Given the chain’s general leftward slant, it is all the more notable that McClatchy is perhaps the first establishment media outlet to report some of the specifics of the Black Liberation Theology that is the vision of Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago, Barack Obama’s church — and to note (as already noted here) that Obama dodged the larger issue:
Obama’s speech Tuesday on race in America was hailed as a masterful handling of the controversy over divisive sermons by the longtime pastor of Trinity United, the recently retired Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr.
But in repudiating and putting in context Wright’s inflammatory lines about whites and U.S. foreign policy, the Democratic presidential front-runner didn’t address other potentially controversial facts about his church and its ties.
McClatchy’s Margaret Talev went so far as to interview Dr. James H. Cone, who first presented Black Liberation Theology as a system of thought in the late 1960s. Dr. Cone reaffirmed his prior view that Trinity most embodies his message and opined that he thought the Rev. Wright’s successor, the Rev. Otis Moss III, would continue the tradition. (It does seem likely so far.)
Unfortunately, the piece quotes only Dr. Cone and Dwight Hopkins, a Trinity member and liberation theology professor at the University of Chicago’s divinity school. Apparently, McClatchy could not be bothered to contact neutral theologians or critics of Black Liberation Theology. As a result, Cone and Hopkins get away with softening the harder edges of their theology.
Nevertheless, McClatchy has now done more than most of the establishment media (and certainly more than TIME magazine’s new puff piece or the ignorant and inane ramblings of E.J. Dionne, Jr.) on the underlying issue, even as it hypothesizes Obama’s church membership is one of political convenience rather than reading Obama’s writings on the subject, which are consistent with the theology.
Most important, McClatchy sought answers from the Obama campaign on the issue:
It isn’t clear where Obama’s beliefs and the church’s diverge. Through aides, Obama declined requests for an interview or to respond to written questions about his thoughts on Jesus, Cone or liberation theology.
That is the standard response of the Obama campaign to any controversy, as anyone trying to report on Obama’s relationship with Tony Rezko will tell you. Obama will not answer press inquiries until the establishment media turns up the heat to the point where he feels compelled to do so. That pattern should trouble people far beyond those concerned about the degree to which Obama susbscribes to Black Liberation Theology.
(h/t Gateway Pundit.)
Update: Allah-lanche!
NPR learned me up a lot about Mormonism, but they don’t seem very interested in this… what did you call it? Black Liberation Theology. Someone who follows a religion based on Marxist thought might have some surprising policies as president, you might think anyway.
[…] See what I mean about new angles? Pay attention to Karl’s last paragraph, as it’s the most important […]
We Want Change! We Want Change! We Want Change!
Yes We Can!
Zebulon?
We can haz Marxism.
Despite all the rhetoric to the contrary as far as post-partisan politics and race relations, I have to ask whose agenda does Obama wish to follow:
This one?
“eschewing nonviolence and calling instead for armed opposition to U.S. policies; advocating the overthrow of capitalism; exhorting white radicals to trigger a worldwide revolution by fighting in the streets of the “mother countryâ€Â; and proclaiming that the time had come to launch a race war against the “white†United States on behalf of the non-white Third World.
Grounded in identity politics, Weatherman ideology and rhetoric rebelled against what later came to be known as America’s “white skin privilege.â€Â
That is from the Weathermen organization who was led by a man, William Ayers, recently described as a friend by Obama. The Weathermen published their “Manifesto” following the violent 1968 Dem. Convention in Chicago and now another group wants to recreate 1968 at the Denver convention. See Gateway Pundit for details: http://gatewaypundit.blogspot.com/2008/03/antiwar-group-threatens-violence-at-dnc.html
Obama is really twisted. I’m glad we found out in time.
Yes, but ‘feet, Mormonism gave us Donny and Marie. I think it’s a public service NPR is performing to make sure we’re spared the horror of another scourge such as that.
I a lot hate my country, and defeat in Iraq’s my goal…
Happyfeet you bonehead, NPR just had three black ministers on today talking about black liberation theology. Go over and grab the podcast.
If you “they don’t seem interested” means “they are not shrieking hysterically and urging whites to take up arms against the angry black menace” then no, they are not interested. But yes, they are talking about it.
Hee hee. Couldn’t resist.
you see Karl?
even when u get teh Allah-lanche you can only manage 20 comments or so.
twodigits.
twodigits all the way down.
Btw, Karl nice work on your earlier post about liberation theology. Very well referenced. I am not sure I follow your interpretation on a couple of points, but I can’t really comment until I have done a bit more readin’ and thinkin’.
Oh. They did that today. I will listen later. But they were a lot more out front on Romney, which is more my point. The outfrontness. I fully expect them to spin Black Liberation Theology like crazy for awhile, make a nice little Lakoffian frame for it, but you’d think they would have been maybe a little curious before now.
EJ Dionne’s piece was excellent.
Lisa… what word are you going to use when you read something what’s actually excellent I wonder.
That’s just weird. Really really weird.
Oh, and come ON…..our current president thinks that reporters asking him questions at all are quite impertinent. I love how you guys have that “Good for thee but not for me” attitude about everything. Democrats should be scrutinized, but it is just plain rude and unAmerican when Republicans are scrutinized.
I think it is a good thing that Obama is taking some heat. But don’t pretend that he is the first politician hesitant to feed into a story that is less than flattering. That is not a sign that he is an evil black dude with a sinister agenda. That is a sign that he is a deft politician.
You know, he is really cute too.
nishi,
The number of comments is not necessarily proportionate to traffic generated.
Moreover, someone with your background might grasp that traffic is down on Good Friday (and Day 2 of the NCAA tourney) — not just here, but at other sites I monitor.
But nice try.
Lisa,
Dionne is inane because he — like TIME — apparently has either not heard of Black Liberation Theology or cares not to inform his readers of it. Pete Wehner points out Dionne’s internal inconsistencies, so I won’t have to.
Bush doesn’t like press questions. He also doesn’t walk out on pressers when he doesn’t like them, as Obama does. When he was a candidate, he did not routinely stonewall the working press as Obama does. And the White House takes — and answers — press questions daily.
I always thought he looked like Norbit, funny that.
Also, Urkel was cute, but I don’t know that would have influenced my vote.
Bonus – ICYMI:
Consider it in light of the media’s ongoing “we just don’t know what’s going on in black churches” theme. Those who do know put Trinity in a distinct minority. Indeed, I would suggest that the media, to the degree it pushes the contrary meme, will only deepen racial division in this country.
When he was a candidate, he did not routinely stonewall the working press as Obama does.
When he was a candidate, he let Nancy Pelosi’s daughter have an all-access pass while she filmed a documentary about him. Let me know when Barrack or Hillary agree to something like that. In the meantime keep harping about sunshine and all that.
Victor well then lets defer to your taste in men. I am sure it is much more refined than mine. Tell me about what kind of man you find sexy…
Karl: I am sure that President Obama (or Clinton) will have a press secretary who will answer questions every day as well.
BMoe: A quote from Alexandra Pelosi:
“The reason George Bush was showing off his wardrobe to me in the film was because he didn’t know anything about the policy questions that the other reporters wanted to ask him. He was using me to avoid the other reporters.”
oh Karl…are u tellin me i shud compile stats on ur Allah-linked posts?
are u questionin my search-fu?
Really? Where’s he said that?
Or are you reading his mind?
like that would be difficult. ;D
Lisa, if you were a professional fighter, would you be in the “heavy weight” division? Just asking cause….
I get the impression that from a certain distance you’ve been mistaken for a man more than once….Is that sexy enough?
I’m sensing that we got off on the wrong foot.
BMoe: A quote from Alexandra Pelosi:
“The reason George Bush was showing off his wardrobe to me in the film was because he didn’t know anything about the policy questions that the other reporters wanted to ask him. He was using me to avoid the other reporters.â€Â
Gee, sounds a bit ungrateful, doesn’t she? Almost sounds like Bush let someone who really didn’t like him, in fact the daughter of a political rival, into his inner circle. Whatever his reasons, it was still a helluva lot more open and honest than any Democrat I can think of.
Victor: You get the impression that I am an enormous, mannish creature from my comments? Please ecludiate upon these strange and wonderful powers. People have told me that I resemble Shaquille O’Neill. But they assured me that they meant that in only the most flattering terms. Should I be concerned about this?
;-)
Hey, at least it wasn’t Dennis Rodman.
#
Truthless delusion.
#30: LMAO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Karl, this is right on…
I think this is what Lisa was talking about. About the ministers talking about the blackliberationtheology. My station here doesn’t carry that one.
I’m kind of raced out too though. Or NPRd out. Same diff.
nishi,
Your search-fu would be entirely pointless, given the number of confounding variables.
Lisa,
It’s a matter of degree, not kind. No one is arguing pols will try to avoid questions they don’t want to answer. However, Obama is approaching the far end of the spectrum on it. But don’t take my word for it — e-mail Lynn Sweet or any of the reporters covering him for the Chicago Sun-Times about his geeneral disincination to answer press inquiries.
Don’t mind us. We’re just here to annoy nishi.
The Black liberation theology of TUCC is a racist ideology.
Rev. Wright preached it for many years, thus he is an open racist.
Sen. Obama sat in the pews for twenty years listening to this and never protested or said anything about it, thus he is, at best, a crypto-racist.
Yep, that’s pretty much it.
@happyfeet
“We can haz Marxism”
rofl!
Obama’s “masterful handling of the controversy” sounded to me like a lullaby, for lulling the voters:
Lullaby, and good night.
Just ignore Pastor Wright.
Go ahead and vote for me,
Or you’re a racist white-ey.
[…] is, let alone the implications that theology has for the separation of religion and politics. The McClatchy newspaper chain has asked Obama to respond to written questions about his thoughts on Jesus, Cone […]
Interesting post and comments here. There are some great points I had overlooked before. There’s a related debate about Obama being anti American over here: http://www.riledup.com/debate/1629/is-obama-an-anti-american-at-heart
[…] anchors on the trip; complaining about the New York Times analysis of its own most recent poll; stonewalling the press to this day about the black liberation theology of his longtime church; stonewalling the […]