Obama Pastor Being 'Lynched,' Faithful Say

Plan to hit him where McCain pulled back

(NEWSER) - Top Republican strategists have devised a plan to "do exactly what John McCain would not let us do" and bombard the public with incendiary Jeremiah Wright soundbites just in time for the Democratic National Convention in September. The plan was commissioned by Chicago Cubs owner Joe Ricketts, who would pump $10 million into it. The New York Times obtained a copy of the report, dubbed "The Defeat of Barack Hussein Obama" from a source who was "alarmed by its tone." More»

Journalist wanted to protect pastor's reputation from Obama

(NEWSER) - Hillary Clinton can't be sorry to have Jeremiah Wright back in the news. So it’s interesting that the pastor’s defiant speech and press conference yesterday was scheduled and organized by Barbara Reynolds, an ordained minister, ex-USA Today editor, and ardent Clinton supporter. Reynolds wrote on her blog that by voting for Clinton she was “saying thank you” for her husband's administration. More»

(NEWSER) - Barack Obama tackled the issue of race in a candid and risky speech this morning, recounting America’s racial history and acknowledging both black anger and white resentment “we’ve never really worked through.” He denounced the divisive statements of his former pastor, Rev. Jeremiah Wright, saying they "denigrate the goodness and the greatness of our nation," but he said he could "no more disown him" than he could his own white grandmother, who sometimes succumbed to racial stereotypes. More»

'Even his wife is suntanned,' Italian leader chuckles

(NEWSER) - Daffy Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi thought his first joke about President Obama being "tan" was so funny he repeated it —and this time included Michelle in the fun. "I bring greetings from a man, what's his name? Some tanned guy—Barack Obama," Berlusconi said at a rally after returning from the G20 meeting in Pittsburgh. "You won't believe it, but the two of them sunbathe together because even his wife is tanned." More»

Gates incident, rise of birthers indicate issue's persistence

(NEWSER) - Barack Obama’s election was supposed to be a healing moment, proof that we’re in a post-racial America. “Didn’t last very long,” writes Roger Simon of Politico. Today America seems as racially divided as ever. Exhibit A: the birthers, who say Obama’s “an alien who successfully hid himself for years.” Exhibit B: The Henry Louis Gates incident, which culminated in Glenn Beck calling Obama a racist. More»