STEPHANOPOULOS [Clinton/Obama Debate]: Senator, two questions.
Number one, do you think Reverend Wright loves America as much as you do?
Not only is this a prime example of the facile, despicable questions
asked at last night's assault on the whole idea of a presidential
debate, it's really not fair.
Here's Daniel Schorr on NPR a couple of days ago.
Who is the real patriot, willing to service his country? One such
man in 1963 served two years in the Marines, then volunteered to
become a Navy medical corpsman. In that capacity, he helped to care
for President Johnson after his surgery in 1966. ... And who was that
patriot? A young, African-American man who went on to become the
pastor of a church in Chicago. That's right, the Reverend Jeremiah
Wright.
Who loves America? Jeremiah Wright loved it enough that while Dick
Cheney was getting his string of five deferments, Wright voluntarily
gave up his student deferment, left college and joined the United
States Marine Corps. Wright was valedictorian of his class in
Corpsman School. When asked about the sacrifices he'd made, Wright
said he was inspired by the words of John Kennedy that he should "ask
what he could do for his country."
And he did that at a time where there were many restaurants in this
country that wouldn't serve him food, hotels where he could not get a
room, neighborhoods where he could not hope to live, and whole states
where he could not obtain justice. That, damn it, is how much
Jeremiah Wright loves this country. What Stephanopoulos asked isn't
fair, because there are very few people who have expressed their love
for America as clearly as Reverend Wright, especially when America --
then and now -- rarely seems to appreciate their dedication.
How about you, Stephanopolus? Does Jeremiah Wright love America more
than you? How about you, Charlie Gibson? It happens that you started
college at the same time as Wright, and graduated while Wright was
attending President Johnson. From what I can see, the two of you love
your country so much, that you're willing to go to any lengths to
demean both the candidates and your own profession.
Links here:
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/4/17/03149/4375/1023/497325
