The Debate
Out of context: Reply #38
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- Dr_Rand0
"STEPHANOPOULOS: 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."