Sarah Cooper his hilarious.

He is doing what his political team is advising him to do, not because of any sincere religious conviction. Stipulated.

 
But of the two, Obama was WAYYYYYYY worse on this topic then Trump. I dont remember ANY liberals outraged over his very close relationship with Reverend Wright. In fact they DEFENDED it en masse.

 
And remember, Obama was such a fraud and weasel, he was hiding Wright. It was an ABC News investigation that brought Wright, and his bigotry, to the public.

but you know how I feel about religion so I am kind of happy he's only pandering. I was actually hoping the same thing about George W Bush, but he turned out to be a true believer. lol

 
Back to Obama, I remember the left used to use "he probably wasn't paying any attention while in church anyhow" as their excuse as to why he tolerated Wright's racist poison for decades.

It was great how many religious leaders called him out on his bullshit political stunt. Stevie Wonder could see through that.

You would certainly never see Trump in a church singing Amazing Grace. That was by no means fake. That was spontaneous and very sincerely from the heart.

Now can you address Obama's bigot pastor, why he hid him, defended him and spent 20 years in that hateful place? I just ripped Trump for being a fraud with religion.

 
Are you capable of ripping Obama? Or ANYONE on the left?

Another feeble attempt by Hack to appear reasonable. Reverend Wright was a dirtbag but no one has ever shown that Obama ever heard ANY of his infamously anti-semitic rants or believed ANY of it. And, more important, Obama's ACTUAL policy toward Israel and the criminal Bibi government was spot on.
Hack should be indicted for intellectual fraud.

But I honestly believe you absolutely dislike Obama for some unknown reason and clearly that has clouded your opinion of what he has said or done.

 
Also, your argument loses merit, if every time Trump is called out for something stupid he says or does, you throw up the Obama defense.  This NOT only makes no sense, it is clearly a diversion tactic that Trump has used since even before he became president.

 
Jack you must stop with this.  "Oh yeah, Trump killed two little girls on Fifth Avenue, but Obama was worse."  We have one president at a time, Jack.  Donald Trump is the president now.  He must accept responsibility for everything he says and does, and trying to draw false comparisons with Obama, is analogous to waving the white flag, because Trump's words/actions are usually indefensible.  This is getting all too common place with Trump supporters.

 
Here is what I previously posted about Obama's relationship with his pastor.  Notice I am NOT comparing him with Trump or any other president, but with my own personal experience.  Apparently you have not read it yet.

 
As far as Obama's "racist, anti-Semitic, anti-American pastor" goes, and I already know you will never be able to see my side of it, I agree with you, to a point.   This pastor is beyond condemnation.  He has earned all the negative criticism he gets.

 
Having said that, I regretfully, have people in my life who I love dearly and they are racist.  It bothers the heck out of me.  I rub their noses in it every chance I get and they can see how visibly angry, they make me.  Have lost track of the number of family gatherings this friction has ruined and the periods of time I have kept away completely or at least kept them at arms length, because of it.  This is a difficult decision as other members of my immediate family are also affected when I cut off all contact.

 
But I still am related to these closed minded people.  I still love them and do recognize, they have other redeeming qualities (which could never overshadow their ignorance).  But I never condone it and call them out for it every time.  Even my children know better and when there is a family gathering remind me to be patient with "racist uncle so and so," or I will spoil the entire holiday occasion.  Fortunately for me, my children know how wrong it is of these racist relatives, just as I do.

 
Many of my closest friends of color, must deal with similar circumstances in their families.  We even joke about the bigoted members of our family (never a good joke, promise) from time to time.  Oddly enough, the racist members of my family openly embrace my friends of color.  And their racist family members do the same to me.  They even use this (on both sides) as justification they are NOT racist, yet any casual observer can see they ARE.

 
But for someone to accuse me of being racist, solely for associating with racist members of my family, would be inaccurate and very unfair.  If they wanted to conclude I was racist, I would want them to consider the totality of my words and deeds.

 
Of course I do not know Obama personally.  But I understand and believe the way Obama addressed his association with his racist pastor.  When I look at the totality of Obama's words and deeds, I consider, he may be in a similar situation as I am.  But of course, I am NOT half caucasian and African American, he is.  One more reason, why I find it easier to believe him.

 
Anyone who finds it difficult to understand both situations like this, either has no similar, relatable experience, does not have a close associations with any people of color, or has already made up their mind, regardless.

There you go again. Jack and Once have are having a civil side conversation about Obama, Trump, Reverend Wright and the Bible, and you try to hijack it into a validation for your incivility.  We’ve asked you, we’ve tried warning you, but to no avail.  Maybe it’s going to take an Admin timeout for you to realize it should be unacceptable.

I believe he was a divider and really hurt the country. It was a Gallup poll, not Jack Dunphy, that said he was the most polarizing president ever, by the numbers. That is just a fact.

 
And Once, wasn’t it you very recently that said hypocrisy needs to be pushed back on? I believe the Left is super hypocritical in several key areas; race, misogyny and homophobia. Incredibly hypocritical.

 
Liberals gave Obama a pass on all his racialist nonsense. They did so because liberals just can’t ever confront another liberal, especially a black man, about racism.

 
You tell me Once. Give me ONE Republican, that if you found out he was hiding his racist, anti-Semitic priest from the public, and was found out and made public by let’s say CBS News, that liberals would NOT say that R was a bigot. Be honest. You can’t do it. Of course the Left would say he is racist. And they would be right.

 
Case in point. Remember the asshole Repub who interrupted Obama at a SOTU when he said “you lied?” Now that was rude, ignorant and highly disrespectful. But racist??? That’s how the Left played it. Any evidence at all he guy was a racist? No, they didn’t need any. He was an R and the POTUS was black and that’s all the left needed.

 
Now, your example of your family, frankly, and with respect, is absurd. You didn’t choose your family. Your family chose you. But YOU have the choice to pick your pastor. And you don’t think it would say anything about your character if you chose a bigot like Wright? Seriously?  

 
Ok, so let’s say you didn’t know that about him upfront. Are you really going to tell me he didn’t know at SOME point over those 20 years before ABC dimed him out? Nobody came to him and said “Barry, did you hear what Wright said last week?” You cant believe that.

 
Remember, the church wasn’t hiding any of his this. ABC found out by buying one of the DVD’s the church store was selling! The church and Wright were PROUD of his bigotry!

 
Now, that would be more than enough for ANY Republican to be branded a racist, and rightfully so, but with Obama, sadly it just doesn’t end there. There are MANY more examples of his racism. Many, many, many. If you want you can search my posts here. They are real and they are undeniable.

 
Here is the problem. I hold liberals to a standard that THEY set. But all too often they apply those principles and standards to R’s and NOT themselves. That is the very height of hypocrisy and no, I wont stop pointing it out.

 
Thanks for listening and thanks for extending an olive branch. You did good. lol

I said here many times that "Obama was a Muslim" was a lie.

to begin.  There is definitely a lot here, but I do appreciate you reading my entire post.

 
If I am being objective, can not see how Obama was a divider, based upon race.  Now Jack, you will disagree, simply because you and I are wired differently, and I promise, I say that with the utmost respect.

 
Will agree, the Affordable Care Act was passed on party lines.  Maybe the passage of that bill was an act that "divided" as you mentioned.  But we can talk about the Affordable Care Act all day and at the risk of sounding more arrogant, than I normally sound (courtesy GaGa), my education and work experience is why I feel he did the right thing.  Clearly, Obama used up all his political capital on that legislation but the subsequent actions of those across the aisle hurt the American people NOT Obama.  This is something I have a very difficult time reconciling.

 
Bigotry is something that is very difficult to put one's finger on.  Short of racial slurs and overt acts of bigotry, it is our opinion in the end that determines whether or not one is a racist.  Frankly, how can anyone of us truly get in the mind of another person and definitively know whether or not they ARE racist.  That person could claim they misspoke or acted in a way or made a decision they had not thought out.  You know yourself, there are all kinds of games people can play.

 
As far as my family goes, I have friends, who are just as close as family, maybe even closer than some family members.  Without spilling my guts and getting too personal, a few of my friends fit exactly the scenario I used my family to explain.  I have a police buddy of mine who IS racist (but NOT a BAD cop), a devout Trump follower who I bash with vile rhetoric every time I see him.  BUT if anyone ever threatened him or he ever needed money or help in any way, I would be there for him.  I WOULD ALWAYS HAVE HIS BACK and he would always have mine.  So I do not know what to tell you, Jack.  You are being honest, so I am trying to continue an honest dialogue in kind.

 
This is already too long, but I want to add, this should never be a battle between Obama and Trump.  While Obama was in office, we should have fairly and objectively discussed our personal beliefs.  Obama is NOT the president now.  You are an intelligent person.  Surely you can see the message it sends, every time Trump says and does something unconsionable, rather than addressing the pros and cons of his acts/deeds, the Obama thing comes up.  Obama is long gone.  There is no room for Obama in any of our conversations about our current president.  Like your mom used to say, "if he can not stand the heat, he should get out of the kitchen."  Trump is clearly our president now.

We just have a fundamental difference over me pointing to Obama to make a hypocrisy argument. But Trump is a divider too. No doubt. It's a frustration I have with him for not making the tent bigger.

 
I don't know if you will remember, but at Trump's first SOTU address, he was just a totally different guy. He was serious, sober. Engaging, confident but without all the cockiness. Gone were all the theatrics Trump is known for.

 
I will never forget watching CNN afterward and seeing Van Jones say "He was my president tonight." I was like, holy shit. If he could move a guy like that, I thought the sky was the limit. The fact that he is at 45-46% LV approval or so is maddening. He should be at 60% (prior to COVID and the economic disaster it caused) but his personality just wont allow it.

 
And I hear you about that racist or "semi-racist" friend. We all have one. lol.

 
The difference, in my mind at least is that if I had a child, I wouldn't point to that person as an example of a pious one, i.e. one to emulate. Obama, either directly or by implication, was telling his kids Wright was a person to be admired, respected.  

 
So yes, you are correct, Obama has nothing to do with Trump's trouble now, but I do think it is fair to point to what I believe is liberal hypocrisy, just as liberals feel the need to point out conservative hypocrisy.

 
Anyway, we can go more in depth into these issues in upcoming threads, as we are not going to agree on much, but it is important, imo, to admit when we do.

 
Thanks for lowering the temp in the room. It was badly needed, and WAY overdue. We may just need a little push from TERAdmin to get us over the top. lol

He couldn't even read a scripture while he was there, dam he had the opportunity.... and I think he was holding the bible upside down.

The Republicans, led by McConnell opposed EVERY compromise and just said "NO."
And McConnell vowed his only job was to make Obama a one-term President. He failed but has certainly accomplished some nefarious shit since then.

a democrat is president (truly hope in January--sorry), I will voice my objection to those things I disagree with.  Will never say, "well at least he is better than Trump."  Only fair, he/she be judged on the merit of their words/actions.

 
One more thing about Wright (sorry, I know, I know, am beating a dead horse), maybe Obama was handling his kids, the same way I handle mine with regard to the few racist members of my family and the two racist friends I have.  But in any event, I have absolutely no respect for Wright, none at all!

 
Ask one of your police family members or friends, to show you some of the material from their police leadership training, not only the importance of good leadership, but traits and strategies.  Most, if not all of the things I take exception to, when it comes to Trump, is pretty clearly covered there.

 
Thank YOU "for lowering the temperature."  Confident we are ALL on the right track.

Why are you bringing up shit from before the detente?

 
Move on Laff. Almost everyone else has.

 
You can too. Just give it a try.

be able to get in McConnell's head, I will be upfront and plead guilty, because I truly believe McConnell is a racist.  Admittedly, have NOT heard any overt racist statements from McConnell.  But am inclined to believe, minus any objective reason for so steadfastly opposing everything Obama ever tried to accomplish, can only surmise McConnell had a problem with the United States, having a president of color.

 
But more on the ACA.  Healthcare in the richest country should be the best and least expensive in the world.  Confident most people would agree with me.  Won't bore you with statistics now, this post would be too long.

 
Bet most would also agree, major changes to our healthcare system would require a monumental effort not only because of all the moving parts but because big pharma, insurance companies, and medical provider systems, all make heavy duty political contributions to lawmakers in both parties.  The fact that, the many attempts to change our health care system, flushed so many rats out of the wood work to oppose it, is pretty solid evidence.

 
My hat is off to President Obama for sacrificing all his political capital to take a stab at change, clearly, for the benefit of the American people.  Any program manager of a large, complex program (but none as complex as the ACA) would tell you, even beyond the resistance of politicians who voted against the ACA for obvious reasons, the sheer size of this program would require many rounds of modification/updates.  This was a first and naturally, there would be a lot to learn, on the fly.  IMHO, although flawed, the ACA was a good start and if politicians truly cared about the American people, they would have willingly lent a hand in iteration after iteration to improve the ACA for the benefit of the American people.

 
Let's be honest, as mentioned, the ACA did have many flaws.  But political opposition by federal lawmakers and republican governors, for overtly political reasons hurt the ACA.  One need not be a rocket scientist to understand, the larger the pool of insurees, the lower the cost of the overall program.  This is one very simple way the cost of the ACA could have been dramatically lowered.

 
Another thing we do not hear much about anymore, is allowing health insurance companies to compete across state lines.  Not taking a shot at Trump, but this is even one of the things Trump promised.  Competition is another way the cost of the ACA could have been lowered.  For clearly political reasons, the pool of those insured under the ACA is dramatically lower (20 million) than it needs to be, to be cost effective.

 
Could never blame Obama on the ACA.  He attempted to get all the right healthcare experts in the room.  Can only guess, he felt he could overcome political resistance, naively thinking no one in good conscience could argue that healthcare for all Americans would be a good thing.  Clearly a miscalculation.

 
I believe, we can still fix this problem, if we had the political will.  We could still provide the best health care in the world, at the lowest price, and all business entities concerned could make a "fair" profit.  It is almost unthinkable to me, that all of our lawmakers are not working in concert, to do this for the American people.

He probably wasn't holding a bible. Maybe is was a cookbook.

END OF MESSAGE

you have a friend in the secret service?  Am pretty sure this must be classified.

destroying this country long before Trump was elected!!!