Wright or wrong?

I have agonized over beginning this post and discarded “The Wright stuff” as too flippant a title for a matter of such seriousness to me. This is no time for inappropriate levity.

While I have supported Hillary Clinton, I have made it clear to my readers that I would support and vote for Barack Obama if he is the Democratic nominee.

I have friends who read my blog and are very dear to me who wholeheartedly support Obama’s candidacy. For that reason, I have tried to emphasize issues when discussing the two Democratic hopefuls.

Perhaps it was inevitable with the first African-American and the first woman among top contenders for the presidency that the media would smack their greedy, ratings-craving lips at any hint of racism or sexism.

No one can question that for more than 200 years this has been “white man’s country.”

I find it very hard to level criticism at a candidate who, if nominated, would get my vote in November, considering the alternative.

Simply put, I do not buy Obama’s claim that he has had no previous idea of the tone of his pastor and “spiritual adviser” the Rev. Jeremiah Wright’s sermons.

“Tone” is the key word.

Whether you agree or disagree with Wright’s words, there is an anger in his soul which cannot be denied.

Fox News’ Greta van Susteren devoted a large portion of her show Friday night to airing numerous videos of Wright’s diatribes, which I have not seen on CNN or MSNBC.

I found many patently offensive.

As a young woman, I had a pastor for 12 years who helped me in the development of my spirituality. His sermons and his friendship were as powerful an influence as that of my parents and siblings, providing me with an inner gyroscope which helps me keep my balance. I knew his mind and his heart.

There is incredulity in Obama’s sudden disdain for his pastor’s mind and heart – a dichotomy of divinity being heavily dissected.

Arguments can be made about endorsements John McCain has received from right-wing religious leaders like John Hagee, who has called the Catholic Church “The Great Whore,” and Rod Parsley, who says the Founding Fathers intended Americans to slay all followers of Islam. But, McCain has not had the relationship with either that Obama has had with Wright. I don’t know much about McCain’s spirituality, but I’ll bet I know who he talked to during three years of solitary confinement at the Hanoi Hiltn.

(For the record, numerous books about Hillary Rodham Clinton, including her autobiography, note her spirituality took form in her teenage years. Prevalent were: the influence of her church’s youth minister, who has remained her lifelong friend and adviser; the opportunity twice, as a young girl, to hear Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., preach; and Methodist leader John Wesley’s mantra, “Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as ever you can.”)

Wright’s statements are the antithesis of Obama’s stump speeches, and, whether they have had influence on him and his family, cut right to the heart of his platform of hope, unity, change and good judgment.

If Obama faces McCain in the general election, there will be “swift-boating” by 527s like nothing John Kerry ever experienced.

In a worst-case scenario, McCain would win the presidency, and the ramifications of that are far too frightening.

Perhaps more frightening is what a McCain win would do to young people who have become energized in the political process; to blacks who, in my opinion, are long overdue for an MLK-like leader and role model; and to Obama himself.

I have conservative friends who are telling me the Democratic Party is “imploding.” Certainly, the media would have us believe we’re in trouble. But, in the end, the platforms of both senators Obama and Clinton offer far more help, far more hope for Americans and America than anything the Republican Party has offered in many a year.

I believe Barack Obama when he says he loves America. Questions arise about his judgment.

I believe Barack Obama when he says he is a Christian. No person can question another’s spiritual beliefs or what is in a person’s soul.

Essential to this discussion are the words of Article VI of the Constitution of the United States of America:

“The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the members of the several state legislatures, and all executive and judicial officers, both of the United States and of the several states, shall be bound by oath or affirmation, to support this Constitution; but NO RELIGIOUS TEST SHALL EVER BE REQUIRED as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States.”

I just hope Obama’s little daughters were never in the pews when the Rev. Wright was spewing such fiery rhetoric as “No, no, no. Not God bless America. God damn America. The Bible says so.” across his congregation.