"Having my book deal! What a prosperous way to say how much this gig blows!" I just realized that this is the second night in a row that I've broken into song in my diary intro. I don't know if I'm good enough to make it a nightly thing; that may be difficult! Let the Countdown musings begin!

Bill Moyers, a man who's no stranger to speaking the truth when most of his colleagues are unwilling, has just laid the proverbial nail in the coffin that is the Rev. Wright scandal.

The first segment of his program, which airs every Friday evening (checking local PBS listings) is usually composed a verbal essay in which Moyers very eloquently analyzes the week's events.

Today, he spoke on the racist double standard in our media, made apparent by  the Rev. Wright scandal.

Somehow the media has become responsible for Sen. Obama’s ‘problems’ with Rev. Wright.  Let’s ‘get real’ here.  Now only is the media NOT responsible, but Sen. Obama didn’t do enough to put this problem behind him early on.  How, in good conscience, can anyone blame the media?  Let’s face it, the ugly truth we’re not talking about is the fact that African-Americans (and I am African-American) are all alike.  We talk alike, we think alike, we behave the same way.  Sen. Obama’s problem is that he tried to deny that fact early on and presented himself as a ‘new negro’.  Why didn’t it work?  Because there’s no such thing.

While the liberal blogosphere and media critics alike are fuming over the deplorable gotcha-fest that was the ABC Democratic debate Wednesday in Philadelphia, conservative talking heads are positively ecstatic.  In the New York Times, David Brooks called the questions on lapel pins and the Weather Underground "excellent."  The excreable Michelle Malkin snarked, "How dare they explore questions of character, truthfulness, and judgment?" And over at Hot Air, Ed Morrissey offered "kudos to ABC News" while noting "John McCain has to feel grateful not to be included."

Just one day before lambasting Barack Obama over his recent comments about religion, John McCain was a no-show at Sunday's CNN Compassion Forum on faith.  That's because when it comes to discussing his own religious beliefs, the Republican presidential nominee believes that silence is golden.  And judging by the fawning stories from the Washington Times, CNN and the Politico, the press corps seems to agree.  But McCain's reticence to speak about his faith doesn't represent a generational preference for private piety.  No, McCain's silence is an essential strategy to avoid alienating his party's evangelical base and independent voters alike by drawing attention to his confusing religious conversion, his myriad past gaffes and his current backing from extremist ministers.

All this week, Republican presidential nominee John McCain is highlighting his biography during a "Service to America" tour designed to reintroduce himself to voters.  Unfortunately, with each new stop, McCain only raises disturbing new questions about his past.

As much as anything else, presidential campaigns are won and lost by the media narratives that rightly or wrongly come to define a candidate.  In the case of Repubican nominee John McCain, the seemingly unshakable narrative of the political "maverick" could not be further off the mark. At almost every turn, McCain in his eternal quest for the White House has reversed long-held positions, compromised core principles and swallowed his pride in order to curry favor with both the leading lights of the conservative movement and right-wing Republican primary voters.  The untold story of campaign 2008 is simply that of John McCain's transformation from maverick to prostitute.

I just found this over on Andrew Sullivan's blog:

An interesting contrast between Sean Hannity's views on Wright and Falwell, and whether good deeds can eclipse bad words.

He basically defends Falwell for his insane comments yet continues to dig into people who defend Wright for his.  What a pig.

Full quotes after the jump...

Rudy Giuliani's priest has been accused in grand jury proceedings of molesting several children and covering up the molestation of others. Giuliani would not disavow him on the campaign trail and still works with him.

Mitt Romney was part of a church that did not view black Americans as equals and actively discriminated against them. He stayed with that church all the way into his early thirties, until they were finally forced to change their policies to come into compliance with civil rights legislation. Romney never disavowed his church back then or now. He said he was proud of the faith of his fathers.

Jerry Falwell said America had 9/11 coming because we tolerated gays, feminists and liberals. It was our fault. Our chickens had come home to roost, if you will. John McCain proudly received his support and even spoke at his university's commencement.

I am very upset with the hypocrisy that has been promulgated by the talking heads of the mainstream media with respect to Obama's relationship with his minister Rev. Wright....

As we all know, Obama himself is not responsible for the statements for which he is being held accountable.

Still, Republicans have fed into this notion that Obama "sat there in a pew for 20 years" listening to the racist and unpatriotic statements, and so he is guilty by association and/or osmosis.

They claim that Obama should have abandoned the Reverand and the Church, and found a new one somewhere.... They argue that by staying with the Church and continuing to seek counsel from the man responsible for the bile that Obama was condoning it....

Were these same Republicans up in arms when Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson BOTH claimed that God was punishing America through the 9/11 attacks for accepting gays?

No.

Were these same Republicans up in arms when Falwell claimed that America was "rotting from within", and that God did not answer "the prayer of any unredeemed Gentile or Jew"?

No.

So why the double-standard?

In the past few days, people have died in Iraq, the economy has taken some pretty heavy blows, and --- HOLY SHIT, STOP THE PRESSES.  This just in!  We have received reports that Barack Obama's pastor said the words "God damn America", while referring to injustices faced by the black community in the United States.  

We will now go to a split screen for the next 72 hours, where we will put the video of this black man jumping around and getting emotional in front of a black congregation on a continuous loop.  As you can see from the video, the pastor is black and so is his congregation.  

This black pastor's tone of voice and level of emotion is fairly typical of many, many churches across America, but coming from a black pastor in a black church it is quite troubling.  Also note that black Democratic candidate Barack Obama attends this black church and often hears this black pastor preaching.  This is a significant blow to the Obama campaign.

Yesterday Glenn Greenwald made the point that "the statements of white evangelical ministers are not subjected to the same standards of judgment as those being applied to Wright's statements", citing examples by Pat Robertson, Jerry Falwell, and John Hagee.

Yes, but...

A fairly large portion of the American public holds views similar to those of Jerry Falwell et al. Such commentary being so commonplace that we are immune to the outrageous statements made by white evangelical ministers. Once we understand that everyone is but a product of an amalgam of the cultural trends to which they are subjected; Jerry Falwell becomes as much a product of the cultural micro-community from which he derives his narrative, as is Wright. In the latter's case, it's a minority stronghold established to offer comfort to the oppressed and an outlet to express their rage. Wright's comments sound strange to the general population that
1.) has not been exposed to such a perspective.
2.) can't relate to the rage behind them. Not in the way they can relate to the late Jerry Falwell and his nostalgia for the 1950's.

While I find that Rev. Wright is over the top with some of his polemics, especially the Goddamn America  litany and HIV as a government plot against blacks, he isn't the only lunatic religious leader embracing some of our leading candidates.

Indeed one, by the name of John McCain, has sought out the SUPPORT of TWO religious nut jobs whose public statements easily match or exceed those of Rev. Wright.

Why isn't he held accountable?

The Huffington Post has a great piece by ex Religious Right leader Frank Shaeffer that compares how his father's treasonous words against the United States gained him prominence in the Republican Party - even invitations to the White House - while the Right and the media are trying to make Jeremiah Wright's word a dis qualifier for Obama to be President:

When Senator Obama's preacher thundered about racism and injustice Obama suffered smear-by-association. But when my late father -- Religious Right leader Francis Schaeffer -- denounced America and even called for the violent overthrow of the US government, he was invited to lunch with presidents Ford, Reagan and Bush, Sr.

OK, so everyone is up in arms over the words of Obama's "pastor, mentor, and friend" to quote America's favorite bigot, Pat Buchanan from MSNBC this a.m.
I've seen replay after replay on the news the last 24 hours of Wright condemning America. It seems to me that the response to this is rather simple and I show it after the jump.

The Daily Show's Jon Stewart tried to warn him in 2006, but John McCain didn't listen.  Battered by all sides over his embrace of End Times Pastor John Hagee, John McCain is finally experiencing the blowback from his pandering visits to "crazy base world."

Pat Robertson relays the message:
“God told Jerry and Jerry, God bless him, told me.”

PR Newswire, Feb. 7, 2008 -- Fox News Network is reporting that deceased televangelist Jerry Falwell,  who helped verify  responsibility for the 9/11 attack,  has explained God’s reason for the record-breaking spawn of killer tornados that ravaged middle-American communities on Super Tuesday. At least 55 middle-Americans lost their lives.

Falwell’s longtime collaborator, televangelist  and conservative political personality Pat Robertson, gave Fox News an exclusive interview Wednesday  to relay Falwell’s insight.

~ more details below the fold ~

In the wake of his New Hampshire and South Carolina victories, the once-and-future GOP frontrunner John McCain is enjoying a charmed life when it comes to the press.  Just days after John King's puff piece on CNN, the Washington Post's Howard Kurtz offered a glowing review of McCain's accessibility to the press.  But as he conveniently continues his retreat from his past positions on immigration and tax cuts as the Republican race heads to Florida, John McCain should be receiving more media scrutiny - not less.