Fun With Play-Dough

I know Obama’s speech won’t solve all his problems; unfortunately, racism is alive and well and won’t allow him to get off that easy. I for one am glad that he denounced the comments without denouncing the man. Still, with all this muck thrown at Jeremiah Wright, I am left with a few questions.

Why aren’t we hearing more about Pastor (and I’ve never used that term more loosely!) Hagee, and his support for McCain? Wright may be angry, but Hagee is downright dangerous. He’s said exceptionally vicious things about gays, and has made it clear on more than one occasion what he thinks of the Catholic Church. I am neither gay nor Catholic, but I can spot a hate monger when I see one.  And usually, people that are this negative about these two sections of society don’t have a high opinion of Jews either.

But that’s where it gets iffy. Hagee claims to be a supporter of Israel, and has spoken out against the conversion of Jews. He claims Jews don’t need to be saved by Jesus, Jews come first, and has donated to and raised large sums for the State of Israel. Yet, something’s not right.

First of all, do we want to be supported by somebody who is that much of a loudmouth when it comes to intolerance? Isn’t it a bit strange that he denounces whole segments of society at random, yet flirts incessantly with the Jews? What are we doing, accepting his support? And what does he really believe? Why has he chosen us? Who does he think he is, God?

There are those anti-Semites who hide under a cloak of pro-Jewish slogans. Hagee is one of them, and they are not as rare as you might think. They are dangerous, because they are so good at pretending to like us that we sometimes let them slide. We Jews, like every other people, want to be liked.

But we don’t need ‘friends’ like this. 

However; here’s what Hagee really thinks:

“It was the disobedience and rebellion of the Jews, God’s chosen people, to their covenantal responsibility to serve only the one true God, Jehovah, that gave rise to the opposition and persecution that they experienced beginning in Canaan and continuing to this very day… Their own rebellion had birthed the seed of anti-Semitism that would arise and bring destruction to them for centuries to come…. it rises from the judgment of God upon his rebellious chosen people. (Source: Wikipedia)

Aha; he’s a garden variety anti-Semite after all. We should put as much distance between this man and us as possible. Also, I vote we replace Reverend Wright’s sound bites by some of Hagee’s hate mongering messages, so this man can be seen for what he is.

We all know Rev. Wright’s comments by heart by now anyway.

Also read:

http://www.forward.com/articles/when-we-let-john-hagee-speak-for-us/

I’m not the only one whose hair stands on end when this man speaks.  And guess what; he divorced his first wife because he was cheating on her. Sound familiar?  

Only some of us are interested in politics for politics’ sake all the time; most of us navigate between being genuinely vested in our country’s well being, and wanting to be entertained.  We are the Romans, and Washington is our Coliseum; the smell of blood will get us out of bed every time.

Having said that, what do we make of Obama’s speech?

The gap between the promise of ideals and the reality he spoke of is pretty wide. Still, I think it’s gutsy to give this speech at all, not to mention extremely smart. I wouldn’t be surprised if this was the moment that decided the race. Let’s face it; the man has charisma, not to speak of Kick-ass speechwriters.

I’m sure any real or imagined benefits of Obama’s speech will be picked apart during the next weeks, until we are so sick of it that we once again forget what really matters. But that’s okay; at least we might get temporary respite from this whole ‘he said, she said’ bonanza we have been suffering for weeks.

Still smelling blood? It must be Governor Paterson’s strange admission today that both he and his wife have had extra-marital affairs in the past.

Good Lord, will it ever end? What is he thinking, better to get this over with now, and maybe everybody will be so relieved I came clean, they’ll forgive me? What does he want, a medal? I’d be the first one to say that it’s better to have a good politician who is a crappy husband, than a great husband who lets his constituents down. But, please, is it so hard to have someone who can be both? Anyone?

Honestly, if I have to watch one more politician standing behind the microphone blabbing about how ‘weak’ he’s been, and how sorry he is, I’m going to throw up.