married to him.

Bill should have told Hillary he was lying about "not having sex with that woman, Monica Lewinsky," before he went on TV before the world, wagging his finger and lying to everyone, especially his wife and daughter.