Slow Media Day: Obama Hates His Grandma / Americans Still Racist

It amazes me that we hold politicians up to some sort of ridiculous standard that no one could ever meet.

Seriously. Can I really be held accountable for everything that my friends have said and done or in this case what my pastor says or does? The last time I checked Rev. Jeremiah Wright was not under Obama's control or vice-versa for that matter. Both can say and do whatever they want. Sometimes they will agree with each other, sometimes they won't.

What if Obama's pastor was pedophilia instead of a "racist"? Would that make Obama a pedophilia or a supporter of child abuse? By that logic, a lot of Catholics are in trouble. So how exactly is "racism" any different from anything else?

The whole idea that Obama is racist by association with someone who the media claims is a racist is stupid. Doesn't Obama have a white mother? Obama doesn't strike me as the self-hating type. In fact he hasn't really mentioned his skin color at all in this primary season.

I've read Rev. Jeremiah Wright's so called racist sound bytes and I'm not really offended by them. There is a bit of truth to them especially when you put it in the context of the struggles that he endured as a young black man in a very different era. A lot has changed since then, but racism is still alive and well in this country.

In fact I've heard a lot of racist comments from my white family and friends over the years. I don't agree with those comments, but I also refuse to throw them off the cliff for what they say or believe.

I'm glad to hear Obama say that he wouldn't disown Wright simply based on what the media terms as racist rants. It took some balls to say that. Sadly it's rare that you come across a politician with that kind of backbone.

For the record Wright's sound bytes were taken out of context. Wright was voicing the frustrations of the community he represents in a sermon. I am willing to wager that the conclusion of those sermons was that through faith in God, the black community can overcome injustices.

You know what? Their gripes are legitimate. It is very recent that Black Americans have become more than second class citizens in this country. A lot has changed since the 1960s, but America is far from perfect. I'm sorry if that idea offends people, but I believe that as Americans, we can do a lot better.