Text 8232, 121 rader
Skriven 2008-11-11 06:16:00 av TIM RICHARDSON (1:123/140)
Ärende: Obama BOMB!
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Farrakhan hails Obama's win, warns of racial tensions


Nov 9 07:12 PM US/Eastern


Farrakhan Praises Obama, Compares Him To RFK


Louis Farrakhan, controversial leader of the Nation of Islam, on
Sunday hailed US president-elect Barack Obama as an extraordinary
leader but warned his victory would stir up racial animosity.


Farrakhan, 75, said that Obama's presidential candidacy had
excited the nation in a way not seen since Robert Kennedy ran for the
White House in 1968, and that he had been moved by the "oneness of
spirit" he saw among voters, particularly on election night in Chicago.


But he said the country remained "divided and polarized," and he
warned that the president-elect faced a daunting task in taking
the reins of the nation during one of the most troubled periods in its
history.


Many of the voters that backed Republican Senator John McCain
"were older Americans and most reside below the Mason-Dixon line where
racial attitudes and traditions die hard," he said in a reference
to the American South.


"We can change laws, but it's difficult to change attitudes," he
told a congregation of about 1,200 people at Mosque Maryam on
Chicago's South Side.


He cited news reports that gun sales had surged since Obama's
electoral victory, and told of how fights reportedly broke out in
some schools, with white students chanting "white power," while
blacks students chanted "black power."


((Where? When? I haven't heard of any of these so-called "fights" or any
chanting of `white power'.....TR))



"I'm sure that many of our people have unfortunately lost their
lives because of the absolute hatred that is manifested now that
one of our own has risen to such a high office," he told the crowd at
the national headquarters of the Nation of Islam.


((Where? When? I haven't heard of any killings over Obama winning the
election...TR))


Farrakhan is the leader of the religious group which rose to
national prominence under Malcolm X during the civil rights
movement.


He has been an influential voice but often a lightning rod for
criticism with his incendiary remarks prompting charges of
anti-Semitism and homophobia. He made headlines with his
accusations that the government deliberately blew up levees in New Orleans
after Hurricane Katrina in an attempt to wipe out the city's black
population.


On Sunday, he also said that the gracious concession speech given
by McCain had not assuaged "the pain of loss and frustration and
disappointment to those who felt great pain at Obama's rise."
And he said that for some people, the prospect of a black family
in the White House, was a "sacrilege."


But he said Obama had reached out to those voters who did not cast
a ballot for him, pledging to earn their support and represent them
too.


Farrakhan heaped praise upon Obama during the long speech, and
said he could speak openly now that the election was wrapped up and his
comments could not be used to hurt the Illinois senator.


He never formally endorsed Obama during the long campaign,
apparently conscious that such a step might handicap the aspiring
presidential candidate given Farrakhan's divisive reputation.


On one occasion during the battle for the Democratic party
nomination, Farrakhan did speak in glowing terms of the Obama,
saying he was the only man who could heal the racial divisions in
the United States and that he carried the hopes of the "entire
world" for a better America.


((Notice the reference made of ""the Obama""? How long, I wonder,
will it be before the word `the' takes on a capitol `T', and we have regular
and un-blinking reference by the media to ""The Obama""?....TR))


But shortly afterwards, during a televised debate with his primary
opponents in February, Obama distanced himself from the
controversial leader of the Nation of Islam, saying he had
publicly disavowed Farrakhan's anti-Semitic comments, and had not sought
his support.


Copyright AFP 2008.....Breitbart





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