Pipes is right about Obama. Obama is wrong about Wright.

Submitted by Geno M. (United States), May 2, 2008 at 18:32

I agree with Dr. Pipes' unease with the creative license Obama uses to describe the extent of his Islamic background. However, what has been missing from the equation is the context to place Obama's formative Islamic identity as a child with the choices he has made as an adult.

Perhaps the context we are looking for is his selection of Reverend Wright to act as Obama's long-time spiritual advisor. Although Wright, the retired pastor of Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago, IL describes himself as a Christian, at least some of the views he has expressed dovetail quite nicely with radical Islam. Based on his well-publicized utterances, Wright sees the United States primarily through venomous goggles of hatred.

If this is what Wright dares to say in public one wonders what he dares to think in private. And in a country noted for a broad spectrum of beliefs, it is striking that Barack Obama chose this particular fellow to define his spiritual true North. I also tend to agree with Reverend Wright that Obama has shunned the pastor as a political expedient. Would he have done the same if he were not engaged in a presidential race? I think not.

This brings up the question of what Obama really thinks and feels in the deepest part of his inner-self. Is there a thread of Islamic hatred of the Jew and of the United States? I don't know. But, under the circumstances, the fact that the question is reasonable and valid, causes me great concern in and of itself. As readers of this website will comprehend, the biggest threat facing the United States is not unemployment or global warming. It is Al Queda. It is Hamas. It is Jamaat-e-Islami.

In short, the most urgent threat facing the United States is, in its may guises, Islam. As we navigate the tricky waters in which we find ourselves in the year 2008 and beyond, it will be essential to have at our disposal the wisdom of right thinking leaders. If Obama is elected, I fear we may find ourselves guided by Wright-thinking leaders instead.

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