I've never been moved to write a diary here before, although I've lurked and posted comments from time to time, but after all the controversy over Reverend Wright and Barack Obama, I've felt compelled to add to the discussion, being of the demographic that supposedly is now appalled and ashamed about it all...
I'm a white, middle-class 57-year old who, in the course of my lifetime has lived in both the liberal north (New York), the conservative south (Texas), and now live in a hodgepodge of liberal and conservative, a college town in a red state (Athens, Georgia). Recently, I've heard that I should now be less likely to support Barack Obama due to the statements of his (now retired) pastor, even though I supported him in the Georgia primary.
Really? Why? Did Barack Obama kill babies, or bomb Des Moines? Did he (heaven forbid) convert to Islam? No, he went to church for 20 years, a black church, where his pastor at times made statements that were deemed too strong for a white audience. It was okay to hear Falwell and Robertson blame many in the United States for both 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina, fine to read Dinesh D'Souza blame all of American society for the actions of Islamic radicals, okay for Jonah Goldberg, Rush Limbaugh, Laura Ingraham, Ann Coulter, Fox News, et.al., slander and libel half of the American voting public for daring to hold an opposing political point of view, and just dandy for our presidents administration to call those who opposed an illegal war "traitors". There used to be a bad joke about a police charge of "driving while black". Now there seems to be a new charge..."preaching while black".
For this middle-aged white Democrat, I'm still fine with Obama.