Jeremiah Wright goes on the offensive

Earlier today I wrote about the feud between Wright and Obama and the fact that Jeremiah Wright feels betrayed by Obama; that he was thrown overboard is a most deceitful way. The New York Post backs up my assessment with a piece on Jeremiah Wright today, and how he could care less if he throws Obama's train off the tracks:

The Rev. Jeremiah Wright would be happy to see Barack Obama's presidential campaign derailed because the pastor is fuming that his former congregant has "betrayed" their 20-year relationship, The Post has learned.

"After 20 years of loving Barack like he was a member of his own family, for Jeremiah to see Barack saying over and over that he didn't know about Jeremiah's views during those years, that he wasn't familiar with what Jeremiah had said, that he may have missed church on this day or that and didn't hear what Jeremiah said, this is seen by Jeremiah as nonsense and betrayal," said the source, who has deep roots in Wright's Chicago community and is familiar with his thinking on the matter.

"Jeremiah is trying to defend his congregation and the work of his ministry by saying what he is saying now," the source added.

"Jeremiah doesn't care if he derails Obama's candidacy or not . . . He knows what he's doing. Obviously, he's not a dumb man. He knows he's not helping."

The source spoke yesterday about Wright's motivation for thrusting himself back into the news, the day after the pastor appeared at the National Press Club on Monday and embarrassed Obama by accusing the United States of terrorism.

Wright has said the reason he has begun granting interviews and making public appearances now is that he wants to defend black churches.

But the source said the preacher's motivation is much more personal.

The source noted that the roots of Wright's disillusionment with Obama began last year after the Illinois senator unexpectedly yanked him from participating in the public announcement of his presidential campaign.

[Note -- I stated this in my earlier piece today. Wright wasn't happy with being told not to participate there. Remember that Obama told him "You can get kind of rough in the sermons, so what we’ve decided is that it’s best for you not to be out there in public.”]

"That's why Jeremiah revealed . . . that he had actually been at the [announcement] hotel and prayed privately with the Obama family before the official declaration," the source told The Post.

"Rev. Wright, as well as other senior members of his church, believe that Obama has betrayed over 20 years of their supposed friendship."

Obama further angered Wright by trying to distance himself from the pastor ever since videos were made public earlier this year of the preacher alleging that America brought 9/11 upon itself and that people should say "God damn America," not "God bless America."

The source added, "After 20 years of loving Barack like he is one of their own, after he was embraced by this congregation as a brother in Christ, after his pastor was a father figure to him and gave him credibility in a city he had not grown up in and in a black community that was suspect of someone from Hawaii and Harvard, he thanks him by not allowing him to speak publicly at his announcement last year?

"A lot of people in the church believe they were there for this man when no one else was, and a lot of people don't believe it any more when Obama claims he loves the man who did so much for him," the source added.

So, when is Obama's next "bitter" speech coming out, and will it be about Jeremiah Wright? We wouldn't be surprised if he did come out and claim Wright was "bitter" over the snub. It sure looks like it to the average outsider/political junkie. Wright's ticked, and he feels he has a good reason to be that way. And can we really blame him?

Recall the words from Obama's speech in March entitled "A More Perfect Union":

"But the truth is, that isn't all that I know of the man. The man I met more than twenty years ago is a man who helped introduce me to my Christian faith, a man who spoke to me about our obligations to love one another; to care for the sick and lift up the poor. He is a man who served his country as a U.S. Marine; who has studied and lectured at some of the finest universities and seminaries in the country, and who for over thirty years led a church that serves the community by doing God's work here on Earth - by housing the homeless, ministering to the needy, providing day care services and scholarships and prison ministries, and reaching out to those suffering from HIV/AIDS. ...

"And this helps explain, perhaps, my relationship with Reverend Wright. As imperfect as he may be, he has been like family to me. He strengthened my faith, officiated my wedding, and baptized my children. Not once in my conversations with him have I heard him talk about any ethnic group in derogatory terms, or treat whites with whom he interacted with anything but courtesy and respect. He contains within him the contradictions - the good and the bad - of the community that he has served diligently for so many years.

"I can no more disown him than I can disown the black community. I can no more disown him than I can my white grandmother ... These people are a part of me."

When we hear this and we see that Obama no longer has Wright amongst his list of testimonials on his campaign website it's plain to see that this rift is now complete. Wright has been kicked to the curb. Given that Obama spoke in glowing terms of Wright -- both on the stump and in his books -- we can understand why Wright is rightly miffed.

Obama made a serious mistake in doing this to Wright, but he had no choice given how badly his candidacy could have suffered if he didn't disown Wright. But if Wright is going on the stump to defend himself and his church, we can only wonder who will book him next. Any media people out there still in the tank for Hillary? If so, you might want to book him quickly before the media moonbats in the tank for Obama make Wright irrelevant.

Publius II