Jeremiah Wright's Alleged Racism Not an Issue for Barack Obama

There is a movement in talk radio, specifically with Sean Hannity, to cast aspersions on the character of Barrack Obama because of the so-called racist affiliations of his church, Trinity United Church of Christ, and Pastor Jeremiah Wright.

The problem, as Hannity defines it, is that Rev. Wright has been a strong supporter of so-called black theology, supporting racists like Louis Farrakhan with a lifetime achievement award. Hannity argues that the news media needs to ask Obama if he has ever met with Farrakhan and how he feels about Farrakhan's teachings.

Hannity also points to statements Wright has made about the motherland, Africa, and calls Wright's speech and tone divisive and racist. He claims that Americans have the right to know if the man who would be President is a racist.

And, we do. But Hannity's assumption that Obama is guilty by association with Wright and that it matters to his presidential campaign whether he has met with Farrakhan is little more than fear mongering.

Yes, what someone needs to ask Sen. Obama is this: Has he has met with Farrakhan and, if he has, what those meetings entailed. To do it right, they should also ask Farrakhan the same questions.

Hopefully, the answer is that he has met with Farrakhan in the past and will continue to do so in the future. No, that does not mean that we should support Farrakhan's racist teachings in any way, shape or form, but it does mean that if we want a change in politics in our nation, we need to allow our leaders to meet with people of different viewpoints. We need to encourage it, instead of assuming that we are always morally superior.

Right now, Hannity's crusade sounds far too much like the Red Scare of the 1950s. If you affiliate with a Communist, you must be a Communist. I thought we had grown past that logic.