Oh, My.

I used to be a pastor of a church. I know, I know, it's impossible to imagine, and who in their right mind would attend such a place? Well, some people did, and some weren't happy, but I digress. One of the things I know about pastoring is that sometimes, the things you say don't go over well. Sometimes you don't say what you mean, sometimes it doesn't come out right, and sometimes there's just outright rebellion in the pews. And then there's what Rev. Jeremiah Writght said to his church in his final sermon on February 10th that has sent member Barack Obama running and the congregation risking the wrath of the IRS.

Obama keeps pastor at a distance

Yes, race is an issue in this election. It can't not be an issue, not with our nation's history and not with the candidates being who they are. But that doesn't mean we have to lower ourselves to the level that we are seeing now. Between Geraldine Ferraro's comments and now this, we are seeing a reduction of the debate to issues of race and gender and nothing else. The issues at hand are being eclipsed by illogical assumptions that Obama and Clinton are an African-American man and a white woman, and nothing more. And all of this is just playing into Sen. McCain's hands. By keeping the debate at this level, all the Republicans have to do is gently stoke the fear of our nation being run by someone "different" and they'll have the White House for at least another four years.

Yes, Rev. Wright, Barack is black. Hillary is white. Thank you for pointing it out. And yes, a white person will never know what it means to be black, just as a man will never know what it is to be a woman. Thing is, we already knew that. Maybe some people needed to be reminded, but I doubt anyone in your church on that Sunday morning did. And your comment, "God damn America" did nothing more than provide ammo for the religious right and the Republican party. So thanks for nothing. In the future, could you just let Barack run his campaign and, like the rest of us, hope and pray for the best?

Thanks. And oh, by the way, you've been added to my list of ministers that I don't like, even though you and I are part of the same denomination. You and I both have the freedom to believe wholeheartedly what we choose, and to say what's on our mind. But your words hurt us all. And that's not good for anyone.

God help us all.