I agree with you that Obama will hurt America LESS than McCain or Hillary. But to call him “transformational” is a stretch, don’t you think? It’s sort of like saying segregation was fair, because it wasn’t as UNfair as slavery.

Not saying throw Obama under the bus, just that he’s no MLK.

Ego or no ego, Wright’s words were words that Americans needed to hear. He was in the national spotlight, and used that opportunity to be honest, to say things the media ignores. Had he reneged, it would have validated the myth that white America is and always has been faultless, and does only good things for the world. To say somebody “should know when to shut up” sounds a little too FoxNewsish for me. Is this where we are as a nation? The truth should never be categorized as an “outrageous statement”–no matter how unpleasant it is for white people to hear. A transformational candidate would FORCE us to see the truth, not pander to our denial. The fact that so many Obama supporters are echoing your tone, shows that liberals aren’t as psyched about “changing” as our dark blue bumper stickers suggest.

Obama stood by Wright as long as he could, defending him and explaining Wright’s statements while right-wing blatherers were screaming about Wright as a dangerous, angry black man. He stood by Wright while the media — including the moderators of the last travesty of a “debate” — flogged the Wright “controversy” as a subject of substance and import. He stood by Wright while the right wing screamed for him to distance himself from the uppity Negro (not in so many words, of course … but the meaning was always clear). And he stood by Wright all the way up until Wright himself stabbed Obama in the back at the NPC event in display of dismaying egocentricity.

If Obama loses the presidency (and I personally don’t think he will, but if he does), it will be due in large part to Wright’s inability to keep his damned mouth shut when it became clear that his outrageous statements were hurting the man who has called him a mentor.

I agree in principle with much of what Wright has said, but there’s a lot to be said for knowing when to shout, knowing when to speak softly, and knowing when not to speak at all. Wright apparently doesn’t know that … or he puts the service of his own ego above the potential election of a hopefully transformational candidate like Obama.

There’s nothing new about a President who sells out his people for political convenience.