Lasting Impressions

Last week in class we discussed the Rev. Wright issue, and whether it would ultimately hurt Obama, or be brought up around election time in November, causing people go back on their support for him. Some people felt that Obama's memorable speech regarding race following the controversy was sufficient enough to repel any negativity he may have faced, but I'm not necessarily convinced. Earlier today an article was published in CNN's political ticker regarding the fact that Rev. Wright was recently honored at Trinity United Church in Chicago. The article admits that the statements made by Wright being circulated are snippets (key word) of sermons he has made. (Which in my opinion shows a certain level of agenda setting and bias, because the clips  are made to represent the Reverend, but are taken out of context). However, what was most disturbing about the article were the comments that followed. Comments like "oh my, when racists gather," "do we really want a president who is hate-filled," "Obama LISTENED for TWENTY years. Wake up people! Obama is not who he claims to be and will ruin the Democratic Party and America, if he is elected." Granted, not all of the response is of this nature, but the fact that so many are, is statement it itself. The associations that are being made are baffling, because Obama does not have to have agreed with every negative thing his pastor ever said, in order to understand or to have learned from him, nor do the people of the congregation, but how many people are making this snap judgement? Despite an excellent speech by Obama, I don't think we've seen the end of this issue.