Who are we to judge Rev. Jeremiah Wright?

The firestorm raging over statements by Senator Barack Obama’s minister, The Rev. Jeremiah Wright, is becoming ridiculous. One columnist, Mark Steyn, compared Wright’s attitude to that of Jewish immigrants, in a column published today. Are you kidding me? Jewish immigrants fled persecution to come here to the U.S. Wright’s ancestors were dragged here in chains to be slaves for Western European settlers in the American colonies. Big difference!

I don’t agree with much of what Wright has said, but I support his right to say whatever he wants to. The experience of Africans brought to this country to be slaves is quite unlike that of any other immigrants, with the exception of the Chinese workers brought here to be virtual slaves for the railroad companies. How can any of us judge African Americans for being angry now?

The U.S. is a land of opportunity – now – but it wasn’t always. Native Americans were practically wiped out as their land was stolen by white American settlers. The U.S. also stole much of the southwest from Mexico, displacing thousands of Mexicans who had been in this country literally longer than the American settlers.

Even today the U.S. is viewed negatively in much of the world. Do we deserve that rap? Probably not, but the animosity towards our country, and us, is real. Which is why I think that Obama could do so much as our next President. Here is a man who represents diversity like no other candidate can. Bill Clinton used to call himself America’s first black president, which I thought was a horrid statement. Well, now his legacy is showing tarnish as Democrats realize that now they really can elect America’s first black president – and he will actually be black.

So should we be making a huge stink about Wright’s statements? No. The man has a right to his beliefs. He earned that right as a descendant of slaves and as a popular minister. By no means should we hold Obama accountable for Wright’s beliefs. But for the record Obama has in fact repudiated those beliefs.

Contrast Obama’s repudiation of Wright’s statements to what Hillary Clinton did when her perverted supporter, New York Governor Elliot Spitzer, got caught forking over thousands of dollars to a high-priced whore. Clinton sent him best wishes. Or when her supporter, Geraldine Ferraro, slipped on a white hood and went after Obama. Clinton defended her and refused to toss her off her campaign.

Clinton is not capable of remorse. Obama is. That makes him the better person and most certainly the better presidential candidate.

In fact Wright had something to say about Clinton that was decried by her supporters, but I think he was spot on in this case. He said “that Clinton, as a woman of privilege in a country run by whites, could never understand blacks.” What is so wrong with that statement? I think he is absolutely right. The unspoken truth in the Democratic Party is that wealthy white people run it, to serve their own means, while pretending they are the party of the minorities. Wright called a spade a spade – and this time he was right.

If Hillary ends up stealing the Democratic nomination, I really think that African American voters and other minorities need to take a long, hard look at their party. It may well be time for them to start their own party, or join the Green Party. Because the Blue party is most certainly the party of the blue bloods. Unless Obama wins the nomination, I don’t see that changing anytime soon.

Just look at California. Who is the guy the Democrats are talking about to replace Schwarzenegger when he terms out? Another white guy – former Governor Jerry Brown, who is now our State Attorney General. The last Democratic Governor of California was also a white guy, Gray Davis, who was almost an albino for crying out loud. And the guy Schwarzenegger beat last time was a Greek fellow who might as well be white. Their other candidate that year was also a white guy. This from the most diverse state in the union? Unbelievable.

The Republicans, in contrast, will be running a woman for Governor, Meg Whitman (the president of Ebay). The Democrats will be trotting out a tired old white lawyer. Again. Don’t be fooled folks. The blue party isn’t much of an alternative for minorities. They really aren’t much better than the red party. Just look at the rush to judge Rev. Wright. White Republicans and their Democratic Party candidates have joined together to slam him. That should surprise no one at all.