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03:40 February 26th, 2008

(No) thanks for your support…

Posted by: Jeff Mason
Tags: Front Row Washington

obama2.jpgCLEVELAND, OHIO - Not all endorsements are welcome on the presidential campaign.

Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama sought to distance himself on Monday from praise showered on him by Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan.

“Senator Obama has been clear in his objections to Minister Farrakhan’s past pronouncements and has not solicited the minister’s support,” Obama spokeswoman Jen Psaki said.

Obama was more explicit, telling WOAI radio in San Antonio: “I have been very clear in denouncing Minister Farrakhan’s anti-Semitic messages.  But I can’t prevent people from saying nice things about me.  Some of them I welcome, some I don’t, but it’s a free country.”

Obama, who has become the front-runner in the race for the Democratic U.S. presidential nomination, has long fought a whispering campaign from fringe elements that say erroneously he is a Muslim — one more reason support from Farrakhan was unlikely to be welcome.

Click here for more Reuters 2008 campaign coverage.

Photo credit REUTERS/John Summers II (Obama makes a campaign speech  in Cincinnati, Ohio, Feb. 25, 2008)

34 comments so far

[...] (No) Thanks for your Support… [...]

- Posted by ColbertNation.com » Blog Archive » Episode 354 Linkcap Recap

Fred,
Read tm19’s post regarding the lie that has been told for 24 years that Minister Farrakhan called Judaism a gutter religion. One could infer that is what he meant, but they would be wrong. Moses, the so-called “founder” of Judaism, is the most mentioned prohet in the Holy Qur’an. He is honored among the Muslims of the Nation of Islam and his religion is respected.

As far as whites being refered to as devils, or anti-christ. What is devil and what is anti-christ? Look at the history of white people in their treatment of the darker people of the planet. Look at the world that has been built on the basis of white supremacy. Whites have not been saints, nor have they practiced pro-christ values when it comes to their treatment of the darker people of the earth, even among their own people.

This is why Christ is prophesized to come and destroy this world and to set up His goevernment of peace, wherein we all can live in peace together. So now is Christ anti-white?

Read the 8th Chapter of John, wherein Jesus refers to certain Jews as devils; Also Revelations 2:9 where it speaks of a synagogue of Satan. So now is Christ an anti-semite?

The greatest ignorance is of that which matters most and that is the Word of God, which, when combined with the right kind of heart, allows one to have the proper view of all things.

If the shoe fits, take it off.

- Posted by Bobby

Did you see Obama look right over to Hillary when the Russian President question was asked? He’s a trickster. And a cheat.

He wanted her to answer it first because he didn’t have a clue.

He likes her to answer all the questions first. It’s ridiculous that this has happened. And that the media makes nothing of it. I’m sure they’ve noticed.

She answered the Russian President questions (becaue she is brilliant) and his reply - AS ALWAYS - was ” I think Hillaary’s description is accurate”. He said “think” in case later she was wrong on anything and he could point out he only said “think”. This man is total deception. Let’s not confuse clever and sly with smart.

Everywhere he does this. Because he copies everyones answers and everyone’s voice.

HE’S A CHEAT

EXAMPLES
He quotes MLK, JFK, JEFFERSON, DUVAL PATRICK. He presents their great speeches and “acts” like he said them - wrote them - like he is these people. And he’s got an adoring idiot crowd sucking it up.

His favorite voice at debates is Hillary’s!!! Well, we’re not flattered. We can see you.

This man is a total fake. And he is getting away with it. No, worse, he’s getting away with cheating - to get to the highest office in this great country.

If you have the debates recorded - go watch them over. Count how many times he just takes Hillary’s answer. After she’s answered “Hillary and I agree on this”, “This is where Hillary and I agree”, “Hillary said that perfectly and I agree with her”. Then he describes the question that was asked, why it’s a problem and NOTHING ELSE. Fast talk, double talk. Media fools!!!!!!!!!!! He’s got you under his thumb. He thinks you are his fools - and you are!!! Join the float. Join the parade. Wow. What idiots.

Someone needs to peel the mask off this man. He’s running for President of he United States of America. And he’s a cheat. An imposter.

He’s getting caught and he’s being seen. He doesn’t like it. I do.

By the way - here is a truly inspiring video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l9z-Aatd0 wA&NR=1

- Posted by Chris

Myself and 50% of the Democratic party are not going anywhere. Dreaming!

And Obama won’t go anywhere either - because we’re all staying home or voting for him. At least he has experience and his own voice. A moderate Republican.

Believe it.

- Posted by Chris

1) Minister Farrakhan did NOT endorse Obama.

2) Farrakhan is not an anti-Semite any more than he is anti-Black or anti-Muslim or anti-Christian. It is absolutely AMAZING that this 24-year-old quote made its way into this debate. Is the press THAT desparate for a story against Obama?

3) For the record (which has been around for quite some time):

The exact 1984 quote was this: “…America and England and the nations backed Israel’s existence. Therefore when you aid and abet someone in a criminal conspiracy, you are a part of that criminal conspiracy. So America and England and the nations are criminals in the sight of almighty God. Now, that nation of Israel, never has had any peace in forty years and she will never have any peace because there can never be any peace structured on injustice, thievery, lying and deceit and using the name of God to shield your dirty religion under His holy and righteous name.”

Is Farrakhan saying there should be no state of Israel? No. He has repeatedly said that only the injustice toward the Palestinians need be removed, with a Palestinian state living side-by-side with Israel. Farrakhan has struck up an association with a group of fundamentalist rabbis from Brooklyn. The Anti-Defamation League (ADL), which has led the charge against the Nation of Islam over the last two decades, has actually criticized Farrakhan for meeting with these rabbis as if he can only be considered “pro-Semitic” if he is accepted by the right kind of Jews.

http://wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ ID=20865
http://www.polyconomics.com/searchbase/0 3-08-00.html

- Posted by tm19

NEW POLITICS,CHANGE,HOPE ALL THIS IS GREAT IF WE ALL LIVE IN SAME COUNTRY AND WE ALL CAN AGREE ON EVERYTHING BUT THIS AMERICA PEOPLE NOT EVERY BODY IN THIS GREAT COUNTRY WANT THE SAME THINGS OBAMA SUPPORTERS WANT. THEY ARE HOPING GREAT THINGS ARE GOING TO HAPPEN WHEN HE BECOMES PRESIDENT.LOOK AT OUR ECONOMY RIGHT NOW,LOOK AT AMERICA IMAGE OVERSEAS,LOOK AT A WAR THAT SEEMS LIKE IT IS NEVER GOING TO END(HE PROMISE TO BRING THE TROOPS HOME,THATS NOT POSSIBLE RIGHT NOW AND NOT IN A YEAR)HE HAS PLANS THAT HE SAYS THAT WILL WORK,HIS PLANS ARE GOING TO COST MUCH MONEY THAT WE WILL BE IN A DEBT THAN BEFORE(WE GOING SAVE MONEY BY SPENDING LESS ON A WAR SO WE CAN DIVERT THE MONEY TO COUNTRY-: WHAT MONEY WE HAVE NO MONEY ,OUR DEBT IS GOING UP EACH DAY)PEOPLE HAVE STOP LOOKING AT THIS MAN FOR ANSWER BECAUSE HE JUST TELL WHAT YOU WANT TO HEAR AND IN THE WE WILL BE IN WORST PLACE THAN WE ARE IN RIGHT NOW

- Posted by terry

One more thing, Bobby. Even Obama said in tonight’s debate that he felt Farrakhan’s racist and anti-semitic remarks were deplorable and inexcusable. Is Obama operating from ignorance, half-truths and propaganda, also?

- Posted by Fred

Bobby: In what context are statements calling white people “blue-eyed devils,” the “Anti-Christ,” and his “mortal enemy” acceptable to you? In what context is calling Jews “bloodsuckers” and their religion a “gutter religion” acceptable to you. I guarantee you that if those vile things were said about black people instead of whites and Jews, your attitude would be just a little different. Pardon me for saying this, but the double standard is a little nauseating.

- Posted by Fred

One of the points emphasized in Min. Farrakhan’s Saviours’ Day message was the importance of having good information in making decisions about people and issues.

Most detractors of the Minister are, in fact, ignorant of him and the theology of the Nation of Islam and only repeat what they “heard” he said about whites, Jews, judaism etc., and live off of sound-bites taken out of context. Anyone can be made to sound/look bad in a sound-bite—Jesus, Moses, Muhammad included. Read the scriptures and see for yourself.

Contrary to mis-information put out by media, the NOI’s Theology is no secret and are available for study by any and all.

Study. Gain complete and proper knowledge and make an appropriate decision. Don’t operate ignorantly from half-truths and propaganda.

http://www.noi.org
http://www.finalcall.com

- Posted by Bobby

Obama camp says, “The Rev. Wright is a man who has brought hope to many. Obama hasn’t distanced himself from Reverend Jeremiah A. Wright Jr. of his home congregation in Chicago, whose church’s magazine gave an award to the notorious Louis Farrakhan. Obama has called for engaging Iran. Daniel Ayalon, Israel’s former ambassador to the United States, told the New York Sun he is concerned Obama would want to negotiate with a “Hitler-like” regime. Some of Obama’s policy advisors of various stripes, such as Samantha Power, Robert Malley, and Zbigniew Brzezinski, have come under attack for their views on Israel. World Jewish Congress President Ronald Lauder fears, it’s only a matter of time before the president becomes anti-Israel Howard Friedman, the president of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, said the leading presidential candidate are all interested in continuing close ties with Israel. But yesterday’s online frenzy about a picture of Obama in traditional Somali muslim garb brought these questions back to the fore Obama is a closet Muslim.Louis Farrakhan praised his follower Barack Obama. “We are witnessing the phenomenal rise of a man of color in a country that has persecuted us because of our color,” the leader of the Nation of Islam, who many accuse of being anti-Semitic, said Monday at a rally in Chicago. This young man is the hope of the entire world that America will change and be made better,” Farrakhan said at the rallyObama’s spiritual adviser, J Wright gave Trumpeter Award to a man it said “truly epitomized greatness. Louis Farrakhan. maybe for Wright and some others, Farrakhan “epitomized greatness.” For Americans, Farrakhan epitomizes racism, particularly in the form of anti-Semitism. Over the years, he has compiled an awesome record of offensive statements, even denigrating the Holocaust by falsely attributing it to Jewish cooperation with Hitler “They helped him get the Third Reich on the road.” His history is a rancid stew of lies. Any praise of Farrakhan heightens the prestige of the leader of the Nation of Islam. His anti-Semitism and particularly his false insistence that Jews have played an inordinate role in victimizing African Americans. Farrakhan’s dream has vilified whites and singled out Jews to blame for crimes large and small, either committed by others as well or not at all. (A dominant role in the slave trade, for instance.) He has talked of Jewish conspiracies to set a media line for the whole nation. He has reviled Jews in a manner that brings Hitler to mind. And yet Wright heaped praise on Farrakhan. According to Trumpet, he applauded his “depth of analysis when it comes to the racial ills of this nation.” He praised “his integrity and honesty.” He called him “an unforgettable force, a catalyst for change and a religious leader who is sincere about his faith and his purpose.” These are the words of a man who prayed with Obama just before the Illinois senator announced his run for the presidency. Will he pray with him just before his inaugural?

- Posted by jack

Anna: I guess I just don’t see the “middle ground” about which you are speaking. For me, racism is a deal-breaker, no matter which side it comes from. A man who refers to whites and Jews in the racist and insulting manner that Farrakhan does, does not deserve respect, period. Hitler did a lot of good things in Germany for the Germans before WWII; should we overlook the evil of his racism and find that “middle ground” where we can respect his accomplishments? I think not. I can’t imagine this argument having any validity if the circumstances were reversed (i.e. if Hillary’s mentor and spiritual advisor admired and awarded a known white racist). If that were the case, I don’t think it would matter how many community services were performed by the racist; there would be no understanding and no forgiveness from black people or the press, and there shouldn’t be. Obama knows the views of Rev. Wright regarding “whites” as the oppressor and blacks as the oppressed. He is aware of Rev. Wright’s admiration for the teachings of James Cone (”black liberation theology”) about which Cone says “It is my thesis that Black Power, even in its most radical expression, is not the antithesis of Christianity, nor is it a heretical idea to be tolerated with painful forbearance. It is, rather, Christ’s central message to twentieth-century America.” Cone goes on to say in “Black Theology and Black Power” that “To be Christian is to be one of those whom God has chosen. God has chosen black people.” Obama is fully aware of Rev. Wright’s admiration for the racist Farrakhan, and in spite of all of this, he still considers Wright his mentor. I think that tells us a lot about Obama.

- Posted by Fred

Hey Kerry Marvin,I hope more people read your point of view.I totally agree,and to go a step further,by not securing our border with Mexico the United States of America citizen it affects the most is the young and poor.Illegals are working and our poor are not.The companies that employ the illegals say they can’t get United States of America citizens to work for them.Well maybe they would if they paid decent wages and benefits.Also these same employers usually hold a hammer over their illegal employee’s heads,and charge them for shoddy housing that they provide.And by the way,just by coincidence all the employers that I know who hire illegal aliens are big political contributors and supporters of our two biggest parties THE “ASSES and the ELEPHANTS”.Need more be said.And yet people in this country latch on to these candidates without putting much thought to why they would let a Federal Law be broken to the tune of 10 to 20 million times.Hmmm,maybe its the money,the perks or maybe the drug cartels have them in their back pockets,either through cash or physical threat.What ever the reason it has to stop,because the very poor US citizens that can’t get a readily available job,can get readily available illegal drugs that come across the border.Why aren’t more people in this country up in arms about this.No,they’re just committed to their political party,and their cultures,and their own job,and making money,and their religions,and when it comes to our poor just let the goverment pay for them through taxes and everyone is happy.No not a USA citizen like me.We need to let our candidates,politicains,judges and businesses know that if they won’t Stop the Illegal Invasion of the United States of America then we will.NO AMMESTY EVER.
Thanks

- Posted by Joe C

I am definitely suspicious of Loius Farakhan’s praise for Obama.
What many in America who are not black perhaps do not know is that Black Americans — especially those descended from — slaves are seldom accepting of Africans who arrived these shores as modern day immigrants. There is, in this regard, what may be described as intra-discrimination amongst blacks in America.
It is for this reason that blacks did not initially warm up to Obama. They see him as the son of an African immigrant or non-immigrant, not a true-blooded, black descended from the line of slavery. They see him therefore as not having entitlement to the office of the US President. Many US blacks seem to believe that the right to the US Presidency should be reserved only for the descendants of slaves in America. They perceive of slavery or descent from slavery as the price to pay to even partake of anything worthwhile in America, if you African.
This fact that indigenous American blacks, descendants of slaves usually look at African immigrants with suspicion is well-known amongst blacks. It begins with oftentimes complete antagonism to those with African names and languages. If many indigenous black Americans would have their way, they would rather have Obama change his name.
As an African naturalized US citizen, I have been accosted many times by indigenous blacks, including even students in higher institutions, who nursed fresh grudges against us Africans for selling their descendants to slavery.

- Posted by Ade Jagun

Farrakhan is a very outspoken figure in the black community and he is revered by its poorest members as someone who can lift them out of their economic predicament by encouraging discipline, self-sufficiency and small business ownership. Some black leaders, while openly distancing themselves from Farrakhan, find it difficult to repudiate him in the strongest of terms for fear that their supporters and constituents may view them as not having the interest of poor black people in heart. Other black leaders vehemently oppose the message and rhetoric of Farrakhan and find themselves under the close scrutiny of the poor blacks and an increasing number of middle-class blacks who are waiting for any signs of possibly “selling out.” There are only a few black leaders that find the middle ground to be more advantageous in building bridges and bringing people together. What the American people, and black people included, need is progressive leadership, black and white. Senator Obama is in this category. That is what his campaign is all about!

- Posted by Anna

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