Mike Huckabee defends Obama and Reverend Jeremiah Wright

Interesting. Good for Mike.

Sounds resonable. Very empathetic and understanding. Mike is right -- I am stunned to hear a Conservative say something like that.

I have much respect for Mike Huckabee. I saw him speak at a church while working for the Obama headquarters because the democratic process is not complete unless you here everyone's position. I did not agree with everything I heard but I do believe that this is a decent and honest man. He had my respect then and has amplified it even now.

This isn't the first time I've admired Huckabee for his plain speaking. Well done. Now I know why I torture myself daily with "Morning Joe". It's worth it for these moments. I hope Mike gives it another run.

This isn't the first time I've admired Huckabee's plain talk. But it's the best I've seen him sum up another candidate's 37 minute speech into a couple good lines.

Huckabee brings understanding.

This isn't the first time I've read, "This isn't the first time I've admired..." , in this thread. *narf*

Honest Mike. If he hadn't mixed religion and politics I may have actually listened to what he had to say.

funny thing is Rev Wright didnt say anything that was incorrect, it was just that white people dont like their past being thrown back into their faces. i dont care really....but i do know that what the rev said, was OUR reality. and i saw this live yesterday on morning joe, and knowing what i know about arkansas....i lived in oklahoma and used to go there quite abit (some of the FINEST women alive on planet earth or any other planet, live in fayetteville!!!) and can tell you, arkansas has a HUGE problem with it. you can hate what Rev wright said, thats your perrogative, but dont think for a second he was wrong.

I'm a bit stunned he actually laid it all out. A republican has the back of a democrat? What's next, Hillz making a support call to M. Lewinsky? Mike Hukabee?? Maybe he lost a bet or something...

no maybe ...just maybe, he sees it like it is, and is willing to express it. whats funny in all this mess is the same cowardace that non people of colour had back when the "struggle" was going on in the 50's and 60's is has also been passed down! people always wanna say, my folks were not like that...well can you say what your folks did? and to add what the hell have you done? not that you have to devote your life to equality, but what most white people see as furthering racial equality is "well im not actively trying to oppress anyone or i dont try to hold anyone down...not me" well if you act as if it doesnt happen to other people, then you are a part of the problem. It may be a foreign phenomenon to you, but when you hear it, dont deny that it occurs. To be honest as an affrican american, i think OUR community needs more lessons on this issue, but at the same time, white people need to also realize that we have legiimate grievances AGAINST you. and maybe the double standard should be given a pass..YOU CAN AT LEAST GIVE US THAT!

i really dont care if the white community doesnt understand me. im more critical about my community than i am about yours, Black people already know the best and the worst of you...thing is, we have seen more of the worst and not enough of the best. where as white people dont wanna look at the best, they only see the worst of us and assume its the best we got! thats the unfortunate issue. no one reads, people only hear, no one listens. and i dont expect anyone on either side to. but understand that this argument and issue will continue and no matter what year it is, people will say...here it is 2078 and we are still talking about issues of race. why? because like the halocaust, there will be people that deny it. well ill tell you, it wont be black people denying it.....so that leaves only one other segment.

i know the holocaust occured, but i really dont care about it as much as those that were affected. blacks have had a far worse holocaust in america than jews had in germany or europe...longer in time, and more damaging in scope....is white america gona deny that? or are you just going to get pissed that i said that...and turn off? if so, then thats the "typical white person" that obama was talking about.

holla at cha boy!!

joe is such a dick.

Everytime i see Huckabee all i can think about is the clip of him saying "it is easier to change the constitution than it is to change the word of god...".

That makes me shiver.

Okinawanmajik, you are absolutley right. I live in the "great state" of Oklahoma and let me tell you that even in 2008 it is not uncommon to hear peeps using racial epitaphs in public, and even more so in private.

To hear Huckabee at least acknowledge that African American resentment of the treatment they have suffered in the past, and still suffer to some degree today, is understandable if not justified is encouraging. However, i keep in mind that the christian's god ordained long ago that they should "love thy neighbor as thyself", does it really make Huckabee that much better that he acknowledges the injustices after what was an amazing speech by Obama?

On a side note, i wonder how many black peeps he has in his church...

i think he is southern baptist. so that should answer your question!!

where in oklahoma? i stayed in Del City..graduated there...played football at the U!!! hahaha! unfortunatly with schnellenburger..now im only 40 miles from the prick!

the problem with peoples divisiveness within christianity is core to its founding. christianity as we know it, is segregational as its foundation. if you are not christian, then you are going to hell, then if you are not catholic then you are going to hell, then if you dont go to the church that i attend then you are going to hell, then if you dont go as often as i go then you are going to hell...as it gets closer to home...anyone thats not you or your family is going to hell, and since you dont allow people you dont know "into your house" then its easier to dismiss them and say flippantly i dont have to take the time to know or understand people that are going to hell.

its a cop out actually! until people take a look at their own issues, we cant expect anything to change...thing is...until that fucked up mindset is dead from this world...(the older generations finally die off....yes that means your grandparents) we cant expect anything different. even if obama is elected...white america will proudly proclaim.....see things have changed! and black america will want to blame obama for every thing that continues to happen to us in the areas of discrimination as if he has control over every specific situation.

whats going to be funny is when a situation like this.....when black folks get fired from a job, we ususally show our asses...i bet when something jacked happens to someone black...they will go to the white house and demand to talk to obama....."BROTHA OBAMA...BROTHA OBAMA....LEMMIE HOLLA AT CHOO FO' UH MIN'IT...BROTHA OBAMA!! CMON MAN...LEMMIE HOLLA AT CHOO FO' UH MIN'IT!"

FUNNY BUT TRUE!!

A little place called Geronimo...which is funny in and of it's self...WHITE PEOPLE named it!

I am a firm believer that Obama can in fact go a long way toward enhancing race relations in this country. That being said, I find it odd that black peeps seem to be more racist now. I was travelling to San Antonio a few years back and my wife went into a gas station in Dallas to pay, after standing there for 10 minutes as she was ignored by the clerks one finally took her money, after giving her what she described as a "look of pity".

i find this akin to the catholics torturing peeps during the inquisition, after being persecuted for hundreds of years by the Romans.

When does it become okay for the tortured to start torturing? Look at the Palestinian and Isreali problems.
We should be perfectly honest about all of this, it is easy to believe that one is in the right when one is constantly told that someone else is wrong.

I read a book titled "Strange Histories", in it the author makes the argument that we as modern people cannot hold the past (or those in the past) to the same standard we hold ourselves to. This is a bullshit argument...if it were true then the sins of the father would not be visited upon the son. If people can come to the realization that we are no better than cavepeeps perhaps we can move beyond this tired axiom. I really think that if a person is truly evolved they will be able to throw down the hurt and resentment that envelopes their minds. This is an exceptionally hard thing to do...i would point out that bushys war in Iraq is most likely the cause of resentment for Saddam for threatening his daddy and, at his daddy for not hurting the bad man that threatened him.

I firmly believe there are enough open minded peeps in this country now to affect real change in the way we interact with one another, the problem arises from people who cannot let go of hatred and bigotry...ON BOTH SIDES!

perception is reality. and its funny how you say that the tortured are doing the torturing. black people do not trust white people. point blank. but its not because of slavery or some LONG TIME AGO ISSUE, its because of how things are today. Now i will tell you this, it has gotten better only for people like myself that built myself, and have a rather comfortable life. i can live anywhere, and buy anything i want. with that being said, its not so much that i am discriminated less, or that when i'm shown houses, that im not shown houses in shitty neighborhoods..i still am. its that i put the person on the spot and ask them what makes them think i want to live in this shitty neighborhood. I demand more and i get more. lots of white people where i work dispised me because of how i carry myself. im the high and mighty black guy as i was told once. and the black people think im trying to be white because i dress nice, talk nice, have a nice car, and got loot. as if white people have the monopoly on civility. its all about perception. your wife got stared at? so? that one incident of uncomfortableness is an indictment on all of us? its a gas station in BFE!! i get gas in asheville NC in 2001 and everyone left the store because they said they didnt want to be in there while i was in there...(thats what the clerk said..as he tried to hurry me out) so what did i do? i stayed my ass in there for like an hour just to be an ass! fuck those people. the point is, people segregate in the lunchroom at school...why? because the kids parents, the schools faculty (lets me honest here, schools instigate this BS too) and the perception that "those" kids dont want me to sit with them. I hit so much ass in high school it wasnt even funny, i hit white pretty ass, i hit this goth chick, i his ghetto sista's, i hit preps, cheerleaders, math nerds, i didnt care. but maybe because i grew up as a black man in japan, in the 80's, i really dont look at the differences in people, i look at how i can fuck the most people!! in whatever way. im an animal when it comes to business, and when i deal with a person that i sense doesnt respect me, i am a fucking monster! its like calling your shot in a basketball or baseball game...im that good! i hope i will be this good in the courtroom when im finished with law school.

black people cannot be racist in america....if you knew what racism is, youd understand...we can be bigots but not racists. but our so called bigotry comes from a legitimate place, and to be honest, we deserve to have these feelings. white people havnt been the most hospitable people the earth has ever known, and what drove you usually was the idea of white supremacy...which is a racist idiology..black people are pissed and hurt and usually generalize or lump all white people together when we talk about ya'll because there have been so many that have hurt not only us, but our parents, and their parents...and you assume (which is where the error occurs) that you are going to as well. well what happens is we get tight and ready for it, and you are that one unassuming person that wasnt going down that road in the first place, but you just happened to walk into the path of that person that assumed you were..so they treat you like shit, because they assumed you were calling them a nigger unde your breath. so then white people get mad and say, that black person was a racist towards me. look just because you are, doesnt mean we are, we often are just preparing for what we assume to be the inevitable. dont for a second tell us to just get over it, or say that it was in the past..bro the past is only "SNAP" long. your past is alot of peoples present.

I think sometimes we paint with these broad strokes of racist and not racist, when this is just not the case. True, Racism is very real and happens frequently, at the same token (ha) you don't want people to be so afraid of being labeled as one that they are scared to talk about it. I do think we have gotten past the point where we, as a whole, hate based on the way someone looks. However, that it not to say things are all hunky dory because we still make decisions based on the social construct of race. For example, your a Caucasian suburbanite who is stopping for some gas in an urban center populated by black folk. You are going to be put off at the jump because you are in a place you are not familiar with, and being socialized how we all are, we thing about group of people in a certain way, and most of the time not in a rational light. You feel uncomfortable because your fears are fueled by what you 'should' believe about this classification of people. Now, this is just a small example of an everyday situation, but people who make decisions, our governors, senators, representatives, people we depend on to provide us with the basic necessities of life go through the same process of domestic xenophobia. They don't hate us, no, but they have such little understanding of dealing with people, that they often times just fall back on what we are taught growing up, and are making policy decision based on a faulty system of logic. And no being color blind isn't going to solve anything. It has been said before, and I will say it again, the most devastating outcome of racism is that it strips people of the ability to see the humanness in people who just, quite simple, look different from you. But do we, as a country want to make this transition? Well, the numbers speak for themselves as far as that goes, so I'll just wait and see what happens. But it's fun to dream sometimes...

and bro im not talking about you specifically...im using "you" in general terms....

i like your "HA" i got it!

No offense takin at all, man. Just sharing some thoughts. And a quick point about the cat who said he read a book that says we have 'evolved' to the point where we can forgot about the atrocities committed in the past. I wonder if the author of that book would say it to the Jews, or the Native Americans. It's frustrating to me when I hear people say 'Black people need to get over slavery'. The Middle Passage was one of the most horrible crimes committed against a group of people. Why there is such a differentiation made between this and other acts of genocide in global history are at the heart of the problem. At some point the US needs to make some type of effort to right these horrible acts that stain our collective history.

katrina....katrina.... that was funny!

i was not trying to equate what my wife experienced with what black people have had to suffer. i know how the perception of an incident can often be overblown or mis-interpretted.

can a society discuss the ills of itself with clinical detachment? i don't think so...but we can try. there is alot of room for resentment and antagonism in any discussion of atrocities that befall any group of peoples. be that as it may, when someone like Obama comes along they lift us up and make us see what it can truly mean to be "more than just the sum of our parts" to paraphrase.

i grew up in an extremely racist environment, and it is absolutley right to say that a persons conditioning would lead them to the propensity to percieve a thing in a different light than it was intended, AreOh. does this make a difference in my mind set now that i have some experience behind me? NO, a person is what they are, i don't have confederate flags or swastickas hanging from my garage wall. experience shapes us, it does not define us.

the real discussion should be whether or not this country can be more mindful, and respectful of it's history (good and bad). one of the greatest injustices i have seen is the re-writing of history to take the blame for the atrocities commited under the stars and stripes and shift it to other places..."the Spanish are responsible for slavery because they started bringing people here from Africa" "the African's are responsible for slavery because they were the ones capturing their brothers and selling them into bondage"...there are many other examples of this: the Japanese being interred, or the Buffalo Soldiers treatment after the civil war. i heard recently that some highschool kids now believe that GERMANY and AMERICA were on the same side during the second world war. all this is happening again with the treatment of Arabs...by americans of all colors.

anyone can be racist, all it takes is hate for another person based on skin color.

sorry AreOh, the point of the book is that we cannot hold the past to the same standards as we do modern times...I DISAGREE WITH THIS!

we cannot ever forget the past, nor the atrocities that have occured in it. human beings have the same ability to think for themselves now as they had prior to the reformation...which is what the book is about...and in all fairness there were people back then that looked at the natural world with a rational eye, this is why i believe the authors argument is bullshit. if everyone believed that god made it rain, or that sacrificing a goat brought a good harvest back then, then perhaps the argument would be valid.

free thinkers have always been among the human population...until recently however it was dangerous to voice views that disagreed with the ruling factions (although it seems to be headed down that road again).

nicely put. but we can only look at the world in the era we are in. our truths are no less valid than the truths from long ago, because in our mental evolution, thats all we know. as we grow we can dispel the bullshit of the previous era, but at our present time, if we hold on to the bullshit of the old days...we are no less responsible than those idiots that did it initially.

and hate does not make one a racist. to be honest...i really cant stand old white people because when i think of them, i think how they created the BS that we live. how they benefitted from our misery. i dont need to rehash it, you know what im getting at. but when i meet an old white person, usually that person doesnt fit the mold of what i feel. so to me, that "individual" is different. makes me no less wrong for doing it, and im not afraid or anything, but it is something that i know i have in my heart. it is justified in my opinion, yet i still dont like it. no one taught me this, it was learned as i grew up. I detest racism of any kind. white racism over any minority in america...japanese racism over koreans...korean racism over any mixed race korean/black person. australian racism over black (aborigionie) ...it all makes me sick. but in all those cases..the hated group has a justified resentment against the hating. but i wouldnt call any of those hated groups with that history of being hated against...racist. at some point bigots maybe,..but without power...you cannot be racist. racism is an agenda, an idiology.....bigotry is personal. a racist can be a bigot, but a bigot isnt necessarily a facist. farrakhan isnt a racist..he is a bigot. george wallace was a racist and a bigot. me, im just angry!!

but its reassuring that you two can speak candidly and honestly about this...so i thank you both for your that...without getting all whiney and taking things personal...thats the problem with people and this subject. people put forth their beliefs...and if you dont agree, then they get defensive and wanna argue...everyone has a side, a story...none more important than the other...just a perspective. you dont have to agree, but everything is plausible!