already diaried

So what church does he belong to now?

sad

Pfleger was a good guy, did a lot for his community and was a real peace pushing guy

i wonder why he would do that at the church, they knew the church had a lot of attention after wright, why would he say those things knowing that it would get covered.

If a tree falls in the forest and everybody is focusing on:

1. the RBC

2. Puerto Rico

3. Montana and the latest Hanna Montana racy photos

4. South Dakota

5. concluding the primary season

then, did anyone see the tree fall?  

He's got to denounce all of Christianity. It's the only way I'll vote for him or I swear I'm voting McCain in November!

/troll.

He should have resigned a long time ago, but I'm happy he finally did. However, I question the timing of this "Breaking News" item. It breaks just as the DNC is about to vote. I smell a very savy politician.

This is over now. I hope everyone moves on, in particular a certain pro-Hillary diarist who is no doubt suffering the vapors over Hillary's impending loss in the RBC today.

I help with Obama's religious targeting, hepling with ads and messaging.  His membership to the Church was distracting the Church from their community goals, and was distracting the nation (wrongly) from our common challenges.  It is sad our nation has reached this point.  And, frankly many on this site have piled on when it was not needed.  I repeat that so many people have stood by this Church who know this Church...white and black.  The only people complaining are those from afar.  

In terms of the father.  He has apologized, sincerely, he got carried away and admitted it.  Sen. Obama spoke out forcefully against his comments, and this has lead him to decide that membership in this church is no longer a positive thing.  

The Obama family is moving into a big White House in DC in a few months, and have not attended Trinity for some time due to the campaign, so they will be looking for a new Church in DC.

Obama probaly had to leave Trinity this year anyway, since he's probably moving to D.C. in January.

Became too much of a political liability.

Now, what was the reason Obama gave for dumping Rev. Wright again???

New kids' song:

The wheels on Barack's bus go round and round, round and round, round and round . . .

What does Obama believe in?

Does this guy believe in anything?

When things get rough does he cut and run?

Why now, why didn't he quit when Wright, a handful of days after 9/11 said "The chickens have come home to roost for America"  "Damn, Damn, Damn, America?"  

Why not then, but now?

Who is Barack Obama?

standing up for himself and staying in.  He can't just walk away from 20 years, and his church did a lot of good despite harboring some hateful and divisive messages.   He should had said that the whole of his church is good and rejected the specifics.

Sometimes it's just time to move on.

That latest silly preacher was bad enough, but the way the audience cackled with delight made me think Obama wouldn't want to be with them any more either.

http://blogs.suntimes.com/sweet/

Lynn Sweet says:

WASHINGTON--UPDATE--Obama spokesman Bill Burton confirmed that Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) quit Chicago's Trinity United Church of Christ. Obama "will answer questions this evening" about resigning from the church that helped Obama chart his course as a Christian, an Obama top adviser just told me. UPDATE 2 Obama campaign manager David Plouffe just told me Obama's availability--where he will talk about ending his long relationship with Trinity will take place at about 8:15 p.m. eastern time tonight, from South Dakota, where he is campaigning in advance of Tuesday's primary vote.

I guess he listened to you guys and thought insulting Hillary was the straw that breaks the camel's back.

how Ickes could have voted to strip FL and MI pf ALL delegates but now attacks the committee for giving FL half its votes?

Is this not manipulative hypocrisy that all but the self-inflicted blind can't see through?

Supers!  This is your moment

Question: do you think Obama would have left Trinity if he weren't running for the nomination?

Why is a man inauthentic because he decides membership with a group a believers no longer best serves him?  What if he left 5 years ago?  When was the 'right' time?

A person, one would hope, joins a body of believers and not a 'leader' as it relates to Christianity.  The latter defines a cult, the former defines a congregation.  Back when I attended a church, I stayed will beyond my affinity for the head pastor because I truly appreciated 2 of the assistant pastors and was incredibly fond and proud of the church's mission work.  I left because, personally, I felt I outgrew the ministry.

A church of 6000 members has several pastors, deacons and lay leaders that spend much more time with the membership than the head pastor.  This whole 'pastor gate' issue and discussion of "20 years" is so incredibly overblown even for the most moderate church member, as long as they are not looking for a reason to politically pounce on BO.

It is my hope that those who belong to a church do so for spiritual reasons, not religious ones.  Religion is, by its very nature, political.  Interestingly, I've heard no one attack his spirituality, only his religious affiliation - as though its a political affiliation.  If a man chooses to change his political affiliation for political expediency, I see no problem.

If he decides to change his spiritual beliefs for political reasons, now you have grounds to question his "authenticity."

But I have a question.  As Democrats, don't we champion a separation of church and state?  Don't we want the government out of our church and bedrooms so that we can marry who we please and have sex with who we please?  If so, why would we ever want to play around in this debate?

For the record, I also thought it stupid when folks tried to drag "The Family" into this primary debate as well.  This is not a candidate issue to me, it is at the root of the freedom we cherish.  We really do want to keep the government and church separate.  Understand a candidates philosophy and world view? Okay.  Go into their church to scrutinize it?  Not so much, IMHO.

Next thing you know, we'll eliminate candidates whose churches allow gay marriage, should the RW have their way, no?

Obama throws another person or entity under the bus.The wreckage behind this guy is amazing.Blind ambition of the Chosen one is who he is.Grandmothers,mothers,pastors,mentors, pols who helped him,friends nothing stands in the way of his ego.Lets hope his wife and kids do not want to stay in the church or he would toss them too.Lets hope the Dems wake up before September or it will be Prsident McCain.

per Rasmussen:

Obama's numbers are 45% favorable and 53% unfavorable (see recent daily ratings). Those figures represent Obama's lowest ratings of the year. His favorability ratings peaked at 56% in mid-February. Twenty-five percent (25%) have a Very Favorable opinion of Obama while 37% have a Very Unfavorable view.

Now if we can just get all the rest of the politicians to give up on their theological obsessions.

As a non-theist, it is never entirely comfortable knowing that so many folks literally expect me to burn in liquid fire for eternity.  Kind of a funny belief system at the best of times...

-chris

Congratulations to certain posters who made Obama church the shiny thing. What a proud moment when alegre came over yesterday citing no25cents.

Maybe you can find out if their daughters belong to a brownie troop and drive them out of there
...
But it doesn't matter.
Obama has more important things.
Obama and his campaign are focused on Bush/Mcwars.

and for those of you shouting "sexist"
Think of 8 years of Laura as a feminist icon.

Now picture this..

I give you the next First Lady of the United States.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nqCYFpUAJ 2Q

Lost all my remaining respect.

He no longer needs to pander for AA votes, so now he can pose as a "uniter."

Still no apology to Hillary Clinton for Pfleger's mocking her, though.  

No class, no unity.

***A

was forced to do this. Well he'll be able to continue Trinity's work from the White House.

for this Hillary supporter and lifelong Dem who has never voted for a Rethug in my life, it's too little too late for BO.  I'm am so shocked and repelled by what goes on in that "church" from the disgusting mockery to the veneration of Farahkhan, that the fact he sat there and nodded his head for 20 years, is just beyond the pale.  I have so many other issues with him, from his right wing framing of health care and social security to his "bitter" diatribe against working class people to his fantasy that Rethugs will ever be fair with him or Dems in general, to the toxic playing of the race card against Hill and Bill and their supporters to the positively stalinist behavior of his supporters (he who may not be criticized), just don't believe I'll be able to pull the lever for him come November.  what Obama supporters don't seem to realize is that their false, sexist and positively vitriolic attacks on Hillary have driven away half the party.  your demands that we fall in line behind BO are so filled with entitlement that it just ain't gonna happen.  it ain't over until the lady in the pantsuit says it is.  until that day, I am a staunch Dem.  after that, not so much.  what I, as a working class Latino with pressing economic concerns, have in common with rich kids and their elitist parents is zilch.

Hey, yeah congrats to those in the media that hounded the shut-ins and elderly members of a church.

Congrats to those that felt the need to intersperse themselves between a politician and his faith.

Congrats to those who have effectively hounded a politician out of his church. For toeing the media line of soundbites and missing context, for simplifying people to their worst, for guilt by association. For all the keyboard jockeys who sit and complain about the inadequacies of others while doing jack all to improve the place you live.

Shortsightedness has ruled the day.

Now that Barack has left can't you move along.  The Trinity Church of Christ is not hateful nor is it racist, and if there truly are Democrats that value having Black people in their coalition.  Leave the condemnations of the church and its worshippers now.

Now that Barack has left can't you move along.  The Trinity Church of Christ is not hateful nor is it racist, and if there truly are Democrats that value having Black people in their coalition.  Leave the condemnations of the church and its worshippers now.

But he still hasn't acknowledged that Clinton should not be treated the way she was personally in the priest's sermon, or by the multitude of other supporters of his who have attacked her personally. Until he does that, he can resign from 50 churches and it won't make a difference to me.

what does hillary's personal wealth have to do with anything?  if that isn't a typical Rethug kind of comment I don't know what is.  Hillary represents working class people through her policies.  standing up to the right wing maniacs.  defending social security from phony claims that it is in crisis.  trying to provide health care for all despite right wing attacks from BO.  giving us a gas tax holiday.  your guy is running on process and that's what appeals to his comfortable supporters.  they just don't get Hillary's focus on the economy because I guess things are just dandy for them so they can concentrate, broder-like, on the partisanship (a good thing) in DC and how politics is broken because of both parties.  working people know that republicans are what are broken and we want somebody who will fight for our economic interests not cave like a house of cards (see BO and Trinity Church).  so while you might think I have a "schtick" (typical Obama supporter with your personal attack), and you can plug your ears and hum all you want, my views represent a wide swathe of the party which can't be replaced and without whom an election can't be won.

I know you aren't a religious guy Jerome, so I doubt you really understand what its like for him to leave.  Doing it in March would have been a mistake... doing it only for political purposes.  THis is about his integrity and making the decision on personal terms rather than knee jerk reacting to the problem.  

is a bit too late, in my opinion. He could have eased himself slowly  from this bunch of wackos and without making too many waves like many people have advised him. Now, i feel like it is a bit too late and people will ask why he has waited until now to leave, why now and not then...and so forth.

Well, let's see how this thing will develop. It's a bit too early to assess it.

BHO's annoucement is a big deal and won't be glossed over by the RBC's decision today.  This is his church for 20 years and he's leaving?  Wow.

Of course, his core suporters don't mind, but the rest of the American general election public does care.  He'll be explaining this and the company he keeps until November.

It's just another reason why HRC will suspend her campaign, hold on to her delegates.  Then, we can all see how BHO performs for a couple of months as the "presumptive" nominee.

I think there should be a thread for Hillary Clinton supporters to vent over the loss of the election.

I see a lot of comments referring to the "hatred" promoted by the Trinity Church. Nothing that I have seen promotes this line of thought. Reverend Wright was venting too. After 9/11 so many people were in shock over why or how something like that could happen. Reverend Wright had to vent over that because he had experienced the awful and vileness of racism when he was coming up. It doesn't mean he was right, but to dismiss his point of view and the context it comes from by labeling it "hatred" kind of defeats the point Obama was trying to make in his speech on race.

Unless you want an Obama administration to be as hamstrung by every person with a grudge much like the Clinton administration in the 90s ended up being, then you will find reason to give him latitude when he has to "apologize for the world". As we move into the general there are going to be points where McCain is going to try to make him minimize the suffering of black people or any other minorities in this country as a wedge issue to get the white vote. Do you want Obama to be a party to this race baiting? Do you want Obama to control the initiative or get run over by it?

Thank God!  I know there is probably a good reason why this church has 10,000 members - and I think there must be good works being done through the church, but any association with Trinity was going to cost us a lot of votes in November.  This helps remove that objection that some voters may have had to Obama.

Whats up father Phleger!!lol... What white-guilt ignorance.

Trinty is not a church. It is a seething gladiator's pit of racial resentment. Complete with dancing preachers and audiences drunk with glee. It is religious macabre fueled by misguided theological extremism.

Ultimately this is about Barack Obama's leadership skills. Even the Catholic Cardinal quickly stepped up to the plate and slapped down Pfleger in no uncertain terms. Obama statements are a study in hemming and hawing, "who can I afford to offend least" seems to be his operational strategy.

The entire Democratic party has been bent and broken, the entire media (save for FOX) has rallied to his side, the entire elite of the country stand with him and he can't quite grab the laurel of leadership. Obama can no longer hide behind Clinton hatred. The klieg lights are turning in your direction Barack. You better step up to the plate.