After Obama addressed the issue so capably in Philadelphia, it was over for anyone paying attention. As I've commented in other diaries, this remains an issue only for people who don't have enough focus to watch more than a 20 second sound byte, or for people disingenuous enough to be looking for negative issues in a candidate who provides few opportunities for smear.
But Obama is handling this, and capably, and I leave that in his hands.
But then I'd heard that a few of Wright's engagements had been cancelled - not due to bad publicity, or scheduling conflicts - but because he and his congregation had been threatened.
This upset me.
I decided to send a few dollars (and this was in the middle of my PayPal issues, so when I say "a few dollars", I mean - a very few dollars) to his church.
I didn't keep a copy of the letter I included with the check, but it was brief. It said something like:
Dear Reverend Wright,
I am filled with remorse to learn that you and your congregation have been threatened by people who have not taken the time to learn the substance of some of your sermons. I hope you remain safe.
Please find enclosed a small donation to be applied toward one of your church's missions.
Sincerely,
Sheddhead
I mailed that off about two weeks ago. Today, I received a letter from Trinity United Church of Christ. It reads:
Dear Barb:
Grace and peace be unto you. I am writing you simply to say, "Thank you."
Our church has been under vicious attack. The media is out to destroy Obama's candidacy and is using me as the bludgeon.
I thank you for responding to Pastor Moss' request for help in battling this giant we call the media. I really appreciate your kindness and your thoughtfulness.
Sincerely yours,
Reverend Dr. Jeremiah A. Wright, Jr.
Pastor Emeritus
I confirmed one thing from his letter, and believe a second thing. I wondered, as I wrote, if I should say, Dear Reverend Dr. Wright, but I didn't see that on the church website, so I didn't.
Oops. :)
And I believe even more strongly than I did before I opened this letter (and that was a pretty strong belief) that Obama's words in Philadelphia were spoken after they had been shared with Rev. Wright - and with his consent. The letter sent to me today was not sent by a man who holds Obama's words against him.
There was no bus.
Updated to add, thanks to smartdemmg's comment:
If you are interested in donating to Trinity or writing to Rev. (Dr.) Wright:
Reverend Dr. Jeremiah Wright
400 West 95th Street
Chicago, IL 60628-1220
And if you'd like to see their website, please click the link for Trinity United Church of Christ
--
Second Update (To address an email I received from a DKos user)
I just received the following email from a guy who calls himself "Steve"
I decided to send a few dollars . . . . . to his church.
So you are another Jew hating Nazi thug.
Obama did not address the Wright issue in that speech. All he did was try and divert attention onto an irrelevant issue.
Based on Obama's affiliations and advisors one can only conclude that his foreign policy would be the most anti-Israel since its creation. It would also rapidly result in the worst war Israel even faced in the region.
But let us be honest. All Obama, and Wright, and you will care about is that Jews are dead.
Dear Steve,
When I mentioned assholes in the comments below, just pretend I was using your name.
Sincerely,
sheddhead
PS - when you send such nasty, accusatory emails, you should probably not use an email account that provides your full name (unless you're just using a coworker's name.)
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