Monday, June 02, 2008

Why Obama can't unify America...

Barack Obama has been painted as someone who can unify the country. However, reading a report from Eve Fairbanks on The Stump, one must have doubts about his ability to do so. Adding his latest priest problem, one can arguably wonder if it's just lip service.

Now, I know I complained about the Huckabee campaign's exploitation of anti-Mormon bias. But comparing Obama's church to Romney's church is like comparing apples and carrots.

You see, as Lowell Brown at Article 6 Blog points out, comments like those of Michael Pfleger and Jeremiah Wright just don't happen over Mormon pulpits. And this is despite the fact that unlike African-Americans, Mormons were the subject of an extermination order. In my years of attending church, I only recall hearing my church leaders make one statement on an issue of the day - and that was to oppose the establishment of a state lottery in Virginia. Not even gay marriage drew that sort of comment - at least as far as I can recall.

And this is why Obama will not be able to unify. Because, fundamentally, to unify the country, he has to believe it's worth his effort. And to have sat in a church where "God damn America" was preached for twenty years, to have surrounded himself with people who believe that "America is the greatest sin against God" speaks volumes about how he views this country. It is fundamentally divisive.

Obama will only give us a more divided America. He may not have meant to, but his poor judgment of the character of those he chose to surround himself with twenty years ago will have that consequence.

1 comment:

SJ Reidhead said...

A person who wants to lead America must love America and understand America before he or she can lead it.

Barack Obama does neither.

SJR
The Pink Flamingo