Brazile: 'Wright One of the More Moderate Black Preachers'

Photo of Mark Finkelstein.
  • Bookmark and Share

How much trouble is Barack Obama in over the extremism of Jeremiah Wright? Enough that Dem strategist Donna Brazile has been reduced to arguing that as black preachers go, Wright is relatively moderate. Enough that the normally affable Brazile got a bit short with Time editor Mark Halperin, he of the infamous memo to his subordinates during the 2004 presidential campaign while serving as ABC News political director.

The comments came during the panel discussion on today's This Week with George Stephanopoulos on ABC.

View video here.

Story Continues Below Ad ↓

GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: Why did this bubble up now, I guess, and why didn't he get ahead of it before?

DONNA BRAZILE: Because, look, we're at a moment in the campaign where the kitchen-sink strategy is in full force, the vetting's in full force.

Sorry, but choosing as his personal spiritual guide someone with Wright's hateful views isn't mere kitchen-sink material. It is central to the question of Obama's judgement and values--and hence his fitness for the presidency. Brazile continued.

BRAZILE: We’ve known, I mean I've known Jeremiah Wright and actually Jeremiah Wright is one of the more moderate black preachers. Just go to the church down the street from my house and I see women coming with their hats on the other side of their head [as Donna demonstrates in the screencap] because they have been lifted up.

A bit later . . .

MARK HALPERIN: Here's why I think it mattes a lot. The only chance Hillary Clinton has of being the nominee, the only chance I believe John McCain has of beating Barack Obama if they face each other if is he is defined as an unacceptable, either general-election candidate for the Democrats, or president in a general election. And this goes, I think the biggest challenge he's faced on that front. He's still introducing himself to the American people. The right-wing attack machine, cable news, talk radio, the internet, went crazy on this and they will not stop. They are pursuing right now the very question you [Stephanopoulos] and George [Will] discussed. George asserts blithely that Obama has sat through these types of sermons. As you point out, the Obama campaign says he has not. If he has, if there's evidence of that, he's in big trouble.

Two questions for Mark Halperin: when's the last time you used the expression "left-wing attack machine"? And if this issue does, as you say, go to the essence of the Obama's candidacy, why are you forfeiting the game to your media competition? Why didn't you include your own Time magazine among those all over the story of what Obama knew about Wright and when he knew it?

It was a bit later that things got a tad testy.

BRAZILE: But it doesn't fit [Obama's] narrative. His narrative is someone, is someone who is trying to bring reconciliation. And that [Wright] generation wanted to basically talk about recrimination. And I think that's the strong thing that Barack has to navigate. I'm sure he sat in church when the preacher said something that would make white people uncomfortable. I've sat in church when I've been uncomfortable.

HALPERIN: But there's a difference between uncomfortable and rhetoric that is absolutely disqualifying. Again, I'm thinking in the short term: do the Democrats want to send him into the general election as their nominee --

BRAZILE: He has repudiated and denounced those comments. What else can he do? He's not going to renounce the good Lord Jesus Christ. So what is the purpose?

STEPHANOPOULOS: What else can he do?

BRAZILE: That's right!

My take: Obama's big problem is that there might not be much he can constructively do. Denouncing Wright only takes him so far. As Will had earlier pointed out, "the reverend did not pick Obama. Obama picked his pastor." Condemning Wright isn't going to get it done. Obama might just have to admit to bad judgment on his own part, and pay the political price.

—Mark Finkelstein is a NewsBusters contributing editor and host of Right Angle. Contact him at mark@gunhill.net.


Comments Policy

All comments are owned by whoever posted them and are subject to our terms of use. They should not be assumed to represent the views of NewsBusters.

Viewing options

Select your preferred way to display the comments and click "Save settings" to activate your changes.

Rev. Wright = Ron Paul's Newsletter

BRAZILE: He has repudiated and denounced those comments. What else can he do?

 

Ron Paul also repudiated and renounced the racist, anti-semitic and plain outright loony-bin crazy conspiracy crap published under his name. That, too, was good enough for his supporters.

In both instances politics morphed into cultism.

Moderate my arse....Donna

Moderate my arse....Donna can argue this until the cows come home, and btw, if the other black churches she is talking about rant the same hate-filled rhetoric as Wright does about this country, black nationalism ect....as far as I am concerned they can all leave this country, I do not care what stripe their nationality is, I call this hate preach and people agreeing with this, the enemy within...Obama has been with this man for twenty years, he has to know danged good and well all about Wrights rhetoric and his beliefs....he and Michelle had to discuss the sermons in twenty years....

Give me a break.

As for Halperin blaming right wing talk radio....I say thank God for them, you critters in the msm would just as soon keep this hidden forever if you had your way...the msm had no choice now but to cover this...too bad, so sad.

Bet there will be more to come too.

I agree, if this is what is

I agree, if this is what is being preached to blacks on a weekly basis, they can all leave the country. Of course, this isn't typical speech. Most black folks actually love their country.

What I want to know is where are all of the "separation of church and state" nutballs? It always burns me to no end that democrats can use church, and God anyway they see fit. But let a Republican, like say President Bush, profess his strong faith, and those people lose their minds!

It is so telling though, just how hard the media is trying to hide Wright and his hate speech from the public. They are so in the bag for the dems. I believe if the majority of Americans heard the hate speech coming out of Wright's mouth, the call for Obama to go away would be very loud.

And while we are at it, why is it hate speech if a white person says something horrible about black people, but when a black man says some of the most racially charged statements possible, he's called a moderate?

Separation of church and

Separation of church and state, my foot!! Wright very clearly crossed the line...he criticized Hillary Clinton by name while he was pumping up Obama! I heard on my local radio station news the other day the supposedly the IRS is looking into it. Even if Wright is now retired, they should pay a penalty.

As for that being the "normal"....I can see a little fire and brimstone, and "lifting people up" as Brazile says, but what kind of "religion" makes a habit of running down one's country, one's government, and one's neighbors? Not any kind of Christian church that I've ever heard of.  If that's what's going on in black churches every Sunday, we've got enormous problems in this country.

Pastor Wright should have been preaching about how those in his congregation should be helping each other; not screaming about goverment...that's what a preacher is supposed to do.

The Seperation of Church and Hate

After hearing Obama's pastor, I'm wondering about the seperation of Church and Hate.

 

Pledge to not support RINOs ever again!

A COUPLE OF THINGS...

Rev.Wright & his hatespeech are no different then the crap one hears from radical Muslim clerics, there is no difference.

I've heard all the excuses for Obama on this issue, & it does'nt wash. There is no way in hell he did not know the hate Rev.Wright preaches, no way. Sort of like the guy who is a KKK member because of it's "christian" message, but not knowing about any of it's racist teachings.

You are who you roll with, the Obama's JOINED this church, they have been there for 20 years, he married them, he baptised their 2 girls, & this stuff was on a "best of" DVD set that this church has on offer. He knew, & now we know, & that's all the people need to know.

 

"Some of us are wise, some of us are otherwise"  Mark Levin

Donna Brazile

D.B. has now done more harm for Obama than good. Now people are going to believe that this a typical sermon in a black church.

THis is from a clinton supporter/preacher

See for yourselves.

There was a tape clip on Fox this early morning with a Harlem preacher calling Obama's mother ' a trashy white woman' and more but it has been removed from any show ..Is this the same Pastor that Hillery gave a $1 +million earmark?
To remove it is not "FAIR AND BALANCED".
This is the clip ----
http://www.paulaneal...

With the Clinton's kith and kin all 'round...

With the Clinton's kith and kin all 'round, Ms. Brazile had to get testy. Look at the Halperin family-they are the heart and soul of THE LEFT in the United States! You would be hard pressed to find a more seditious family if you tried. And then, sitting across the table, we have George Stephanopoulos-a paragon of virtue and objectivity. Good God! We expect these kind of people to explain or present the news to us? I think not. It is impossible to get any objective reporting from this group. What you see here are the results from not paying attention since the 1960s. The foxes are alive and well, living in the hen house- telling us all about it.

Lawyer

Defending Hussein 'Peter Pan' Obama is like defending a murderer that killed a dozen people in front of thousands of  witnesses and dozens of  TV camera's. Lawyers do it because it's their job, democrats do it because they're brain dead.

 

Old, Retired and glad of it.

she'' really help

It's so good to know that the elitist racist Donna Brazille in on the side of BHO.  When you have a person on your side who is completely blinded by racial hatred and who is obssessed with getting even with white people, you are bound to lose.  You can see too that Brazille is trying to allay the damage done to BHO by the Rev Wright; this can't be done.  No matter how you prevaricate, dodge, weave, and duck, anyone with any common sense at all knows that BHO HAD to know about the hateful invectives heaped upon America by Rev Wright.  Even if BHO wasn't in the audience, he still HAD to know what was being said.  How could anyone say God damn America in your church and you being a US Senator not know it.  Who's kidding whom, here?  If you're a US Senator and one of your friends says America was responsible for 9-11, you know that within an hour of it being said.  Who in their right mind would believe for a second that BHO did not know these things?  Come on Donna give us a break....

Cather... Could not agree

Cather...

Could not agree more.

Problem with Donna too is she does not care for the Clinton machine either IMO as I have watched over the years...she (and the rest of her ilk) are in what I would call quite a dither with the mess Obama has himself in.

Listening to local talk

Listening to local talk radio a few days ago, there was a phone call on the Fred Honsberger show, and it was a guy who has called local stations for years. He is the stereotypical "Angry Black Man", and has been banned from at least one radio station in the past because he is so obnoxious and incendiary. You know, the "Black Power!" type.

He was quite upset because Fred was commenting on how the IRS should be investigating churches like Wright's, that politics should not be preached from the pulpit, etc... and the "Angry Black Man" was quite incensed. His logic? If the IRS went after Wright, they would have to go after pretty much EVERY "black" church in the country. He said the kind of stuff Wright said is preached all the time in many "black" churches, and imagine all the money and manpower it would take the IRS to investigate all these churches, so that would make it a stupid idea...

Bottom line? Racism is a two-way street, and there's a lot of hatin' happening these days...

 

Roger, I think the guy was

Roger, I think the guy was talking about Wright's railing against America? As offensive as I find that, as far as I know, it's not illegal to speak out against America in church. The problem as I see it is campaigning for Obama, which he was clearly doing.

I still say though, if that kind of "hate America" speech is going on in black churches all over the country, we have a big problem. Because those two women after Wright's speech said they thought he spoke the truth.

If "Rev." Wright is a moderate...

...I'd hate to think what a radical would sound like.

Shiver.

Theme for Election '08: I want my mommy!

When the hate videos.......

were first "leaked", all the BHO apologists were blaming the Clinton campain. Suddenly it was the VRC! This is all getting tough to take. All the "it's white America's fault" is nothing new. We've been getting a steady dose of this from the race pimps Jackson and Sharpton for years. What troubles me most is Wright's America had what was coming to it sermon. It wasn't just after 9/11 it was the Sunday right after the attack. And if I hear one more Obama apologist tell me that his hate filled sermons were taken out of context, I'm going to throw something at the TV!  Here's the broken record, if this was McCain he would have announced his decision not to run before today. The msm continues to set the bar lower and lower.

 

This town needs an enema! - The Joker

I know the feeling...I wish

I know the feeling...I wish I could ask them in exactly what context these remarks were made, that made them inoffensive at the time.

Well, the context was there; there was no "cherry-picked" quote; it was a video, for crying out loud!!

and a video

they were selling at church!!!!  Nothing in it they wanted to hide from anyone ;-)

-

And if I hear one more Obama apologist tell me that his hate filled sermons were taken out of context, I'm going to throw something at the TV!

Yeah, that's just not cutting it.  No amount of "context" can excuse such statements and beliefs. 

seems to me that

Democrats have a problem with "words" "just words" whether it is GD America or the meaning of "is" - what the Rev. Wright (what theological school did he attend?) said leaves NO ROOM FOR DOUBT - plain as day, and he even repeated it for the slow-learners in the congregation.

Right wing "attack machine" can't ignore Obama scandal

Halperin: The right-wing attack machine, cable news, talk radio, the internet, went crazy on this and they will not stop.

While I can't prove it, I'd be willing to bet the Clintoon machine had more than a little bit to do with all of this. That being said, Halperin cannot reasonably expect the "right wing attack machine" et al to ignore information like this.

I'm just waiting for libs to use the word "swiftboating" in this context. Remember the real meaning of swiftboating: Telling embarrassing truths about Democrats.

When you put the clowns in charge, don't be surprised when a circus breaks out.

"BRAZILE: He has repudiated

"BRAZILE: He has repudiated and denounced those comments. What else can he do?"

Perhaps he should have thought about that before concluding that membership in a racist church for 20 years sounded like a good idea.

Just another tally on the

Just another tally on the list of reasons why the Hopeful Changer is a Not-Ready-For-Prime-Time-Player.

 

It certainly brings a touch

of reality to Michelle Obama's recent comments.  I guess sitting in the pews listening to that hateful message week after week for 20 years would make someone feel "not proud" of their country!

Is this preaching?

Friends, I preach numerous times each week. In fact, if you're interested you can hear some of the sermons if you check here.

The topic of my sermons is the same every week: Scripture. I dn't nake it up; I don't preach my druthers. I preach what I find in the text.

I'm a white guy (Western European-American?), but I have been a member of a primarily black (and self-consciously Afro-centric) congregation. The pastor preached the Scripture. He treated me just as he treated other members of the congregation.

Dr. Jeremiah Wright is neither a theologian nor a particularly gifted preacher - althoug he is lyrical at times. He is a bombastic racist who should live in Tripoli or Havana.

 

Well, unfortunately, that's

Well, unfortunately, that's what's considered "black preaching" in much of the country today. The more outrageous, the better; the more theatircal the better. In fact that was part of the excuse made for Rev. Wright; that's it's just "show biz."

Alternative Explanation

Simple question-

  What Evidence does anyone have that in reality, in his heart of hearts; Obama is not in almost total agreement with everything Pastor Wright said.   Might Obama really be a stealth candidate of the Marxist  Left. 

      Certainly some of the things his less skilled wife has let slip are perfectly consistent with Wirght's expressed point of view.

    Obama is certainly too shrewd to say these things publically, that doesn't mean he is smart enough not to believe the paranoid rantings of black speakers speaking to black audiences.

   Is the point of view being expressed by Wright all that far removed from what is taught at many elite universities?

   I am not a conspiracy theorist but-

2000 Gore-whose father who was assisted during and after his politcal career by  life long Communist Armaund Hammer.

2004 John Kerry - Who in a matter of months went from suposedly hunting Comunists in Viet Nam to being a propagandist,spokesman and orgainzer for them.

2008- Barak Obama announces his first foray into politics at a reception in the home of two Communist ex-terrorists.

 

"What Evidence does anyone

"What Evidence does anyone have that in reality, in his heart of hearts;
Obama is not in almost total agreement with everything Pastor Wright
said. Might Obama really be a stealth candidate of the Marxist Left."

Who can say for sure? No doubt he's a Marxist, but as for being racist and all? He is a charismatic, nice guy(or seems to be), and I'd like to give him the benefit of the doubt, but that's tough to do. If someone were a member of the KKK for 20 years, I would tend to believe that person likely buys into what that group stands for. All things being equal, logically, I'd have to come to the same conclusion about Barack. Add to that the point that he deliberately and intentionally stopped wearing a flag pin AFTER 9/11(perhaps coinciding with one of Wright's speeches?), PLUS a Che flag hanging in an Obama campaign office, and things start to add up. 

 

Is this the "we aint gonna

Is this the "we aint gonna let da white boys win" Donna Brazile that I have come to know and love??  

 

Ronald Reagan, 1962: I did not leave the Democratic party, the party left me.

Insert: your name, 2008, and the Republican party.

Romney / Jendil  2012 (if,we survive)

To The Democrats: What Do You Know and When..

"BRAZILE: We’ve known, I mean I've known Jeremiah Wright and actually Jeremiah Wright is one of the more moderate black preachers. Just go to the church down the street from my house and I see women coming with their hats on the other side of their head [as Donna demonstrates in the screencap] because they have been lifted up".

 If he is one of the more "moderate" black preachers, then shouldn’t the American voters at least get a peep at some of the “less moderate” ones? Shouldn’t the drive-by-media now take a look at the churh down the street from Donna Brazile’s house? And how about all the other black churches that people like Al Gore, Hilary Clinton, and other Democrats attend when campaigning for the White House? What kind of sermons are preached at those churches? Are they as “moderate” as the ones preached by Jeremiah Wright? Or are they “less moderate”?

It seems to me like it’s not only Barack Obama who should answer the question - What do you know and when did you know it - but the Democratic Party as a whole.

RMR... Here is another

RMR...

Here is another classic example of a black preacher...against Obama..also includes Clinton. Mexicans and pimpin' and his mamma....

Msm was mighty silent about this guy Manning eh?

LOL...

Thanks bigtimer..

Thanks for the link "bigtimer". Didn't have time to watch the whole video, but it's no wonder the MSM's running away from this guy. Talk about hot potato. Wow! By the way, do you know if Clinton ever visited his church?

RMR... You know that is a

RMR...

You know that is a good question...it did cross my mind when I watched this Saturday, but I forgot all about it.

Hmmmmm.......too lazy to research it...but I wouldn't doubt it. 

I Believe Liberals are Well Aware

Judging by Hilary and her surrogates reluctance to publicly pounce on this issue, plus the MSM's lame attempt at moral equivalence, vis-a-vis John McCain. I believe they are all aware of how damaging this stuff could be to the Democratic Party.

As I hinted in my original post. If Donna Brazile, the Democrat Party and the MSM's believe the hate speech that Jeremiah Wright is spewing is "moderate". Then they should not be reluctant to give the electorate a "taste" of the "less moderate" ones.

Conservatives should be researching these "moderates" and "less moderate" black preachers. And determine if Bill Clinton, Al Gore, John Kerry and other liberal Democrats attended and gave speeches at their churches. And if they did, force the Democrat Party to stand by, or disallow these black preachers statements. Either way they are toast.  

That's why I am hoping conservatives will pull back on this issue just enough to allow Barack Obama to win the nomination. Then download all this stuff to the electorate before the general. I am certain that strategy will not only guarantee the White House, but majorities in both the congress and senate.

It brings a completely new

perspective to understanding what the young blacks are so hate-filled - who'd a thunk it came from church?????