Letters Tuesday Editor- Obama, Ferraro, and Wright

Obama just finished his speech.  It was a good speech. It will be interesting to see if it changes people's minds.

For those who don't know, I used to write The Daily Pulse, well, daily.  It always included "Letters Tuesday Editor," LTEs from papers around the country.  I still reanimate the concept once in a while, like right before an election, or in the midst of a big political story.  Today, I thought I would take a look at what people were writing in about the whole Obama, Ferraro, Wright flap.  It will make an interesting comparison next week, to see if the letters change as a result of the speech, and news about it in the next few days.

So, with no more ado, Letters Tuesday Editor:

These were selected with only two criteria - (1) are they about Obama/Ferraro/Wright, and(2) are they LTEs.  I selected the first ones I found, without any judgment as to content.  I do add my own comments, and hope you will, too, in the comments below:

The Arizona Republic

Is Ferraro being excoriated for telling the truth, but telling it badly?  Does it matter?  Should a person of her standing not be bright enough, if it is truth (and there is an iota of truth, though no more than that Clinton, too, is there because of who she is), to tell it WELL?  And if she fails to do so, and instead loads her kernel of truth with a whole load of ugliness, is it not perfectly appropriate to excoriate her for THAT?

Truth trumps political correctness

Geraldine Ferraro is being excoriated for essentially telling the truth.

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We may even be in the process of electing a president on this basis without even facing the reality. Political correctness is not a good substitute for the truth. It only serves to bury the reality we need to confront.

The Arizona Republic

This letter shows the damage Wright really has done.  It is not Wright's words, but Obamas failure to decry them until it became a political liability, and the belief that flows therefrom that perhaps he does not really decry them at all, that will cause political damage.

Opinion of pastor keeps changing

For 22 years, Barack Obama has defended and supported the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, who is his pastor and spiritual and political adviser.

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But when the speech was played on the Internet recently, Obama quickly changed and denounced him  ...

Obama is correct in saying that he is for change, but now we know what he means.

Daily Camera

Okay, this letter really shows why I love LTEs.  They show the derangement of so many righties, people who truly believe the garbage that gets shoveled to them on FOX.  Wright, you see, is a "liberal media" issue.  And then you get the punch line - 'what if McCain's spiritual adivosr made hate-filled comments, the liberal media would be all over it.'  Excuse me, sir, but can you say John Hagee?

Rev. Jeremiah Wright and Obama

I find it interesting the lengths to which the Camera and other liberal media go to down play or ignore the rantings of Sen. Obama's "spiritual advisor" the Rev. Jeremiah Wright. ...

Rev. Wright married Obama and his wife Michelle, baptized their two daughters and is credited by Obama for the title of his book, "The Audacity of Hope." Wright also has close ties to Louis Farrakhan, noted Anti-Semite. Now let's image that George Bush or John McCain had "spiritual advisors" who were white separatists and made hate-filled comments anything like the above and we can only guess at the massive uproar from the liberals.

Seattle Times

Personally, I'm not that big a fan of Billy Graham, so don't see the absence of a Graham in the White House as a crisis. That said, this letter, and the one that follows, do show some concern about Wright, and about Obama's honesty and judgment.

Jerry gets around reverence

With all the talk going around about Rev. Jeremiah Wright, personal spiritual adviser to Sen. Barack Obama ["Obama decries pastor's remarks," page one, March 15], has anyone thought far enough into the future to realize who the spiritual adviser to the president of the United States might be if Sen. Obama is elected? It won't be Billy Graham.

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If Obama is elected, do you think Wright can fill Graham's shoes? Do you think he could ever become "America's spiritual conscience"?

"By their works shall ye know them"

and

He grasps at straws

Anyone who thinks Barack Obama isn't lying about what he knew and when he knew it concerning Rev. Jeremiah Wright's fanaticism is drowning in a deep, deep pool of Kool-Aid.

The Philadelphia Inquirer

The Philadelphia Inquirer ran two different letters on the Wright story, one from each side.  These, together, really show something.  On the one hand, defenders argue about the truth of Wright's statements.  Writers on the other side are more concerned, not about the content, but about Obama's claims that he did not know about them.  Is this an indelible impression, or will Obama's speech put that issue to rest?

Pastor's racist views

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It strains credulity to believe that Obama didn't know, until recently when it became a hot potato, the venomous, irrational and racist views Wright has been spewing during the 17 years Obama has been a member of the Trinity United Church of Christ.

Defending minister

Is it the content or the tone of the Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr.'s sermons that some wish to use to reproach Barack Obama (Inquirer, March 15)?

Wright said the Sept. 11 attacks were the result of American foreign policy. There are many academics, journalists and politicians who have presented the same argument. As for the treatment of the African American community, Wright expresses the anger and frustration that many feel.

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There they are, a few LTEs, to let you know what people are saying and writing in a  few spots around the country.  Do you have any related LTEs in your local paper?  Can you share them here?  

I will do this again next week. It will be interesting to see if the trends hold, or if Obama's speech made a difference.