I think, honestly, Thom, if I was part of an organization that talked exactly what that preacher was preaching, then I'd kind of mutely nod my head, and then tell him to tone it down a notch, and so on.  I see where the guy is coming from - I just don't feel on his same page - but honestly, and I hope I'm not some nut and just don't realize it, but what he's saying is just so much hot air.  I don't see it as, you know, treasonous, or whatever.

It might help this to confess that I was born and raised in San Francisco, and grew up around such talk.  Didn't always support it, but I get where it's coming from.  I can't say for sure, but I suspect Obama is in my spot.  He's like, "Oh, dear, there he goes again..." but it's not like he's shocked to hear such things.  In certain communities of peoples, this talk is nothing new, and, to be honest, it's impotent talk at best.

But having said that, I have walked away from friendships and organizations that did support things and views that I thought were dangerous.  Like, in this case - what this preacher is saying is in poor taste, but it's meaningless.  But, you know, there are other things people say or do that does have an effect on people, and I agree - those are times when you need to stand up and be counted as the opposition.

In all fairness, I see Obama as more of a mix between Superman and God, and I sniff at your comparrisons - Lincoln, Ghandi and Kennedy were puny mortals.

Neil, the day of political assassanations is done in America.  It's about smearing people now.  THEY (the cabal?  my Masonic brothers?) realize that you shoot a guy?  He becomes a hero.  You smear him?  He's no longer a threat.  JFK, RFK?  Heroes.  Teddy?  That fat drunk that killed a whore.  You see?  RFK was killed and we look fondly on his image; Gary Hart was caught with a whore, and we sneer at him. 

The day of bullets is over - the power is in the destruction of character... as you can see in this very campaign!  Here's hoping I'm right in my guess that Obama and McCain are both above such smears - as Thom says, they might, but others might not - and it's true that the Swift-Boaters (or those who created the fake documents about Bush's lack of service) were not officially part of either party... (though both of those examples stunk of Rovian politics, though nothing is proven) but then... I have a feeling... a gut feeling... that the mud will come out in this election, but that the voters will do the right thing.  I just have that feeling.  I think people are tired of being screwed around, and by and large, people vote with thier bellys, and times are getting tough.  I think a change is coming.  And it excites me.

"Yup.  He's a cowardly hypocrite -- and I still would have preferred him to Bush."

Me too - but I felt dirty about it.  This is why I support Obama.  Tired of voting with nose held.

Touche to Neil and Kevin - I like that Obama has enough faith to get him in the door, but not so much that he's hearing voices and carrying

on - that was wierd - it posted as I was typing!  Sorry!

Matt Reed:
"Sad to see such bitter fighting among Democrats over their candidate of choice.  The Republicans, with their nomination firmly in hand, must be smiling and giggling ear to ear... "

I'm sure the McCain people are enjoying the Democrat infighting.  But what's sad about it is that, even here, people are blaming it on the Republicans or saying that they will use this information later in the campaign.  Um, probably not.  It's already out there so there would be no reason to use this again.  They will use Obama's lack of experience on the national stage more.  For example, his statements that he will talk to our "enemies" with no preset conditions and how he will invade a ally (Pakistan).

And even if the Republicans were to continue using this information, what's wrong with that.  Politics is supposed to be down and dirty.  Was it fair for the Swiftboat folks to be against Kerry?  All he would have had to do was release his service records to disprove what they were saying, but he didn't.  This alone made him look like he was lying.  Plus his slow response to the Swiftboat ads didn't put him in a very positive light.

The only person really happy about "Obama and the Preacher" is Hillary.  She can now send out another attack dog to push this story, then throw them under the bus when it starts to look bad for her.