Why didn't Obama leave the church?

Up until very recently, I had decided that either Clinton or Obama would get my vote in November.

But, as a white man and a Jew, I have begun to rethink that decision.

Personally, I don't care what Rev. Wright says about anything. He has the right to be Wright (so to speak).

However, Sen. Obama did not choose to do anything about Wright's racist remarks until they became news.

It's not because he had no choice to make a change in where he worshipped. After all, some of the largest churches in the area are made up of people from many Christian religions that left their respective churches because of one reason or another.

Senator Obama has had that choice since the first time he knew of Rev. Wright's rhetoric. But he didn't.

To this disturbing mix, we can now add the close friendship and mutual admiration of Reverends Wright and Farrakhan. We Jews remember Rev. Farrakhan and his accusation that the Jews cooperated with Hitler to create and perpetuate the holocaust, etc.

Do I think Barack Obama is a racist? No. Do I think Barack Obama is an anti-Semite? No. Am I concerned and uncomfortable in the fact that Barack Obama appears to admire and trust those who harbor those kinds of destructive opinions? Absolutely.

If I decide to not vote for Senator Obama, it's not because of Reverands Wright or Farrakhan. It's because the senator failed to take the moral high ground during all those years when he wasn't running for president.

Len Brauer

Palatine