This article doesn't mention the part of Obama's speech which I found offensive. Obama compared the Reverend Wright's attitudes to those of his own white grandmother who crosses the street when she sees young black men approaching her. That is why I call the speech the "throw-granny-from-the-train" speech.

Obama gave a radio interview on Friday in which he referred to his grandmother as "a typical white person" because she is afraid of strangers on the street. Obama's undoing will result from his failure to observe the First Rule of Holes. When you are in a hole, stop digging.

ritamary, Encinitas, CA, US

Again, some of us are surprised by the mudslinging from all sides in and out of the political arena. How on earth do the US public expect so called undemocratic countries to embrace democracy when we can’t get it right ourselves? Mr Obama, is never going to make everyone happy. Although some will say that race is not an issue, I do not agree and for some the colour of his skin will be the only thing that they can see and for that fact alone in my opinion he is on a hiding to nothing. Mr Wright's views are his views and just because he (Mr Obama) happens to worship in the same place does not make him a convert to his pastor’s views. Vote for the man and his politics and not what some attention seeking pastor has to say that is discrediting most black people all over the world as reasonable, rationale and peace love people, who just want the world to be a better place for all regardless of race.

Tommy, Leigh On Sea, Essex, England

I think he's finished - having a racist role-model and obviously corrupt political sponsors is going to tell against him in any campaign; especially his pastor (and apparnetly wife's!?) anti-Americian attitude! (that would be almost kiss of death over here, and we are hardly nationastic..!), thats let alone his increasingly corrupt looking backers..

This will be 'swift boats-vets' or 'Clinton-gate' all over again, but this time the allegations will have real facts and videos to back them up...(unlike the previous allegations, that were almost all made-up!).

The man is toast, the Democrats should have vetted him far better if they were seriously considering him as the next great hope of the Democraticy party.

What a pity in that in this post-Bush election cycle any half-decent middle-of-the-road Democratic candidate would have romped it home...! (Without Clinton's or Obama's past).

Oh well...!
Better luck next time folks..

Matt, London, UK

Ron Paul is NOT out, as Morris thinks!

Dan, Winston-Salem,

I do not think that Obama is any more of a racist than anyone else, but he is arrogant and presumptouus (sp).
The stupidest thing a politition can do is run on the 'holier than thou' platform...it wins you no freinds once you get into office, especially when you hopscotched past the normal stages of most political carreers...and of course it is just plain misleading to claim that you can reach across the aisle when you are rated as the most liberal senator...and your current mentors - not Wright and co. but Kennedy and Daschle - are two of the most devisive polititions in congress.

RTwilight, Jamestown, NY

I am a white woman living in Nashville, TN. The choice is still Obama. He and McCain (and Ron Paul who is out) have ethics, where Clinton's opinion blows the way the wind is blowing. Both Obama and McCain have excellent diplomatic skills but must stand by their ethical convictions. Obama can denounce Rev. Wright's statements, but he could not throw away the personal relationship based on good things he has with the Rev. The Clinton's have mastered staying in relationships that further their careers, and pretending not to know the ones that didn't. They have mastered the political machine, but that doesn't represent me as an American. Lastly, we had two "reigns" of Bush's and unfortunately the unfinished business of the first Bush muddied the thinking of the second. We can never repeat a Bill Clinton, times and situations change. Hillary would have her own battles and if elected, by subconciously bringing her past with her, it would be as detrimental as it was when G.W. Bush did it.

Morris, Mount Juliet, USA/TN

Why isn't it possible for two people to read or hear the same exact words and get the same message? If you just read the exact words Obama said about Wright and Wright's views, and why Obama feels like he does, you could not possibly interpret it as Obama sanctioning hatred against anyone.
Since it isn't possible for some to actually take in Obama's actual message that he does not agree with everything Wright says, let's look at how McCain would handle the same situation.

McCain won't disassociate with Pastor Hagee who said, hurricane Katrina victims deserved to die and lose their homes and everything they worked for because New Orleans was full of sinners? He also said the 2006 bombing of Lebanon was a "gift from god!" These are just a few quotes, there are loads more. So, why would voting McCain who says-- Nothing about Haggee but takes the endorsement-- be better than voting Obama who denounced similar musings? America is doomed by citizens who lack logic and analytic skill

karvictho, New York City,

it could only happen in Springfield. Was Homer Simpson involved in some way?

Dj, London, UK

I am married to a typical white person. Iam African Ameirican and will vote for Mccain if Obama gets the nomination. Hate is hate no matter how you look at it. Instead of uniting us Obama has fallen on the 'old race crunch', Well guess what we fought that war 30 years ago. Instaed of finding excuses he should be saying what a land of opprotunity this is. Where else in the world could his wife get an IVY League education..Affirmative action did that for her and she is still complaining. I think Whites have already proven to the world they are already at a place of eqaulty for al;. Or Obama would not be where he is now in the race. So when the heat is on he crys racism. Except its him and his family and friends. White America don't be so gullible and by all means don;t feek guilty. Blacks aren't the only people sufferring . Obama doesn;t have any more insight into race than anyone else, There are millions of mixed race people in the US today. They don't preach hate. They advocate lov

jfb, columbia, md

To G Bowen:
""Rush Limbaugh, the right-wing radio talk-show foghorn, expressed the popular view more succinctly: 'No country wants a president who is a member of a church with this kind of radicalism as its mainstream.'"

The truth, stated correctly in plain English- some "foghorn"."

What kind of radicalism then does Rush Limbaugh tolerate or condone? Anyone of the numerous ones espoused by the right wing of the evangelical right? anyone of the many that the American South defends as it's birthright and are forced onto the school syllabus rather than being mere firebrand rhetoric?

This argument clearly shows the divide between the ignorant of the right and the hopes of the left. No right wing politician dares to map out a vision of a utopian future for the United States, nor even to dare to think that such a vision should or could exist.

Whilst Rev Wright may well have chosen his words better, there are those that believe that American was reaping the whirlwind on Sept 11th.

Dan B, Seminyak, Bali

Listen to Rev Wright's entire sermon before you draw any conclusions. Today's media is a series of sound bites that gets them the most ratings. Don't be sheep.

Michael, orange park, US/fl

Hoist the lines and cut off their wind as Clinton sails in ! What treasures do yee seek at sea, if not it be a president with experience you trust and see!

Kim Perkins, Greensboro, NC

I am afraid that the commentor is Pollyannish about the future of South Africa. The problem is that the whites are on the outside, looking into black politics. They do not matter electorally. Which way will South Africa go? Will it be the industrial heartland of Africa, or is Zimbabwe-style collapse just a few years away? As we get further away from Mandela and the "father-of-his-country" adulation and more towards politicians who want black votes to attain power, the logic of black power will be unstoppable. Will some black government expropriate white farmers to parcel out the land to black voters, knowing that foreign aid will be available for the decline in food production? White flight will grow, making the white vote even more unimportant. The logic of black power requires the subjugation of the whites even at the cost of economic vitality. What has happened to South Africa so far? Downtown Johannesburg has already been abandoned by the whites in favor of the suburbs.

Joseph McNulty, Greensboro, NC, USA

The world seems excessively interested in the race for the White House - and so it should be; unfortunately, such intense media attention upon those with whom Mr Obama has fraternised, or Mrs Clinton's vote-grabbing, seems to divert attention from contemporary US foreign and domestic policy. I would rather know that which is affecting my world today rather than speculating upon its ambiguous tomorrows.

Mara MacSeoinin, Cambridge,

Fear Factor, Part 1:

Over the past few weeks, while scouring numerous blogs and op-ed pages, I have come across a significant number of comments from people who say that if Hillary is the Democratic Party candidate, they will vote Democratic but if Obama is the candidate they will cross over and vote for McCain.
To the extent that such commentators make an attempt to give a "principled" veneer to their position, they cite Obama's relative lack of experience when compared to Hillary and even more so when compared to McCain. In fact Obama is no less experienced in politics than Lincoln was when he first ran for President.

R. Ventura-Rosa, Miami, USA/Florida

Fear Factor, Part 2

One of the lingering, though publicly unexpressed, fears that many people allude to in private conversations is the effect an Obama presidency may have on race relations in the U.S. More particularly, people voice concern over the possibility that if Obama becomes President, African-American's will somehow see this as a license to give voice to racial animosities that linger just below the surface and that some African-Americans may even seek to exact vengeance against whites and other non African-Americans for the years of perceived or actual mistreatment. The concern is, of course, not uttered publicly for fear of being accused of racism, but it is real nonetheless.

R. Ventura-Rosa, Miami, USA/Florida

Fear Factor, Part 3

This calls to mind in many ways a concern that was raised by the white minority Afrikaner community in South Africa over the effects on race relations of eliminating apartheid and instituting a "one-man, one vote" democratic system. The concern being that whites would always be in the minority, would always be disenfranchised by the majority Black population and that there would likely be violence directed at the white settler population. In fact, a segment of the white South African population so greatly feared racially based reprisals that they chose to leave South Africa, settling in any number of European countries and the U.S. Lo and behold, the fears of Afrikaners were greatly exaggerated. Granted, there was some racially based violence during the period shortly following the end of apartheid and the release of Nelson Mandela from Robbin Island and his subsequent election to the Presidency but it was not widespread. Similarly, any such actions by African-Americans, if they occur at all, will likely be few and far between.

R. Ventura-Rosa, Miami, USA/Florida

Its starting to look like MCains presidency to me.

The egocentric, self serving and extremist attitude of both Billary and Obama seems to be sinking the Democrats ship.

Henry Adams, manchester, UK

How many Catholics, many of you reading this, have left your church because of the legacy of church involved pedophilia?
It may not be your local church, but the history of the entire church organization helping to knowingly re-shuffle pedophile priest is well documented.
Perhaps now you can now understand why Obama would still remain at his church, even with his "reverends" indiscretions.
Politics is not for the faint of heart folks.

M.J., Iowa, U.S.A.

What a genius the Democrats have for producing politicians who are unelectable on a national basis. Last time around, it was the pompous hypocrite John Kerry whose past caught up to him just like Obama's is now. McCain will win in November because Hillary, in the unlikely event she is nominated is detested by roughly half the voting population right from the start, and Obama for playing the race card fthe first 20 years of his career. Beyond that, the man is by far the most liberal candidate to run for the office since WWII. He is the to left of even Teddy Kennedy, who is hated by more Americans than even Hillary..

Banjo, Hot Springs Village, Arkansas

I think obama will lose the election

Danny, Hangzhou, China

This reporter is quite incorrect and, sadly, like much of America, this is due to a deep illiteracy and cultural revisionism.

The phrase, "Audacity of Hope" originates not from Wright but from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. In fact, if one were to pick up a copy of "A Testament of Hope," one would find that Dr. King himself makes many of the same points about U.S. economic and foreign policy as Wright does.

It should come as no surprise, then, that as soon as King began to speak against the Vietnam war, members of the U.S. government alienated him and began to smear him as a "communist," "racist," etc.

It's time Americans grow up and accept an alternative to the myth of national innocence.

Under horrific leadership, we have had too significant a hand in turning a blind eye to past injustices (slavery, uprooting of Native Americans, etc.) and current international horrors (Latin America, the Middle East ...).

Obama can reclaim integrity for the U.S.

This nation needs roots.

Edward S. Majian, Jersey,

this is all about politics and we all know. after seeing oboma well ahead, they have been trying everything to undermine his campain but i dont think if this should be viewed as the other people are doing.

we all aknow that obama has been in that church for twenty yrs during which time he was working as a community organizer working with people of all races, he is the only candidate, who oppossed the war in iraq, while still attending this church, while clinton and mccain voted to authorise the war which has cost America billions of $ and lives. obama has the judgement and i think this should not be the issue why he should not be the commander in chief.

clinton has taken money from lobbiests, she is not transparent, she tells the american people what they want to hear not what they should hear. she voted yes to iraq and iran, her record as first lady is not clear. she is not ready to talk to the international world, she has not released her tax income.

s katumbo, manchester, uk

"Rush Limbaugh, the right-wing radio talk-show foghorn, expressed the popular view more succinctly: 'No country wants a president who is a member of a church with this kind of radicalism as its mainstream.'"

The truth, stated correctly in plain English- some "foghorn".

G Bowen, NYC, USA

The only chance the Democrats have to win in November is nominate Clinton. As a Republican, I drool at an Obama nomination. By the time Rev. Wright is run a few thousand times, Obama is toast. There is absolutely no context in which the vast majority of Americans would come close to excusing the hate and vitriol the good Reverand has espoused for twenty years. And there is no way to get around the fact that Senator Obama sat there and listened to it, and did nothing. Stick a fork in him, he is done.

Bruce, Madison, MS

I am from Chicago but now live in California, Rev. Wright is a racist (period). Barack should have denounced him many many moons ago. I can not reconcile his relationship with his "words". As such, if he is the nominee I will vote Republican for the first time in thirty years.

Tracy , San Diego, California

The bloom is definitely off of the rose and all that's left are the thorns. The recent controversies illuminate Obama's character flaws. He tells Americans that he will reform NAFTA while his surrogate whispers to the Canadian government that this is merely rhetoric. He tells Americans that he will withdraw troops from Iraq while his surrogate tells a Scottish journalist that this is merely rhetoric. He insists that he was not present and not aware of Rev. Wright's inflamatory remarks then, just days later under intense scrutiny, admits that he had heard them. For twenty years he attended Rev. Wright's sermons and even exposed his children, who have never attended any other church, to the hate-filled words. Rev. Wright's horrifying words blaming the 9/11 attacks on U.S. policy were preached to a cheering congregation FIVE DAYS after the attacks when the rest of the nation was dazed and grieving, yet Obama never left the church. He must never be our President.

J. Marie, Maple Valley, U.S.A

I believe Michelle Obama actually said that it was the first time in her adult life that she was "really" proud of her country. The difference between what she actually said and the way Mr. Mills and others are reporting it is that only the misquoted version of her statement can be viewed as evidence of a lack of patriotism. Let's not foment controversy where it shouldn't exist.

Taylor, New York,, New York

Once again the American media is allowing the public to be bamboozled by a slick campaign. Obama should have been vetted long ago. He has a thin resume and a lot of questionable "friends". If the public knew all that the news media knows and is not bringing up he would never have gotten this far. After almost 8 years of GWB and Iraq you would think the American public would wake up. Apparently not. Welcome President McCain and 4 more years of war. How sad and disgusting. The Democratic party is so gullible.

Glenda, Girdwood, Alaska

What experience does Obama bring to any problems be they in the US or in the rest of the world? The only thing that anyone knows for sure about him is that for 20 years he attended a church run by a black racist. To say that he was not influenced by pastor Wright's mad ranting's can be compared to Bill Clinton's claim that he smoked pot, but did not inhale.

Jon Maynard, Lansing, MI, USA

This is all garbage and no one in their right mind would listen to Shelby Steel, a right wing conservative, with no credentials to write a book on Obama. There are a good number of white people at Trinity who feel more than welcome and have spoken out! Further Dr. Wright is highly regarded in the Chicago white community and I might add in the Jewish community.
The truth about Wright is finally coming out, the full text of his sermons that were turned into 'cut and paste sound bites' now shows a very different picture when heard in context, for anyone who cares to listen. Wright maybe a tad quirky perhaps, but he is not anti-American, he is not racist, and this former Marine is certainly not unpatriotic. Is anyone surprised blacks might buy into the AIDS conspiracy theory, given that we used them for medical guinea pigs in the past? Should we be surprised if they are defensive on the issue of AIDS when every racist in America blames AIDS on them!
Let's get real here.

s_charles , Bellingham, Washington, USA

Obama leads! Go Obama Go!

Delta Juliet, Buffalo, NY

Peter Morris should worry about how how his government oppressed the Maoris, and stop meddling in the Israeli vs Palestinian war.
Onething that does interest about the USA election is that there is a clear policy difference between Obama and McCain. Unliek the UK, where Cameron's Tories are so evasive of revealing all but a few policies!

Howard, London, UK

The bigger picture is that given the chance he actually could bring change, and also heal world opinion as well as unite americans. I have stood with people so different from eachother all united in supporting Barack. All this stuff is nothing new, it is all about the spin. But I'm not trying to elect Jesus, I'm electing -the end of this war, the end of war mongering administration, et cetera et cetera. I'm not electing wright, rezko, and what ever else, I'm electing America for americans instead of America for corporations.

Carson Harley, san Jose, Ca

Theoretically - a person who associates with criminals or nefarious charcters cannot claim that 'he does not agree with them'' to show his decency

You judge a person not only what he says...but who his friends are..

I would feel very uncomfortable in electing a person President of the USA whose Pastor and mentor is a person such as Mr. Wright...

Henry, New York, USA

I agree that every politician has skeletons, however Obama still posseses something that the others do not-- honesty. Obama does well with articulating the average American's struggle and I don't believe we'll find any corruption in his background. Who cares who he associates with. Politicians have to be servants for all people in their constinuency, not just those who they agree with.

Spirit, Baltimore, MD

The worry for the US media regards Obama's pastor is that he has strongly opposed Israel's oppression of the Palestinians.
Cunningly the media conceal the real reason by trying to paint the pastor as anti American as anything that brings attention to the real situation in the Middle East is a taboo subject.
Luckily for the media which in the US is predominently owned by interests favourable to the Zionist cause the gullible public easily takes the bait.

Peter Morris, Auckland, New Zealand

The endorsement by Gov Richardson is an affront to the voters of New Mexico, who decided that they wanted Mrs Clinton to represent their interests, not Mr Obama. There has been much spoken about "the will of the people" but Mr Richardson has chosen expediency - and perhaps the hope of a vice-presidential slot - over the will of the people of New Mexico

David Cunard, Los Angeles, United States

No , I don't think he's superman, it's been proven there was only one of those and that was Yahshua the Messiah,not
Christopher Reeves.However, I do think he is a new man made here in America, half white and half black, able to bring all of us togetherin this melting pot of a country.

Lewana Guidry, Los Angeles, USA, CA

Every politician has a few skeletons in the closet, but Chicago politicians have legions of them. It's the nature of city government here (and despite my hatred for the way the city is run, it works pretty well). If Obama does wind up the party nominee these things are going to keep coming up, and they might end up overwhelming him as they emerge. This isn't the last time that the legitimacy of the Senator's previous actions will be questioned.

Matt, Chicago, Illinois

ummmm....the Obama supporters aren't worried about this as much as the very vocal media, republicans, and CLINTON supporters are.
We know enough to dig deeper into the story and see the Rev Wright in context.
CLINTONS. STOP. HURTING. AMERICA.

Kristi, Puyallup, WA

As far as I am concerned, assuming a Democratic victory, it is a win win situation - a woman and a black American in the White House. So, I have thought long and hard about who I think would be the most effective President and I have concluded that BO has, ultimately, more compromising baggage than HC. Not that he had a huge amount of choice - but I am rather concerned that his debts would cost more morally.

Patricia Pemberton-James, Portsmouth, U.K.

Michelle Obama's statement was actually “For the first time in my adult *lifetime,* I am proud of my country.” Ever so worse, in my opinion, than what Mr. Allen-Mills quoted.

Erik Shays, Los Angeles, U.S./California