Moyers: "Double Standard" on Wright

[Lerkfish]

http://www.maynardije.org/columns/dickprince/080502_prince/

"White Preachers Are Given Leeway in Politics"

Watch the video of Moyers' essay

Bill Moyers, whose interview last Friday of the Rev. Jeremiah Wright brought criticism from the PBS ombudsman as too soft, hit back at critics in an essay to be broadcast Friday night, saying "it is all about race, isn't it?" and contending a double standard applies concerning Wright and white ministers.
Moyers, himself an ordained Baptist minister, said on PBS' "Bill Moyers' Journal":

"Behold the double standard: John McCain sought out the endorsement of John Hagee, the war-mongering, Catholic-bashing Texas preacher, who said the people of New Orleans got what they deserved for their sins. But no one suggests McCain shares Hagee's delusions or thinks AIDS is God's punishment for homosexuality.

my comment: although I am loathe to bring this tempest up again, this is the BEST piece of writing so far I've seen that puts this fake controversy into its proper perspective.

[livingmadness]

1. I read about this last night

I loved what he wrote and that he has the courage to speak the truth.

[quantass]

2. Finally..someone that voices the truth about the media and their Double-Standards

:kick:

[Window]

3. K/R for truth.

:kick:

[ecdab]

4. The race based double-standard Obama has contended with in the

media and elsewhere has been quite revealing in regard to the racial problems that still confront this nation.

[SparkyMac]

5. But is Hagee Crazy John's spiritual advisor ?

[Lerkfish]

6. talk about being an intentional point-misser.

[Orsino]

8. There is a point hiding in there, however unintentional.

We're all so eager to identify "spiritual advisors" for our candidates that we forget that a lot of religious practice is only symbolic. American politicians find it expedient to attend Christian churches, to speak in glowing terms about their own faith, and when truly desperate to woo certain voting demographics, even to claim that they set great store in the guidance of their religious leaders.

And most of it is a pose. We shouldn't be taken in by it, unless perhaps a candidate truly seems to be walking the talk. Do we really believe that John McCain has discovered a mutant Jesus who tells him it's okay to start wars? To relegate the poor, the sick and the old to the streets? To devote his life to making the rich richer?

No, McCain's only "spiritual advisors" are his goddamned wallet and his goddamned gated community. Jesus is only a convenient brand name that keeps us on our knees while he robs us.

[Vinca]

7. You know, don't you, there are 7,000 people in the congregation

Obama attends? It's not like there was the church, the Obamas and the pastor and that was it.

[aikoaiko]

10. Well, he did say he was like a father to him.

The relationship was more than just Obama sitting in Wright's audience anonymously.

[aikoaiko]

9. It not all about race.

Wright spoke in ways that many can easily interpret as being anti-American, but yes, race is a factor in that Obama didn't have any of the "baggage" of civil right or extreme Black politics activism.

The two elements makes Wright stick to Obama.

[Berry Cool]

11. I watched Moyers last night.

Great commentary, great show all around.

[noel711]

12. But this will float away like a mist.... no traction..

Because who the heck is MOyers.. in the eyes of the MSM..

He's not flashy like the Fox 'news' people,
and he's not a screamer like Chris Matthews, et al.

No matter how deep his commentary was, no one will care.

And that's the story of our elections...
keep everything in the shallow end of the pool,
paint everything with broad brushstrokes,
and make sure everything appeals to acceptable stereotypes,
and the lowest common denominator.

What have we become?

Cynical for one thing.

[uponit7771]

13. What pisses me off as a black man is WHITE PEOPLE in the media are bringing this up while blacks in

...the media are relatively silent about it.

For decades blacks have had to put up with the most racist and hateful pastors that kkkons would cling to so they can relate to someone who they thought thinks like these racist bastards.