Unfiltered Opinion

Will Beyonce Dress Her Daughter Up Like This?

I am a big fan of Beyonce the singer and actress, but I am not a fan of the fashion part of her business
empire - House of Dereon.  In their advertising campaign for their new clothing line for kids, House of Dereon has girls that look to be 5 and 6 years old dressed in outfits that I would not want to see adults wearing.  These young girls are in high heels, tight fitting clothes and wearing makeup.  I know I am not as hip as most of the people in the world think they are, but I think this advertising campaign is perverse.

As the father of two young girls, I can guarantee you that there is no way in hell they would ever dress up like this.  Unfortunately, this is par for the course when it comes to the clothing choices for young girls. Most of the clothes these days are tight and cut to be very revealing.  Parents have to work hard to dress their girls in "normal" clothing these days.  The only way these fashion designers will change is if parents stop buying these clothes for their daughters.

Beyonce needs to shut this campaign down and find something else to do with her extra time.

Clinton Has Only Herself To Blame

When the presidential inauguration is held in January, I am sure that Hillary Clinton will have another episode of "what if" on her mind.

- What if Clinton had been aggressive in attacking Barack Obama from the beginning of the campaign?

- What would have happened if the Clinton campaign team had not acted as clinching the nomination was just a formality?

- What would have happened if the Clinton campaign had given the caucus states the same respect they had given to primary states?

- What would have happened if the Clinton campaign team had not completely mismanaged their campaign contributions to the point that Clinton has had to loan her campaign approximately 11 million dollars?

I cannot wait for the day when Clinton will sit down and answer questions like those mentioned above.  It has to drive her crazy to think that the Democratic nomination was hers to lose and that is exactly what she proceeded to do.  Don't get me wrong, Obama and his campaign team deserve much of the credit for Clinton losing the nomination.  Obama's game plan was organized, strategically better and well executed.  Obama campaigned to win while Clinton campaigned not to lose.  Obama has soundly beaten Clinton in every phase of the game.  I know everyone wants to blame her loss on statements made by Bill Clinton.  Some of the pundits are also saying that the country is tired of a Bush or Clinton being in the White House.  I will admit there are some people who hold those sentiments, but the fact is that Clinton just got her butt kicked.

Does that make Obama the best candidate for the Democratic Party? Not exactly.  However, Obama's performance for the past year says that he competed well enough to win the nomination and that is all that counts in politics.

Obama Is Eventually Going To Have To Tell The Truth About Wright

Once again, Obama is asking the American public to take a leap of faith and believe him when he says that he never heard Jeremiah Wright say anything that the general public would find offensive. Now that Obama has finally denounced Wright and some of his views, some people want to know why it took so long for him to make the right decision.

I have said it before and I will say it again. I do not have a problem with Wright saying the stuff that he does. If he wants to act crazy and say hateful things then that is his right to do so.  Just as it is my right to question the sanity and judgment of the members of Trinity United Church of Christ who continue to sit and listen to Wright.  I still have a problem that Obama was a member of this church for twenty years.

Obama continues to say he was unaware that Wright was delusional and controversial, but there is evident that says otherwise.  Tom Bevan does a great job of documenting Obama's awareness of how problematic his relationship with Wright could be to the day he announced his candidacy for the presidency on February 10, 2007.  According to Wright, Obama called him the night before the announcement to tell him that he no longer could do the invocation.

"Mr. Wright said that in the phone conversation in which Mr. Obama disinvited him from a role in the announcement, Mr. Obama cited an article in Rolling Stone, "The Radical Roots of Barack Obama." According to the pastor, Mr. Obama then told him, "You can get kind of rough in the sermons, so what we've decided is that it's best for you not to be out there in public."

I have questioned Hillary Clinton's sanity and inability to tell the truth after her "sniper" fantasy played out on national television.  Therefore, I also believe it is fair to question Obama's judgment and decision making in regards to Wright.  I have come to the conclusion that Obama is either lying about what he knew about Wright's controversial beliefs and sermons or he is a member of a church that he rarely attended.  Time will tell what the real truth is, but by then it may be too late for Obama.

Obama Is Walking A Fine Line With Some Black People

I remember it wasn't that long ago when most black people wondered aloud if Obama was black enough.  Some blacks did not trust him because of his biracial background.  He did not have the similar life experience that the majority of blacks have as a result of living in the United States.  Blacks who doubted Obama pointed to the fact that he was the son of a Kenyan father and a white mother.  He also attended and graduated from some of the best schools in the country.  Therefore, some blacks questioned his authenticity on his knowledge of being black in America.

Now approximately 90 percent of the voting black community supports Obama and his quest for the presidency.  Even though he is biracial, Obama has allowed everyone (black, white, media, etc.) to say that he could be the first African-American president of the United States.  For the record, I respect Obama's decision to identify with his African heritage, but I am of the opinion that Obama would be the first biracial President who happens to identify as a black male.  I only say this because I believe when people say Obama is African-American, they totally disregard his white mother and her family.  Obama is the man he is because of his white mother and her parents who basically raised him as a young man in a white household.

When Obama won the Iowa Primary, most black people were stunned that a predominantly white state would vote for someone of color.  The Iowa victory and his strong showing in New Hampshire gave some blacks the courage they needed to support Obama.  For example, Jesse Jackson won 77 percent of the black vote in 1984 and 92 percent of the black vote in 1988.  Currently, Obama is getting numbers close to what Jackson got in 1988.

Despite the support he gets from the majority of black voters, Obama has to be careful of his perception in all segments of the black community.  There are already rumblings from some members of Indiana's black communities that Obama and Hillary Clinton are basically ignoring them while concentrating on courting the blue collar white voters.

Obama is also being watched to see how he handles the Jeremiah Wright and Trinity United Church of Christ controversies.  When Obama denounced Wright yesterday, most people knew he did it for more political reasons than for personal ones.  For Obama to have any chance of making inroads into the white blue-collar vote that Clinton has consistently beat him in he knew he had to strongly denounce Wright.  However, Obama has to be careful how he denounces Wright so as not lose many members of his black voting bloc.  Obama knows that there is a risk that some blacks will think he's just criticizing Wright to appease some white voters.  I believe young black voters are more likely then older black voters to understand why Obama had to give the speech he gave yesterday.   I think older black voters will understand, but will be less likely to forgive him for it.

Obama has to continue to find the balance that allows him to criticize Wright's views while not making it look like he's selling Wright out to white America because he needs their votes. For example, Obama was allegedly criticized by Al Sharpton for trying to "grandstand for white people" by appealing for calm after the controversial verdict in the Sean Bell shooting trial.

Obama is in a delicate situation but he can overcome it by just being himself.  The trouble is I don't know if Obama really knows who he is because I sure don't.  The man is being pulled in all directions by all people on a daily basis.  This is one reason why most people do not run for President of the United States.  I wish him well even though I will not be voting for him in the fall because he's too liberal for my blood.  However, I am willing to overlook the flaws or political leanings of any candidate who would be willing to forgive student loan debts over $50,000.

Obama And Wright - Who Will Win This Game That Can Have No Winners?

It has been very interesting watching all of the news shows and reading all of the various newspaper articles discussing the the fractured relationship between Jeremiah Wright and Barack Obama as a result of Wright's appearance at the National Press Club on Monday.  I have been amused by some of the comments I have heard and I have been confused by others. My perception of the falling out between Obama and Wright is a little different then what is being largely reported in the media.  My opinion is based on my life perspective as a black male who grew up in Missouri.  My grandfather is a minister of two black churches in west Tennessee, so I have an understanding of the widely discussed and misunderstood black church experience.

Obama could have eliminated the Wright issue years ago when he decided to enter the world of politics as a Illinois state senator.  However, Obama did not see Wright as a problem until he announced his presidential candidacy on February 10, 2007.  The fact is Obama sought out Wright and Trinity United Church of Christ for several reasons.  First of all, as a biracial male living in the South Side of Chicago, Obama needed and wanted the black half of his life to be validated.  I did not have a problem with his decision to identify himself as a black male.  For the most part, depending on the color of the individuals skin, American society will assume a biracial person is black if one of their parents is black.  It is very rare for society to identify a biracial individual as white unless the person's skin is so light that they could pass for white.  I digress because this is all a subject that will be discussed on another day. 

When Obama made the decision to identify himself as a black man he basically needed a "reference".  Wright and Trinity provided Obama with his "ghetto pass" that he knew he needed if was going to succeed in the Hyde Park area of Chicago.  This "pass" allowed him to do a lot of good work in the South Side neighborhoods.  Wright made Trinity into an institution in Chicago.  It became the thing to do to become a member of the Trinity congregation. Therefore, Obama became a member of Trinity and began making the political connections he needed to make it in the Chicago political wars.

Obama did not have to hide or worry about his relationship with Wright while running for the Illinois State Senate or the U.S. Senate.  The majority of the people in his district do not disapprove of Wright or his message.  Obama and his campaign team knew that Wright would be problematic when he made the decision to run for president.  However, what the Obama camp curiously underestimated was how the content of Wright's sermons was going to negatively impact the majority of Americans.  This is why the Wright cloud has continued to hang over Obama's campaign.  Obama was also helped by the fact that the mainstream media kept a reasonably tight lid on issues regarding Wright because they did not think the Wright problem was newsworthy and they did not want to be viewed as racist for harming Obama's presidential march.

Obama finally addressed the Wright issue in Philadelphia with his much ballyhooed speech on racial relations in America.  He eloquently discussed the issues of race in this country in a way that John McCain or Hillary Clinton could not.  Obama also said that he did not agree with what Wright's comments, but that he could not disown him.  The speech satisfied his supporters, but it did not resonate with his detractors.  The speech may have helped him with some undecided voters, but not enough to help him win the Pennsylvania primary.  The Obama campaign was feeling pretty confident that they handled the Wright fiasco and now they were focused on winning Indiana and North Carolina.  Little did they know that a storm was coming down the road.

Wright is an intelligent and proud man.  I cannot imagine how Wright felt having the entire world view snippets of his sermons without the full context of the respective sermons.  He was being blasted by the national media on a daily basis as a racist.  To make matters worse, a member of his congregation for 20 years, decided to go in front of the national media and make a point to say that he didn't know of Wright's previous comments and did not agree with those that he heard.  There was no way Wright was going to stay silent and allow himself to be made into some sort of racist caricature by the national media.  He was going to fight back and he was going to do it the only way he has known how - he was going to speak his mind.  I do not believe Wright was trying to intentionally hurt Obama's campaign by going on his talking tour that began last Friday on the the Bill Moyers Journal show.  However, I do believe that Wright was not going to continue to allow himself to be misrepresented to the American public without defending himself.  He did not care about the negative effect it would have on Obama's campaign.  Political campaigns come and go.  If you look at the transcript from Wright's Moyer's appearance, this fight was about how his life's work was being portrayed.

Wright's speech and comments made the National Press Club forced Obama to do what he should have done a long time ago.  Obama was forced to cast aside a man (Wright) who he looked up to and held in high regard. If you look at Obama's speech below, it is obvious that Wright's comments have upset him and he is saddened that he has to have a public breakup with a man who he saw as a father-figure.

Before I go on any further, I want to make it clear why Obama supporters are mad.  It is not what Wright said during his appearances.  Wright did not say anything new; he just repeated the same old controversial comments he has said for many years.  Obama supporters, especially the approximately 90 percent of black voters who support Obama are mad about the timing of his speaking engagements.

Please understand that the majority of blacks are not mad about what Wright has said in the past or will continue to say in the future.  They are mad that Wright did not wait until Obama was elected president before he started defending himself.  Obama's quest for the presidency is very personal for the majority of the black community. They see Obama's candidacy as their chance to finally get to the White House where he can change the way the game is played in Washington.  If Obama is elected president that would be a dream come true for many blacks, especially older blacks like my parents and grandparents who lived during the Jim Crow days in the south. This is why there is this almost naive belief among blacks that President Obama will make it easier to be black in America and this is why so many blacks are currently upset with Wright.

It will be interesting to see how Wright will respond to Obama's forceful public denunciation of him. Is Wright going to be quiet and lay low in Chicago because he has said what he had to say?  On the other hand, is Wright going to return to the podium to respond to Obama's remarks about him and his beliefs?  This is a difficult time for those people in the black community who support both of these men.  They do not want to see Wright or Obama fail.

Obama and Wright are playing a game neither man can win.  They have both already lost in ways that they could not have imagined a year ago. Obama has lost his shine as the candidate who can lead this country to a new place and help heal the racial divide.  Wright has lost the respect and admiration of some blacks because they feel he has irreparably damaged Obama's campaign. You would be hard pressed to find a black person who does not think that Wright should defend himself. However, I would also venture to say that you would find it difficult to find many blacks who support Wright's defending himself at the expense of Obama's campaign for president.

Like I said - neither Obama or Wright can win this game.

 

The North Carolina GOP Anti-Obama Ad Is Not Racist

I have finally viewed the controversial television ad sponsored by the North Carolina Republican Party.  What's the big deal?  I just don't get what the uproar is all about.  Why are so many people upset over the content of this weak 40 second ad?  The North Carolina GOP is using the incedinary clip of Barack Obama's former pastor, Jeremiah Wright spewing hateful words about America.  A clip of the ad is shown below.

The Republicans are trying to tie the Democratic candidates for governor to Obama and Wright saying that they are "too extreme" for North Carolina. The Republicans are also trying to raise some money too.  John McCain and the Republican National Committee have criticized the ad, but that has not stopped the North Carolina Republican Party from trying to air it.

I have viewed the ad several times and I still don't get the uproar.  I have finally come to the conclusion that this ad is about more than the inclusion of the clips of the Wright sermon.  Even if the clip of his sermon is taken out of context, it is still Wright's words coming out of his mouth.  I believe that more people are upset that the ad shows a picture of Obama with his arms around a white woman - Democratic candidate for governor, Bev Perdue. 

If this is what people are upset about than I think that says more about them than it says about the ad itself.  Now, I will admit that there are still a lot of people who still cringe at the sight of a black man any where near a white woman - so what.  What happened to the new mythical post-racial generation that was supposed to be taking over the United States?

If Obama believes this ad is racist then he needs to say so and explain why he feels this way.  However that is not what Obama and his campaign team likes to do.  They like to let their media supporters stir the racist accusations, so Obama never has to explain anything.  This is one of the things that has always annoyed me about Obama.  He could easily come out and say that the ad was stupid and the Wright clip was taken out of context again.  Obama could also do a lot of good by saying that he did not believe the ad was racist because he was pictured with his arm around a white woman.  He could continue to say that he has a lot of white supporters who he has given hugs to and there is nothing wrong with that.

I need someone to tell me - a black man - how this ad is racist.  I thought it was weak, but not racist. 

McCain better be careful about his criticism of this ad.  Before he starts apologizing for everything a Republican says that may or may not put Obama in a bad light.  McCain better go talk to his buddy Hillary Clinton about  what happens if you run a campaign that is overly sensitive towards Obama.  McCain and the GOP better wake before they find themselves in the same losing position Clinton finds herself in.

The campaign between Obama and Clinton and now Obama and McCain is funny too watch.  Clinton, McCain and their supporters are so afraid to say any thing about Obama out of fear of being called a racist.  Their actions remind me of the Seinfeld episode where Elaine had a biracial boyfriend and no one really was comfortable talking about him.  Once again, Obama has got another candidate on the defensive when he has no reason to be.

Barack Obama Chooses To Be An African-American

If you are looking for a negative commentary on Barack Obama today then you should stop and go to another site.  This is not an endorsement of Obama either.  I'm an independent, moderate African-American male voter, so Obama is too liberal for my blood, but that's okay.  That's his right to be liberal and if the American public wants a liberal president in the White House then Obama is your man. 

This is a short commentary on the racial labels that so many members of this society feel they need to put on people. For example, I felt that I needed to identify myself by race and political orientation in the aforementioned paragraph.  I remember when I first heard political commentators talking about Obama running for president.  They all said that if elected, Obama would be the first African-American president.  I started laughing because I never considered Obama to be black.  I have always considered Obama to be a biracial male with a white mother and an African father.  However, I do understand how this country operates.  If somebody even looks like they have some type of black ancestry then society will usually label them a black person.  When I say society I am talking about white and black people. 

Some blacks will get upset if the biracial person does not identify himself as black or African-American.  For example, look at the heat professional golfer Tiger Woods gets from some members of the black community because he insists on calling himself "cablinasian" instead of black.  Tiger explained that if he identified himself as an African-American then that would be denying his Thai mother and her heritage.  I have always respected Woods for not succumbing to the hateful rhetoric.  I attribute this to the fact that he had two strong parents who told him that he had a black father and a Thai mother - this is who you are.

It would be interesting to see what racial identity Obama would have assumed if he had two strong parents, like Woods, who were in his life on a daily basis reinforcing his confidence in his own unique racial profile.  Instead Obama's father was out of his life at two years old.  Combine that with the fact that he lived in Hawaii and Indonesia during his young life, it is obvious why Obama had a difficult time growing up as a biracial male.

I wish Obama would say that he is a biracial male who has chosen to identify himself as an African-American.  That's fine, but it should be stated that way.  It is unfortunate that most biracial children, especially those with a black and white parent, feel the pressure to identify with a single race.  Some biracial children do not have a choice because their skin color will decide for them which race they will identify with.  Despite it all, Obama has succeeded so far in life and he seems to have found a comfort level with his racial identity.

I am the father of three biracial children. My seven year old son is the oldest child and he is hoping that Obama becomes president. My two daughters are 2 and 5 years old and could care less about Obama unless he was in an episode of the Backyardigans.  He has questioned why my wife supports Hillary Clinton (so have I) and why I am not enthusiastic about none of the candidates.  It is obvious to my wife and I why our son wants Obama to be president.  Obama has not offered to make school lunch thirty minutes longer.  Nor has he mandated that dodge-ball be played in gym class everyday.  Therefore, my son is not supporting Obama because of his policies.  My son likes Obama because he projects a very friendly image, but most importantly, he can relate to Obama's racial image on television.

I can still list all of the black candidates that ran for national offices or state wide elections in Missouri when I was growing up.  That's because there were not that many blacks who ran for office unless they were representing a district that had a black majority or close to it.  The first presidential race I remember is the one between Jimmy Carter and Gerald Ford.   I always thought that one day there would be a black or a female president.  I never could predict who it was going to be, but I could tell you who it was not going to be.  It was going to have be someone like Obama who could appeal across racial lines.  It was going to have be someone who would be comfortable talking to black men at an inner-city barbershop while at the same time being at home talking to white coal miners in West Virginia. 

I don't agree with Obama's politics and I don't necessarily trust his judgment, but it is obvious that he possesses the gift of cross-racial appeal that Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson could never own because of their personal beliefs.  I just wish Obama and his campaign would identify himself as a biracial male.  I think the media would be inclined to do so if Obama wanted his ethnicity stated that way.  For example, the majority of the media does not use Obama's middle name when writing about Obama.

As a father, I am very excited that my son is interested in who is going to be elected the next president of this great country.  Every day, when the situation arises, I teach my children about the complexities of race relations in this country.  My wife and I continue to teach our children that they should never allow themselves to be defined by the color of their skin despite the pressure they will get from members of society. We tell our children that they are half black and half white.  They know they could not be who they are without one or the other. 

I don't know Obama, but I bet he believes that he is an American running for president who happens to be a biracial male who identifies himself as an African-American.  I think Obama's life story is inspirational to many people.  I just believe Obama could be a great role model for biracial children - if he wanted to be.

Planned Parenthood Is Accused of Targeting Minorities

The Advocate, a right to life group based on UCLA's campus has been calling Planned Parenthood offices around the country.  The student group believes that Planned Parenthood targets minorities and minority neighborhoods.  An article in the Idaho Statesman desribes how the group called the office of Planned Parenthood of Idaho and had actor say, "he wanted his money used to eliminate black unborn children because "the less black kids out there the better".  The actor went onto also say that he did not want his kids to be at a disadvantage because of affirmative action.  The situation got worse because the Planned Parenthood representative either did not recognize the call as a set up or she just really wanted the donation.  Whatever the reason, Planned Parenthood of Idaho office does not look good in this situation.

I have never heard of this kind of action before.  I also did not know there were people who thought Planned Parenthood targeted minorities.  I guess the pro-life vs. pro-choice war is alive and well. 

It's interesting that the issues of abortion and the appointing of Supreme Court justices has not been talked a lot during this campaign season.  Maybe it's because everyone knows where the candidates stand on the abortion issue and what kind of justices they would appoint.

Who Cares What Day Obama Went To Church?

William Kristol, wrote an Op-Ed piece in the New York Times today discussing Obama, his church, and Obama's new generation of supporters.  Kristol is under fire for the following paragraph:

"But Ronald Kessler, a journalist who has written about Wright’s ministry, claims that Obama was in fact in the pews at Trinity last July 22. That’s when Wright blamed the “arrogance” of the “United States of White America” for much of the world’s suffering, especially the oppression of blacks. In any case, given the apparent frequency of such statements in Wright’s preaching and their centrality to his worldview, the pretense that over all these years Obama had no idea that Wright was saying such things is hard to sustain".

Kristol is being blasted by the media for his mistake.  I think Marc Ambinder of The Atlantic.com said it best when he wrote, "The error is in trusting the source without checking". 

Newsmax has printed a vague and weak retraction of their 2007 story that Obama attended a Trinity service on July 22, 2007.  Newsmax says that the Obama campaign has informed the media that he was in Florida on that day.  However, Newsmax says their writer, Jim Davis, went to "several services" during July and witnessed Obama being at the sermon in dispute.  They are standing by their story.  Therefore, somebody is lying, but I could really care less.

Why?  Because I don't need an undercover reporter to tell me that Obama has witnessed Wright making inflammatory remarks.  Anybody with common sense knows that he has either heard Wright making insensitive remarks or he has heard about them.  The question should be - does it bother you that Obama knew what Wright's views were and why?

This answer will vary among people based on their life experience. Personally, I would not have stayed at a church service where a minister curses and uses racial slurs - I don't care what race the minister or congregation is. I have walked out of churches before because I was not comfortable with what was said and I will continue to do so.  I walked out of those churches based on my life experience.

My grandfather is an African-American minister with the Apostolic faith.  He began and still has two churches in the poor country side of west Tennessee.  My grandfather preached with same fire and energy that Wright and a lot of black ministers preach with.  My grandfather has also been the victim of nasty racist acts just like I am sure Wright has.  My grandfather has also done a lot of good community work just like Wright has done in Chicago. 

However, in all of the sermons I have seen my grandfather preach, I have never seen him use profanity, racial slurs and anti-American rhetoric like Wright did on those video clips.  This is why I have a problem with Wright because my life experience says a minister is not supposed to use that type of language at any time.

Unlike some people, I believe Wright has a right to say and do whatever he wants as long as he is not breaking the law.  My problem is with people who sit and listen to Wright.  It is my right to question the character. judgment, or intelligence of the people sitting in those pews every Sunday.  It is my right to say "how can you listen to that garbage?"  I'm the type of person who cannot be around, anyone, family included, who is negative, whether it be racist, sexist, homophobic, etc..  I don't care what your negative vibe is, but I don't need it in my life.  So I remove these people from my life and steer clear of them.   Life is hard enough already.

Therefore, I don't have a problem with Obama, the private citizen, attending Trinity and listening to Wright.  I am not affected by Obama's judgment as a private person.  He has the right to worship and believe whatever he wants as long as his judgment does not affect me or my family.  However, I do have a problem with Obama, the presidential candidate, attending Trinity.   As the presidential nominee, who could eventually be elected president, now your judgment will have an impact on my life and those I care about. 

I believe anyone, black or white who sits and listens to negative, racist, sexist, anti-American rhetoric whether it is at a Klan rally, Louis Farrakhan speech, or a church service is using bad judgment and has a character flaw that needs to be fixed.  This is my problem with Obama - bad judgment.  It is what I cannot and will not accept from Obama or any other candidate running for an elected office that will represent me.

Now I Know Why Obama Wrote Two Books

I always thought it was strange that Barack Obama had already written two memoirs and he was not even 50 years old. After reading this article about a transitional period of his life, I now know why he wrote two books.  "Dreams From My Father" was published in 1995 before he entered politics.  In that book, Obama made some comments regarding the subjects of race and white people that would surprise and offend some people. 

When Obama was recruited and convinced to run for president, he had to write a second book to refute and change some of his controversial passages in the first book.  Obama even admitted that fact when he said, “Certain passages have proven to be inconvenient politically". "The Audacity of Hope" was published in 2006.  I believe at this time he knew he was going to run for president.

The controversial passages in the "Dreams" book could not prevent Obama from being elected to the Illinois State Senate representing the South side of Chicago.  This area includes the home of the Nation of Islam and Trinity United Church of Christ.  The passages may have caused him problems in the U.S. Senate race if people had really paid attention.  The Republican's in Illinois were so consumed with their own internal mess that they were just consumed with fielding a candidate in the Senate race.

However, Obama and his political backers knew that those very same passages would prevent him from winning the Democratic nomination and maybe the presidency.  This is why he wrote "Audacity".  He may have been inspired by his minister's sermon, but that's not why he wrote the book.  He wrote that book to clean up the mess he made in the first one.  This is what politician's do.