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President Barack Obama's very colorful, very opinionated ex-pastor, Jeremiah Wright, is making headlines yet again, but this time it is in the form of the written word. The Associated Press came across an explosive, missive written by Wright that talks about the president in a very unflattering light.
Joseph Prischak, head of the Erie, Pa.-based aid group Africa 6000 International, told Wright in a February letter earlier this year that he was seeking the clergyman's help in reaching out to the U.S. Treasury Department.
Prischak asked Wright to assist with the lobbying efforts of U.S. authorities to permit $25 million British pounds in interest to be sent to faith-based groups for the children of Haiti.
In Wright's response, some pretty heated claims were made when referring to Obama, such as "he threw me under the bus" and the White House views him as "toxic." Wright told the humanitarian African relief group that his pleas to release frozen funds for use in earthquake-ravaged Haiti would likely be ignored.
Rev. Wright wrote:
"No one in the Obama administration will respond to me, listen to me, talk to me or read anything that I write to them. I am 'toxic' in terms of the Obama administration." Wright goes on to state that, "I am 'radioactive,' Sir. When Obama threw me under the bus, he threw me under the bus literally!" he wrote. "Any advice that I offer is going to be taken as something to be avoided. Please understand that!"
While the White House has not yet released a statement regarding the explosive comments, there were also several attempts made to contact the pastor at his Trinity United Church of Christ, but no return calls were received.
The Obama-Wright relationship ended back in 2008. After enjoying an intellectually and mutually gratifying relationship that spanned about 20 years, the two men fell out right about the time Obama declared his candidacy.
Controversy mounted around Wright when the media brought President Obama to task on a number of Wright's past sermons that were seen as racially divisive and incendiary to a predominantly white political world.
In response, Obama gave his well-received "A More Perfect Union" speech, but Wright continued to be relentless with his message, giving more controversial speeches even though President Obama was suffering, at the time, from an especially precarious relationship with much of white America.
The man who had performed Obama's marital vows, baptized his children and even dedicated his house was making headlines with his fiery black liberation theologic sermons that those in the Obama camp, and many in wider society, viewed as detrimental.
For the president, the last straw came when Wright gave a speech to the National Press Club in April 2008, in which he claimed that the U.S. government planted AIDS in the black community. He went on to then praise the ever-contentious Nation of Islam head Louis Farrakhan and even suggested that the damaged relationship he had with Obama was merely a PR move on Obama's part.
The pastor's out-of-control rantings prompted Obama to snip all ties. Really, Wright needs to take responsibility for the demise of his relationship with the president. You had to be living under a rock not to notice that the media -- and the right -- were on a witch hunt for anything they could use against then-presidential candidate Obama. The fact that Wright would not restrain himself during such a sensitive and significant time was highly unfortunate.
I remember wincing each time he was televised opening his mouth. And it wasn't that no one agreed with what Wright had to say -- many in the black community agreed or were at least familiar with his rhetoric -- it was that even though he was aware of the sensitive time Obama was in, he still insisted on continuing his media spectacles.
Wright should take responsibility for his dubious actions, rather than pointing the finger. For, in actuality, HE threw Obama under the bus--and everyone was watching.
Comments: (179)
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By: Cynthia on 5/25/2010 4:45PM
He needs to shut his old ass up! He would even get this much press if it were not for Obama. Please tell him to go ist ina rocking chair and reflect somewhere!
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By: Pechus on 5/26/2010 4:51PM
THANK YOU & CUDOS @ Mimi and No1'sname for providing the most "intelligent" comments I've seen involving this matter thus far!! When are we ever going to learn to STOP WAITING FOR OTHERS TO DO SOMETHING FOR US!! Obama is doing his darnest to make "opportunities" available to Americans.
For those who are hiding behind computer screen & complaining, which one of you have enrolled in College? There are Scholarships all over the place, just BEGGING someone with intelligence to take advantage of it!! I KNOW because I'm forwarding emails with this information to Churches, Rec Centers & any place of business I can ALL THE TIME!!
How many of you are showing up to VOTE in "interim" elections?? Obama started out with a "Majority" Congress, and yet seats are being lost to the party-of-NO" because many of you fail to see the need to continue to "support" the Obama Administration by voting to keep people in office to enable him to get the job done! Every time a Democratic Seat in the house is lost because you sat home on your butt whining on your computers instead of going to Vote in these Senate/Congressional races ... then you have nobody to blame but YOURSELF for the way this Country is going! It's NOT Obama who hasn't done anything, it's YOU!! Get up off your behinds and VOTE in these interim races!!
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By: Pechus on 8/06/2010 2:57AM
@Marlene Franklin and ALL the people who are cheering her on because they think her rhetoric sounds good. Allow me to lay out some demographics for you ... Blacks make up 12.3% of this country. Of that 12.3, only a little more then "Half" are eligible to or actually did vote! Hispanics make up an estimated 13.5% of this country, where only 40% of them are eligible to or actually did vote, and only "Half" of that 40% actually voted for Obama. Hispanic voters were split down the middle.
Another 4% is made up of "other" races. So far, this comes to a total of 29.8% of the American people.
Now the remaining 70% of our country's population is White, and 42% of the eligible white voters voted for Obama.
Obama is our President who "happens to be black." He was not elected solely on the strength of Black people. If he had to solely depend on that he would NOT be in office today, Period!! Our votes counted, Yes, but only for approximately 10% (and that's stretching it) of the "total" votes that Obama was given.
Obama was elected by the "American" people who the "majority" of voters happens to be white. Obama is the President of the "United" States of American. He was elected to serve and represent this country as a "whole."
He was NOT elected to play "social worker" to any "one" group of people, but for ALL Americans. He has to make decisions for the good of "ALL."
If anybody voted for Obama merely because he happens to be Black and you thought that based solely on his race that now suddenly he was going to practice "reverse discrimination and be primarily attentive only to the needs of Black Americans," then you are delusional, and in my opinion totally ignorant concerning the truths of life and how this "World" melting pot of our government works.
As a black American, I voted for Obama because he was the Best "Qualified" candidate, in my opinion. The alternative was a 72 year old lying babbling idiot with one foot in the grave and another slipping on a banana peel, and who selected a totally ignorant airhead, insult to women of intelligence, no nothing Fool as his running mate. Now you do the math!!
Am I or have I been disappointed in Obama's performance thus far?? ABSOLUTELY NOT, and I'll tell you why. The man is doing the best he can with what he has to work with. He has to work with elected Senators & Congress men & women who make up different parties, one of which has resolved to fight Obama on EVERY SINGLE ISSUE by saying NO! If any of you are paying attention to the News, you would know that! Virtually all measures must be "voted" on. Obama and NO President can just run rough-shod over the elected officials that make up our federal government!
The primary "Ace" that assures President Obama can maintain strenght and momentum is when the elected official are predominently "Democrats." Lose that advantage then the struggle becomes gridlocking.
The party-of-NO's primary and main objective is to see President Obama fail., and based on a lot of the comments I'm seeing on her, many of you apparently want to see the same thing.
You can not elect a President and expect him to be "successful," when you fail to give him what he needs in order to succeed! Obama needs that Democratic "majoritry," and if you voted for him, then you OWE him "support" by giving him what he needs in order to fulfill his campaign promises. Get your whining behinds out there to VOTE in these Senatorial/Congressional Elections!
Your comments of insults to Obama's parents, his wife, and family origin, only shows IGNORANCE & STUPIDITY because who of us ever gets to chose that??!! The point is, Obama found success based on either who his parents were, or in spite of who they were.
However what Obama and a lot of us got to chose was to take advantage of Scholarships and later hard work in order to get ahead so that we wouldn't have to feel we needed to wallow around in self-pity waiting for someone else to "give" us something. If we fail to avail ourselves of "opportunities" offered, then the failure is OURS and not President Obama, the White man or anybody else we want to blame instead of "SELF."
The days of referring to "educated" Blacks as "Tom's" in this day and age only shows low-life ignorance. Why?? Because "education" (whether formal or not) is the only way you can possibly fully understand how the real world truly works. Otherwise we become no better then those so-called Tea-Partiers who attempt to defame Obama by calling him a socialist, when they can't even define the word when asked it's meaning. Or the racists who keep proclaiming that Obama is trying to destroy our Constitution, when Obama TAUGHT Constitutional Law for 11 YEARS in one of recognized TOP Law Schools in the country, the University of Chicago! Obama knows MORE about our Constitution this MOST people currently today in our Federal Government! If there's anybody who can repair the damaged sustained over the past 8 years to our Constitution, it's Barack Obamas!!
I say get to truly "know" your President and the effectiveness he is truly capable of, and then "support" the man we elected to this high office, because Obama's faiures will be "Ours" as well.
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By: Daniel yakoubian on 5/27/2010 4:36AM
U bet Obama threw him under the bus-that's when I cut off my monthly donations to his campaign and joined the NAACP which embraced Rev. Wright. It is US policy to ignore the brightest stars-who usually happen to be colorful and opinionated-not docile, dumb sheep who are easily led, right to the slaughter.
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By: cheryle on 5/28/2010 3:21PM
As I read this article and remembered the incidents before the election concerning Rev Wright ..I could not help thinking that Rev Wright was throwing himself under the bus. This country has freedom of speech which Rev Wright enjoyed ...to his own demise...if then Candidate Obama had not been a member of his church no one in the media would have given a second thought to him or his rhetoric... It seems to me he went for his 15 minutes of fame but did not endear himself to the masses...black or white...I thought he was a fool....He had an opportunity to make a difference (spiritual advisor to the President of the United States) and instead he acted like a ding dang fool...I had no problem with some of his sermons but when he saw that they were being taken out of context.. and being used to try to derail Obama bid for the highest office in this land ...he kept on talking....Opened his mouth and inserted his own foot" I am sure most people that go to church or any church like organization have leaders that are openly opinionated...but when you see a chance for change and realize that you could be a spiritual advisor...( and he could have been ) step back and let it happen....It seems to me He drove the bus that ran him over ...after a while he sounded kinda crazy and obsessed...HE...was not running for office Obama was .... and he won in spite of Rev Wright...Obama got his work cut out for him...How do we as a nation try to fix all the things that have come with Corporation run amuk destroying our way of life...No longer will a child do better than his parents ...they will be lucky to do as well...Banking system failues, foreclosure at an all time hight joblessness..this is a crazy time...I pray for President Obama and all of us as a nation....How do you fix 8 years of neglect? It cannot be done in an instance...also change will not come without some belt tightening on all of our parts...God Bless America...
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By: 79dfca5b on 6/02/2010 12:51PM
JEREMIAH WRIGHT WAS NOT THROWN UNDER THE BUS BY
PRESIDENT OBAMA , HE HAD TO DISTANCE HIM-SELF FROM
HIS SPIRITUAL ADVISER , HAD HE NOT HE WOULD NOT
HAVE RECEIVE THE VOTES THAT HE DID . AND IF THE FOOLS THAT ACCUSED MR. JEREMIAH WRIGHT OF WRONG DOING JUST DON'T HAVE THEIR FACTS TOGETHER . MR.
WRIGHT WAS JUST REPEATING WHAT SOME-ONE ELSE HAD
SAID . SO WHITE AMERICA WE KNOW YOU CAN INDICT A
CUCUMBER , I ASK YOU TO TRY BEING MORE TRUST-
WORTHY . STOP TRYING TO TURN GOOD PEOPLE INTO
PUPPETS . DON'T BE A HATER !
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By: tawanda turner brown on 6/21/2010 8:03AM
Amen !!! Finally....a note that is intelligent....
Thank you......
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By: cloie on 7/22/2010 2:10AM
I see everyone’s comments as to who is right and who is wrong, pointing the finger about what hasn't been done to their satisfaction. We wanted a Black Leader and we got one. The man is filling the shoes of Presidents before him that left the office in a condemned state in which he is trying to clean up. We the people called for a President to come and do a full cleaning of the Sugar Honey Ice Tea house in which we call good ole America. If you want an half Azz job done then you should have VOTED for the one whom best fit those shoe. That courageous Black family has brought more to the table then any other black man who sat in this spotlight, meaning he didn't have to pass himself off as a white man to gain entry to the President seat. Instead of whining and being ungrateful we should be uniting to help see our dreams go forth and show support. He is but one man living in one bodily flesh that the lord provided, so there forth get off yawls' back biting romp and help fill those extra handme down shoes that he has to for fill to get you what you spoiled unhumble, selfish finger pointing children of GOD want and need. Start a web protistion on something getting a cyber movement and email it to help our brethren instead of destroying him. There is a lot of CHANGE to be made and I would like to use the words of a late famous singer by saying “start with the MAN or WOMAN in the Mirror.” And that being said Peace, Blessing, and work towards that new beginning.
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By: violet on 7/27/2010 8:11PM
if any white person ranted about blacks as much as you all do about whites they would be termd racists.. but you all do so with such a freedom that is sickening to me no iam no white... nor am i black yes i know what it is like to have been treated disrespectfully... i supose i feel about my opressors muslims the way you all do about your opressor whites... muslims still treat christians badly to this day they have not stoped... on the other hand we have a black man as president need i say more... i detest bigotry where ever it exists.. be it white against black or black against white though i see it more with black people against white people and at the direction we are going now i do not see a future that we become united togehther as a nation very sad that will be our down fall divided we fall and that fall will be graet.. GOD help us all...
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