My thoughts started to coalesce from a thread on TalkLeft titled “Politics Has Always Been Stupid which brings up an NYT Op-Ed piece by Bob Herbert titled “Overkill and Short Shrift. This article laments the media play of Jeremiah Wright as a diversion to discussing the real issues of this political season.

It’s not accidental that the discussions of race have been systematically dismissed from this campaign. From the very start, Obama has been the first black candidate to nationally campaign with the premise that no where in his agenda is there a desire to hold white Americans accountable for the past.  Read more 

Just 5 weeks ago…

And this helps explain, perhaps, my relationship with Reverend Wright. As imperfect as he may be, he has been like family to me. He strengthened my faith, officiated my wedding, and baptized my children. Not once in my conversations with him have I heard him talk about any ethnic group in derogatory terms, or treat whites with whom he interacted with anything but courtesy and respect. He contains within him the contradictions - the good and the bad - of the community that he has served diligently for so many years.  Read more