Jeremiah Wright, in context

March 23, 2008

When Bob Bennett confronted John McCain with some of John Hagee’s more inflammatory ant-Catholic comments, McCain went with the weakest of all responses — Hagee’s comments, McCain said, were taken “out of context.”

So, when I first started hearing that the Rev. Jeremiah Wright’s post-9/11 comments were taken “out of context,” my first instinct was to roll my eyes a bit. What’s the context for saying our chickens had “come home to roost”?

As it turns out, there’s actually an interesting story here. CNN’s Roland Martin reports:

One of the most controversial statements in this sermon was when he mentioned “chickens coming home to roost.” He was actually quoting Edward Peck, former U.S. Ambassador to Iraq and deputy director of President Reagan’s terrorism task force, who was speaking on FOX News. That’s what he told the congregation. [Wright] was quoting Peck as saying that America’s foreign policy has put the nation in peril:

“I heard Ambassador Peck on an interview yesterday did anybody else see or hear him? He was on FOX News, this is a white man, and he was upsetting the FOX News commentators to no end, he pointed out, a white man, an ambassador, he pointed out that what Malcolm X said when he was silenced by Elijah Mohammad was in fact true, he said Americas chickens, are coming home to roost.”

The video is especially helpful.



Martin added:

His sermon thesis:

1. This is a time for self-examination of ourselves and our families.

2. This is a time for social transformation (then he went on to say they won’t put me on PBS or national cable for what I’m about to say. Talk about prophetic!)

“We have got to change the way we have been doing things as a society,” he said.

Wright then said we can’t stop messing over people and thinking they can’t touch us. He said we may need to declare war on racism, injustice, and greed, instead of war on other countries.

“Maybe we need to declare war on AIDS. In five minutes the Congress found $40 billion to rebuild New York and the families that died in sudden death, do you think we can find the money to make medicine available for people who are dying a slow death? Maybe we need to declare war on the nation’s healthcare system that leaves the nation’s poor with no health coverage? Maybe we need to declare war on the mishandled educational system and provide quality education for everybody, every citizen, based on their ability to learn, not their ability to pay. This is a time for social transformation.”

3. This is time to tell God thank you for all that he has provided and that he gave him and others another chance to do His will.

By the way, nowhere in this sermon did he said “God damn America.” I’m not sure which sermon that came from.

This doesn’t explain anything away, nor does it absolve Wright of using the N-word, but what it does do is add an accurate perspective to this conversation.

The point that I have always made as a journalist is that our job is to seek the truth, and not the partial truth.

Good point.

Jeremiah’s right.

  • Well just goes to show the MSM is all about distortion and fooling the gullible masses

  • Well just goes to show the MSM is all about distortion and fooling the gullible masses…

    I listened to the whole sermon.
    Wright is owed a serious and formal apology.
    This whole episode is nothing less than a high-tech lynching.

  • I had the same reaction originally — “that was taken out of context” usually means “I didn’t mean for you to hear that” — but, damn, the full video really does cast that in a different light.

  • Honest criticism of one’s self or one’s American nation has never been our strong suit over the cultural development of our history. In fact, we are so socially underdeveloped, we tend to reel our heals in response to criticism, instead of hearing it for what it is and determining its validity. Wright steps over the comfort line, and dares to challenge America, or at least his Sunday following, to examine itself and to right the wrongs we have been ignoring for far too long now.

    I am a conservative libertarian, but I will not condemn anyone who engages in singular or group introspection, as if we don’t check ourselves every once in a while, we could allow some catastrophe event to get a life of its own – you know – like that Iraq debacle.

    WMDs my ass! This President lied to the American people to gain two things: revenge for his father and oil deposits for the American consumer market. We are being led by muggers. thuggers and theives and this MSMedia of ours is duplicious in not bringing us the whole story, complete with accurate details of what this WH crowd has done to our beloved bodypolitic.

    I am voting for Obama should he gain the Democratic nomination because I want to move forward into the 21st century without all the baggage this current media and the other two “traditional” candidates seem to carry with them everywhere they go. I am looking for a decent human being and an honest discourse from any potential future democratic leader.

    I think I have found such a combination in Obama, and so I say to the MSM and the “traditional” politicians do your best to sully my outlook. You will not succeed as I am looking at much different indicators than you. Good luck with your political obsolescence! -Kevo

  • I’ve listened to a few of his sermons. I wish more of them were getting shown, in full, on the news.

    The 9/11 one, in particular, has been so grossly mischaracterized by the MSM. He shows real compassion for the victims of 9/11, and he does not — ever — blame THEM for it. At most, what he says is that violence begets violence and, given that the U.S. has a history of using violence to achieve its ends, it should not be surprised when its enemies do the same. Not a terribly outrageous thing for a preacher to say, really. And he is also warning that the U.S.’s thirst for retribution after 9/11 may lead it astray. Words that turned out have a lot of truth to them (anyone remember “suck on this?”).

    All in all, I can see why Obama was drawn to him, and would not reject the man for his occasional rhetorical excesses. And I don’t for a minute believe that Wright is a hater, of whites or anyone.

    One final side note: Generally speaking, I’m not really in favor of whites condemning blacks for using the “N” word. Not our place, really.

  • This doesn’t explain anything away, nor does it absolve Wright of using the N-word, but what it does do is add an accurate perspective to this conversation.

    White folks are in no position to tell Black folks “not” to use the N word. That’s a non-starter.

  • *Yep, Jeremiah Wright got mugged by the corporate media*

    They are distorting his words to derail Obama, and even if theis comes out now, the damage is already done, hopefully Obama can pull it out otherwise we’ll get four years of McSame

  • Out of this comes something good I believe. Obama dared to answer this attack in a mature manner and slowly but surely, and thanks for the internet and Youtube, we are able to discover the truth, i.e. what was really said, rather than having to rely on a corrupted MSM who continue to prove that they only care about themselves and everything but the truth. It took a little time and a great deal of effort and thought by Obama to take the better path, (maybe John Kerry’s mistake not dealing with the Swiftboaters was a blessing in disguise) but we are getting there. One step, but each an important step, at a time.

  • Thanks to Frank @3, great Kermit clip…

    Just guessing hits on something important. It wasn’t all that long ago that we’d have to take the MSM’s word for everything…or trust a politician. But by Google we shall know thee.

    People now have the means to find out things for themselves, and thanks to people like Mr. Benen, we also have a place to share and disseminate information. We are not there yet, not by a long shot. But we’re getting there.

    And it certainly helps to have a politician willing (though initially he spun and obfuscated) to address situations like this head on and calmly.

    I don’t think that the pols have, for the most part, figured out the true power of the internet. They certainly see it as a way to get their message out and raise money. But if most of them really understood it they’d act a little differently. Sen Clinton wouldn’t make up stories about sniper fire in Bosnia, because she’d realize that we can and will check it out for ourselves. Sen McCain wouldn’t say one thing in America and another in Europe, because he’d understand that we can and will find out about it.

    Like most other things, the internet is a tool…it’s all about how you use it.

  • Rev. Wright said that no one is going to call Hillary Clinton a “nigger.” I’d say that is probably true. On the other hand, I have heard people call Obama one.

  • “I don’t think that the pols have, for the most part, figured out the true power of the internet. They certainly see it as a way to get their message out and raise money. But if most of them really understood it they’d act a little differently. Sen Clinton wouldn’t make up stories about sniper fire in Bosnia, because she’d realize that we can and will check it out for ourselves. Sen McCain wouldn’t say one thing in America and another in Europe, because he’d understand that we can and will find out about it.

    Like most other things, the internet is a tool…it’s all about how you use it.”

    Just as an aside, I think that now would be a good time to look at each candidate’s position on net neutrality. As you said, the internet is really starting to show its power this election, demolishing Clinton’s version of the Bosnia landing, and slowly but surely restoring credibility to Jeremiah Wright. Just think of how the 2000 election might have gone if we had a Youtube of Al Gore’s “I invented the internet” speech.

    Losing net neutrality may undermine its ability to derail the media narrative. Might be a good time to start hammering it home with the candidates.

  • Lex(12) Amen to that!

    On the comment though about “initially he spun and obfuscated”, I actually think this is a plus. It certainly is not conventional wisdom that you should let a wound fester before treating it, but Obama’s message all along was that he is not defined by race. So to let the media build this up so absurdly and then give a brilliant explanation of the complexity of cultural differences accomplishes two things. 1) It teaches a lesson at a time when people are receptive, and 2) It very cleverly puts a red face on the media who spent so much time hyping it.

    I might add that he essentially did about the same thing with the Rezko issue when he met with his biggest critics and calmly explained things. Bush (or most politicians) would have either made loud and angry noises from the beginning or waited to see what comes out and spin the facts based on what they know. By talking to the Trib and Sun last week, he essentially laid out a scenario that he won’t be able to back away from. Assuming nothing does come out, it gives him credibility.

  • I wanted to say thank you for this venue to learn about the truth. It sickens me how I used to rely on MSM to give me the truth about current events. It’s through instruments such as this site that my eyes are finally seeing what is real…. and I’m actually excited for the first time about what we can accomplish! There is so much we can do for ourselves and the world if we sieze this opportunity. I’ll be voting for Obama.

  • Ok, I’ll admit to not having watched any of Wright’s sermons, as I was never big into guilt by association and felt that Obama wasn’t to be blamed for what Wright said. But all the same, I assumed he had said something truly offensive. But at least as far as this “chickens” sermon goes, I not only agree with everything he said, I’m of the opinion that any liberal who doesn’t agree with it shouldn’t consider themselves liberal.

    This sermon was completely right. This wasn’t a “God did this to punish the gays” or anything remotely Falwellesque. This was a valid criticism of America’s longterm foreign policy. He wasn’t saying that it was good that America got attacked; but rather that it was understandable why America’s enemies did this and that we need to stop behaving like our enemies if we expect them to stop behaving like that.

    Obama’s association with Wright is far superior to Hillary’s assocation with neo-cons. Hillary might think it’s a great idea to slaughter innocent children in Iraq and Iran, but no true liberal should. But you won’t hear that kind of talk from her at all. To her, bombs only kill Saddam and the Mullahs; somehow she seems to forget about the innocents. But our enemies never do.

  • Indeed, splitting image, net neutrality should be off foremost concern for all of us. As an aside to that, i believe that it’s time we all start looking at Congressional races in our (and others’) area(s). We’ll need the solid candidates to sit in Congress, as well as the White House…especially for issues like net neutrality.

    Thanks Danp. You know, i’ve wondered why Obama has initially handled those two situations like he did, followed by handling them as well as he has…

    I’m of two minds. First, it must be awfully hard not to fall into the conventional political wisdom, even if that wisdom is not his first instinct. And i wonder how much influence the campaign people (i assume conventional political wisdom people) have had on his initial reactions. So i wonder, is he catching himself?

    Second, your theory…which is not only solid, but makes perfect, unconventional sense. Someone, somewhere said that maybe the Obama campaign let the Wright controversy out; that makes a certain amount of strategic sense too…under your theory. The Republicans would have waited until the general (or should have), and Clinton should have waited until the week before PA (though her strategy so far has been far from brilliant). If the Wright uproar was semi-engineered by Obama, then we may have the most brilliant politician of our lifetimes in front of us. That sounds counter-intuitive, but it would have come out sometime; it’s far better for him to be controlling the narrative.

  • Lex(18): I really don’t think Obama is so Macchiavellian that he would plan this out, although I suppose it’s quite possible the church consulted him about the timing of releasing these tapes. I just think he handled it well. My gut feeling is that his first instinct was to trust people enough to ignor the whole Wright issue (and perhaps the Rezko one as well). What I do think was brilliant , however, was that he timed his responses such that perhaps the next time, he will get the benefit of the doubt. He keeps talking about how Americans are tired of this old style negativity, but then in order for him to rise above it, it becomes our responsibility to be skeptical – not only of the politicians, but of the media as well.

  • @17 He wasn’t saying that it was good that America got attacked; but rather that it was understandable why America’s enemies did this and that we need to stop behaving like our enemies if we expect them to stop behaving like that.

    For those that object to the word “understandable,” (for some, connoting too much sympathy for the enemy) we might say “predictable.”

  • Ummm…Greg? Comeback Bill? Mary? Any of you Obama-bashing trolls out there? Hello?

    No?

    It figures. The truth finally—FINALLY starts to come out, and the swill-shills crawl back under their rocks.

    As for the convo between Lex and Danp, Obama comes across as the type who will take some time examining something before commenting on it. It’s in his nature to do this—remember, he’s a Law Professor, for crying out loud. You just don’t shoot from the hip in that line of work, and it’s something that’s exceptionally new in the realm of instant cherry-picked soundbytes and shoot-from-the-hip rhetoric that’s been all-too-common in politics.

  • A few qiuck questions questions.
    1- What about a president who would be partial to the “Rodney King verdict” rioters of LA or the Cincinnati rioters and numerous other city riots and violence that occurs almost every year by so called African Americans?

    2-Does poverty cause crime or does crime cause poverty?

    3-Is it my fault that most violent crime is commited by blacks?

    4-Are European Americans welcome in African American churches and could I be a member of the NAACP?

    5-Does democracy mean minority rule?

  • My general view was like #17, in that I assumed that the cloud of smoke was exaggerated, but that there was probably some hateful preaching going on. On seeing the videos I got angry with myself for making bad assumptions about Wright. Then I got angrier, because I realized that I’d let myself be played like a chump on all this. Dammit, I know not to take media reports at face value without double-checking, and I know that I should be deeply suspicious about any negative spin about any politician, but especially minorities and women. Now I’m just extremely angry at whomever foisted this sleazy con-job on us.

    In the last couple of days since I first saw the Trinity Church rebuttal video clips, I’ve become quite a fan of the quote by Mark Twain that I’ve seen a number of people post, that “a lie can get halfway around the world before the truth can even get its boots on.” That’s still true, but both lies and the truth are now turbocharged relative to a decade ago, by U-tube and the internet. The speed at which they fire-stormed the original controversy, and their effectiveness in rebutting it by making longer clips of the sermons readily available (and also their effectiveness in deflating Hillary’s war story) are downright revolutionary.

    Sadly, I expect that the distortions about Wright will last long enough to keep Obama’s vote way down in Pennsylvania and beyond, but the truth here is getting out.

  • RE: mike #23

    1. What about Bush and Terry Schiavo’s husband?

    2. Neither. (Ever heard of that, sometimes you don’t have the answer listed, consider other possibilities, think.) Hint: Have you ever committed a crime?

    3. Possibly, in your mind.

    4. Yes, and probably yes, but why would you ask?

    5. Apparently it has since November 2006.

  • Mike, I mean this without the slightest bit of sarcasm, but if you’re really asking those questions sincerely, you need to get out more and meet people of other races. They’re not as scary as you’ve been led to believe.

    Are European Americans welcome in African American churches and could I be a member of the NAACP?

    Yes and yes. The NAACP isn’t some black supremacist organization. Four of the seven founding members were white people, after all.

  • TR, @ 26,
    Mike wants into NAACP like he wants into ACLU. Just look at the bias of the presuppositions he’s bringing into the Rodney King/riots question…

  • I HATE religion, yet this is a preacher I actually enjoyed. There isn’t anything in there I disagree with. This is a non story. It was an adult critique of American foreign policy. But I guess while white preachers can call on Americans to kill Gays, don’t dare let us catch a black preacher being critical of American foreign policy.

    The funny thing is I was just watching George Carlin on youtube:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=amv7DN6P29Q

    There isn’t anything said by Wright that Carlin or for that matter Bill Maher don’t say on a regulat basis.

    I literally am speechless after finally seeing the video. I though that Kerry’s swift boating was as low as it could get for the media, but this is right up there.

  • Mike – are you assuming that all white people (and, therefore, all white presidents) would be against the L.A. rioters, and all black people (and, therefore, all black presidents) would be on the side of the L.A. rioters? If so, I hope you will consider some introspection.

    What about a president who would continue vacationing for 5 days while the bodies of black American citizens float around Louisiana and Mississippi after a natural disaster? Is this a less sinister idea to you because it’s the black folk in danger, and the president is white? Does the idea that a president would do this seem racist to you, and are you assuming that if a white president is racist then a black president would also be racist?

    I’m not trying to knock you. I find that most Americans are, in some way, racist. I know I am – how could I not be? I was raised in Kentucky by white people and my father was a good ol’ boy.

  • Danp, I think you hit the nail on the head. I have said the same over the past few weeks. The only thing missing from your conclusion is the logical reason for it.

    Here is my reasoning:

    1. Obama cannot come out and address a non-issue, nobody can. For instance, on Fox News, the non-issue (as in fabrication) is that Obama sat in church for 20 years and listened to his preacher fire-breath hate, racism, etc. in every 30 second sound bite. The more we find out about Rev. Wright, the more we discover that the sound bite does not reflect the Reverend’s views, and certainly not Obama’s. So how could Obama come out and address this non-issue? If I sat through the entire sermon, I would have nothing to explain.

    2. As a lawyer, Obama knows that it is best to wait for your opponent to reveal their case, their reasoning, their evidence. Let everyone ask their rhetorical questions, because they are rhetorical. Let everyone become aware of what the questions are, let the doubt build. This is almost a gift. Let the attacker empty their clip.

    3. Once everyone is paying attention, deliver your response. This strategy only works if you have a response. Some have said that Obama should have disassociated himself with Wright years ago. How many years would have been valid for those attacking him now? Two? Four? Eight? Sixteen? Twenty? Hell, he is a Democrat and Bill invited Wright to the WH, so the stain endures. The attackers are not looking for rationality, just some tenuous connection.

    4. Appeal to higher principles. By responding in universally inclusive language, everyone feels they are part of a singular group. We all want to categorize by race/sex/religion/etc. Everyone does it and it never helps.

  • The analogy of the ‘eccentric’ uncle fits perfectly. Can anyone who hears Obama speak think that he agrees with Wright’s more extreme utterances? If he ever thought that way, he moved beyond it, years ago.

  • It is sad that this minister is not lifting people up to seek their potential greatness, instead he is misleading them that they can never rise up on their own. When will he inspire people to see that most people DO care and seek equality. I have never heard a religious leader say that everyone is bad. It is very insulting to those of us whom have always striven for equality and respect of all people of shapes, sizes and colors, and there are MANY of us. Shame on Mr. Wright for being so wrong, and so mean-spirited. He is not a man of God, he is a man of his own love of the sound of his voice, no matter how ridiculous his ideas.

  • thanks for posting this. What do you think the odds are this will get much play in the MSM? Will one half of the Corporate Media will tell on the other half?

  • @Solveig Elios:

    What did he say that brings people down, most of what he said is the truth, there are a few times it goes off into more conspiracy areas but its not mean spirited, for example the attacks on september 11th were the result of US action, after all who trained the Afghans to fight the soviets

  • Look, non of the ‘Clinton’ trolls ever took this topic as a reason to bash Obama. It’s much easier to hit him on the facts.

    Like, sure you’ve heard Obama referred to by the N-word? On national television? No?

    But Clinton has been referred to on national tv and radio by the B-word. The C-word. The W-word. The H-word. The… May I stop now?

    Thanks.

    But I knew that Wright would be redeemed by fact eventually.

  • Yeah she’s been called that by a Mccain supporter, and he just laughed, where was her complaints to her friend about that?

  • We are all sinners , according to christianity .I’ve never heard a christian leader say human beings were’nt bad . They use fear and guilt to fill the collection plate .

  • i heard the newscaster on CNN last night say they were going to play the entire Wright video ‘in context’ — since i’d already seen it i didn’t stick around to see if they did, but if they did, it sounds like a bit of MSM reparations might be coming. i doubt, however, that we’ll see it on the morning shows where the most eyeballs show up.

  • You don’t believe that Senator Obama’s a Muslim?” Kroft asked Sen. Clinton.

    “Of course not. I mean, that, you know, there is no basis for that. I take him on the basis of what he says. And, you know, there isn’t any reason to doubt that,” she replied.

    “You said you’d take Senator Obama at his word that he’s not…a Muslim. You don’t believe that he’s…,” Kroft said.

    “No. No, there is nothing to base that on. As far as I know,” she said.

    “It’s just scurrilous…?” Kroft inquired.

    “Look, I have been the target of so many ridiculous rumors, that I have a great deal of sympathy for anybody who gets, you know, smeared with the kind of rumors that go on all the time,” Clinton said.

    The above is a speech from 60 minutes. 5 words “As far as I know” have been completely overanalyzed and been found in so many blogs and newspapers across the country trying to prove Hillary is still using race and religion to stop Obama. In fact in this interview Hillary actually was complementary towards Obama.

    Now I will give you the fact that Wrights speech on 9/11 was given the same treatment and was overanalyzed to death. However these distortions are not or never been one-sided towards Obama. It’s all about the ratings.

    To date, no one has appologized to Clinton, AS FAR AS I KNOW.

  • The Wright moment is only a tactic so the msm can pretend to be fair. The fact is: they have worshipped Obama from the get go. This business will soon be swept under the rug, and we’ll again be listening to the Gobama Choir.
    The msm knew they might not get another puppet in office, so they hedged their bets and put together an uneducated coalition of red State folk and young people to elect a naive poser like Obama. Red State folk have always ignored the rule against bearing false witness, and they cut themselves off from the enlightenment long ago. Young people were taught rhetoric instead of logic and don’t know much about the world yet. Neither group can reason their way out of a paper bag. And they’re easily manipulated by pretty words and empty rhetoric.
    The msm wins again. Resistance is futile.
    http://a-civilife.blogspot.com

  • So where are all the trolls — left and right — who were spouting off about the anti-American Rev. Wright and how that makes Obama un-electable?

    **crickets**

    Typical …

  • palmbeachmaven said: “Rev. Wright said that no one is going to call Hillary Clinton a “nigger.” I’d say that is probably true. On the other hand, I have heard people call Obama one.”

    I’ve heard people call Senator Clinton a ‘Bitch’. Not as important? Doesn’t give her prespective on prejudice in America?

  • to post 41

    “At the first Sunday service following the terrorist attacks of 9/11, Wright preached that the attacks were a consequence of violent U.S. policies. And four years later, Wright wrote that the 9/11 attacks were proof that ‘people of color had not gone away, faded into the woodwork or just disappeared as the Great White West went on its merry way of ignoring Black concerns.'”

    So looks as though again the MSM has ignored that was more than one comment on 9/11 at different times. Or maybe you would like to explain why Wright visited Khadafi in 1984 with Farrakhan. Of course it was the “evil” American empire who raided innocent Khadafi’s Libya.

    Wright is as anti-american as they come, just because the media choose to display this speech instead of others. Obama in his “famous” speech about race said he can understand why someone would have these ill feelings going thru the civil rights movement. That was 40 years ago, how long is Wright allowed to feel this way before it becomes a bad thing

  • he is misleading them that they can never rise up on their own.

    um, the point of the sermon was for the congregation (and the pastor) to re-examine their relationship with god. but i guess you don’t have the attention span to actually watch the video.

  • to # 38 entheo:
    I also heard CNN last night say they were going to play the entire video in context so I watched.
    They played the same old short clip we’ve seen for days on end. Then they brought in a republican clergy to talk about why a person’s faith does matter in politics. The interviewer (Sanchez) was trying to lead the topic to places even the republican clergyman didn’t want to go. After about 20 minutes I had to shut the tv off. I’d love to know if and when they ever ran the entire video but I doubt I’ll watch CNN any time soon to ever know.

  • Yes, some of his comments were taken our of context, but what about the Reverand’s comments about equating Zionism to racism? Also, what about his comment that the U.S. Government gave the AIDS virus to Black people? I am a Christian liberal Democrat, but I would still like to know how the masses could condone these two comments of his, not to mention some of the other confirmed (in context) statements.

  • Speaking of crazy preachers, Pastor John Hagee is considered one of the 20 most influential evangelical ministers in America today. He’s also John McCain’s spiritual advisor. Hagee has compared Planned Parenthood to the Nazi Party and has suggested the Jews brought the Holocaust on themselves when they abandoned the word of God. Here’s a little more of Hagee’s “spirituality”: “The United States must join Israel in a pre-emptive military strike against Iran to fulfill God’s plan for both Israel and the West… a biblically prophesied end-time confrontation with Iran, which will lead to the Rapture, Tribulation […] and [the] Second Coming of Christ.”

    But of course the right-wing media didn’t go nuts over that, because McCain is GOP (greedy old pigs!) They only care about smearing Progressive candidates.

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