Media finds New Obama Acquaintance for Target

General Zod · Post by **General Zod** » 2008-05-30 02:50pm

A video making the rounds on YouTube shows the Rev. Michael Pfleger mocking Clinton for becoming teary-eyed before the New Hampshire primary in January.

In the video, Pfleger wipes his eyes with a handkerchief and suggests Clinton wept because she thought that as a white person and the wife of a former president, she was entitled to the presidency.

"And then, out of nowhere, came 'Hey, I'm Barack Obama,' " Pfleger said during a sermon Sunday at Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago, Illinois. "And [Clinton] said, 'Oh damn, where did you come from? I'm white! I'm entitled! There's a black man stealing my show!'

The video shows the congregation laughing and cheering.

Pfleger is a Catholic priest at St. Sabina Roman Catholic Church on Chicago's southwest side.

He is also a friend of Trinity's former pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, from whom Obama distanced himself in April.

At the time, Obama said he was "outraged" by Wright's remarks suggesting the U.S. government might be responsible for the spread of AIDS in the black community and equating some American wartime efforts with terrorism.

Obama has known Pfleger for more than 20 years.

His campaign condemned Pfleger's comments.

"As I have traveled this country, I've been impressed not by what divides us, but by all that that unites us," Obama said in a statement Thursday.

"That is why I am deeply disappointed in Father Pfleger's divisive, backward-looking rhetoric, which doesn't reflect the country I see or the desire of people across America to come together in common cause."

The Clinton camp also condemned Pfleger's remarks.

"Divisive and hateful language like that is totally counterproductive in our efforts to bring our party together and have no place at the pulpit or in our politics," the Clinton campaign said.

"We are disappointed that Sen. Obama didn't specifically reject Father's Pfleger's despicable comments about Sen. Clinton and assume he will."
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Pfleger apologized for his comments Thursday evening.

"I regret the words I chose on Sunday," he said in a statement. "These words are inconsistent with Sen. Obama's life and message, and I am deeply sorry if they offended Sen. Clinton or anyone else who saw them."

Wonderful. . .now instead of the media hounding Obama about Wright, they'll be hounding him about Pfleger. Though I like the way the Clinton admin is indignant about Obama not being even more specific than he was in his rejection of the comments. . .even though this wasn't even nearly as offensive as anything Wright might have said.

Illuminatus Primus · Post by **Illuminatus Primus** » 2008-05-30 02:52pm

Oooh, black preachers say a.) what everyone knows deep down, b.) say it without using double-talking bullshit white corporate crypto-speak.

Post by **Coyote** » 2008-05-30 03:16pm

Hey, I heard that Barack Obama's third cousin was college roommates with a guy who bought girl scout cookies from a girl whose parents watched a documentary about a Lenin.

Clearly he is not fit to be President if he associates with such people.

Patrick Degan · Post by **Patrick Degan** » 2008-05-30 03:17pm

Uh huh. I suppose "specific rejection" would be a pledge from Obama to have Pfleger executed.

Post by **Alyrium Denryle** » 2008-05-30 03:18pm

But.... that is exactly what the cunt has been doing...

ArmorPierce · Post by **ArmorPierce** » 2008-05-30 03:50pm

I saw the video. There was no way that it was hateful. Maybe divisive in the sense that people don't like being pointed out that they are in the wrong, but everything he said was completely correct.

Siege · Post by **Siege** » 2008-05-30 03:55pm

I saw it too, and man, if we had priests like Mr. Pfleger around these parts I might actually consider occasionally visiting a church. He was on a roll, and making quite a bit of sense as well.

Seriously, this boils down to "waah, someone Obama knows makes fun of me!" There's no way Obama should have to make excuses for this.

FSTargetDrone · Post by **FSTargetDrone** » 2008-05-30 03:57pm

I doubt this will have any staying power compared to the Wright thing. For one thing, it's not another "angry black man" and he's just mocking Hillary, not calling for God to Damn America as Wright did.

Rogue 9 · Post by **Rogue 9** » 2008-05-30 04:50pm

Illuminatus Primus wrote:Oooh, black preachers say a.) what everyone knows deep down, b.) say it without using double-talking bullshit white corporate crypto-speak.

Problem with that: Pfleger is a white Roman Catholic priest, not a black Baptist preacher.

Kanastrous · Post by **Kanastrous** » 2008-05-30 05:54pm

Although he's at pains to put on a a fake 'black-preacher' voice performance while sermonizing.

It came off like a not-very-good SNL sketch.

And, what kind of total idiot asshole is this guy, anyway? Did he learn nothing from the events surrounding another pastor at the same damned church?

KlavoHunter · Post by **KlavoHunter** » 2008-05-30 06:42pm

The media's trying to milk the Democratic primaries for a little more news before they're all over. This isn't a scandal, this is just someone saying what everyone else has been thinking.

Adrian Laguna · Post by **Adrian Laguna** » 2008-05-30 06:53pm

I don't see anything even vaguely approaching a problem here. Unlike Wright, who has a strained relationship with reality (see his opinion on AIDS), Phleger's words ring true. I saw clips of him in the news and all I could do was nod in agreement. He is probably wrong about Clinton being racist though, I think internally she doesn't give a fuck either way, but since she acts like a racist cunt, I don't have a problem with slapping that label on her.

ArmorPierce · Post by **ArmorPierce** » 2008-05-31 01:54am

Well if she is not racist she has no problem pandering to racists. Makes her pretty guilty if she is knowingly (and she knows what she is doing) playing of their racism.

Glocksman · Post by **Glocksman** » 2008-05-31 03:20am

From a former Repub's POV, Pfegler and his bullshit about 'snuffing out' Chuck's Gun Shop, the sole licensed gun dealer within easy reach of Chicago was more worrying than Wright's spiels on AIDS, racism, etc.

That's simply because while even I, a product of southwestern Indiana, can see through the BS thrown up to obscure Wright's legitimate complaints, I can't see the point the assholes like Pfegler are trying to make in driving the sole legitimate gun dealer in the area out of business.

I know enough about the ATF to fucking guarantee you that if most Chicago area criminals were buying their guns at Chuck's, then 'Chuck' would be in the pen, not selling guns.

There are legit complaints that can be made WRT Pfleger, Obama, and electability, but the trite mocking of Clinton herself isn't one of them.

Qwerty 42 · Post by **Qwerty 42** » 2008-05-31 11:16am

If it weren't even greater political suicide than these preachers, I think Obama would very much like to stop going to church right now.

Drooling Iguana · Post by **Drooling Iguana** » 2008-05-31 01:20pm

Post by **Broomstick** » 2008-05-31 01:30pm

Rogue 9 wrote:
Illuminatus Primus wrote:Oooh, black preachers say a.) what everyone knows deep down, b.) say it without using double-talking bullshit white corporate crypto-speak.
Problem with that: Pfleger is a white Roman Catholic priest, not a black Baptist preacher.

Kanastrous wrote:Although he's at pains to put on a a fake 'black-preacher' voice performance while sermonizing.

His congregation, however, is almost entirely African American. Part of his popularity is his decades-long embrace of black culture. He adopted that preaching style because, at least to some extent, that's what the community he serves expects and responds to. He is completely sincere and none of it is an act. The archdiocese is always trying to rein him in, discipline him, etc. He really does talk like that, all the time. And why not? He's lived immersed in that culture most of his adult life, it's not at all surprising he'd pick up the local speech quirks. He's a reverse-oreo, physically white, culturally black. Or, less PC, he's a whigger.

Post by **Broomstick** » 2008-05-31 01:36pm

Glocksman wrote:From a former Repub's POV, Pfegler and his bullshit about 'snuffing out' Chuck's Gun Shop, the sole licensed gun dealer within easy reach of Chicago was more worrying than Wright's spiels on AIDS, racism, etc.

That's simply because while even I, a product of southwestern Indiana, can see through the BS thrown up to obscure Wright's legitimate complaints, I can't see the point the assholes like Pfegler are trying to make in driving the sole legitimate gun dealer in the area out of business.

That is not true. Westforth Sports and Blythe's are both also very near the Chicago city limits. Pfelgler has them on his hit list, too. Chuck's, I think, gets more press because of a couple of high-profile gun crimes that were eventually traced back to that shop.

I know enough about the ATF to fucking guarantee you that if most Chicago area criminals were buying their guns at Chuck's, then 'Chuck' would be in the pen, not selling guns.

Exactly - for the crimes I mention above the perpetrators did not buy them from Chuck's - the original owners did, and they subsequently were stolen or sold under questionable circumstances by others. It's not different than suing gun manufacturers for first degree murder.

Durandal · Post by **Durandal** » 2008-05-31 04:01pm

This will blow over in no time. How is the media supposed to make people scared of a non-minority preacher?

Eleas · Post by **Eleas** » 2008-05-31 06:03pm

Durandal wrote:This will blow over in no time. How is the media supposed to make people scared of a non-minority preacher?

Not a problem. After all, he's been subverted by the black agenda.

Master of Ossus · Post by **Master of Ossus** » 2008-05-31 06:32pm

Actually, this guy makes me view the church even MORE disfavorably, since it's now abundantly clear that they're looking for preachers like this. However, if that were a stand-up routine, he would've been damn funny. Seriously. That was good stuff. I'd definitely go to see him talk, somewhere.

Post by **Broomstick** » 2008-06-04 06:16am

Update: Cardinal George has suspended Father Pfleger for that sermon.

Ritterin Sophia · Post by **Ritterin Sophia** » 2008-06-04 12:16pm

People are fucking stupid. There's this one woman on my towns message board who yelled 'Hillary' right in the face of Obama supporters holding signs right on the side of the road, then was surprised when they started insulting her. Then she had the audacity to ask, 'Is this what we can expect from an Obama presidency?'

Post by **Darth Wong** » 2008-06-04 12:27pm

Master of Ossus wrote:Actually, this guy makes me view the church even MORE disfavorably, since it's now abundantly clear that they're looking for preachers like this.

What's wrong with preachers like this? Does he say anything which is particularly objectionable for a preacher? Preachers routinely say things which are much more offensive than that, but I guess they're not offensive to WhiteBread America.

However, if that were a stand-up routine, he would've been damn funny. Seriously. That was good stuff. I'd definitely go to see him talk, somewhere.

I like the very animated style. But I seriously don't see what the problem is; why is it so bad for people to say what everyone is thinking anyway, and which is arguably true? It's not as if he was pushing some horrible agenda.

starfury · Post by **starfury** » 2008-06-04 03:38pm

Actually, this guy makes me view the church even MORE disfavorably, since it's now abundantly clear that they're looking for preachers like this.

But you give the impression it was perfectly okay for Macain and Clinton to actively Court Far worse people.