Nice job condeming one of the most influential black churches in America as "sick", man this election going ot be odd, if Clinton gets the nod it will be like:
Mcain 50%
Mckinney 4%
Clinton 46%

And if Obama gets the nod it will be

McCain 52%
Obama 46%
Other 2%

I agree with you that that was NOT the time for that sermon.  

But, to borrow your language, his point was that we've done a very poor job of embracing those struggling in America.  I don't need to cite to anyone on this site the stats about minorities and poverty (or just poverty in general), but that IS a disaster.  

Again, not the folks here, but America in general has turned a blind eye to such disasters.  But the timing was clearly very bad.  

Hey Seven, I understand where you're coming from, and how you feel about it.  I was going to work when the buildings were hit, and saw people jumping out as the D train crossed the Manhattan bridge.  My mothers train to work ran directly under the world trade center and I couldn't get in touch with her until I saw her later that night.  Apparently the buildings came down before the train entered that part of the tunnel.  Her clothes were covered in dust, she didn't have a very good morning.  Fortunately, I didn't personally know anyone that died that day, but I remember it clearly, and I remember my mother came 15-minutes-late-to-work close to dying that day.

However, at the same time, how long do you wait before you start to ask yourself why 14 men traveled half a world away to kill themselves in such extravagant fashion and take as many Americans with them as they could.  I'll be honest, that very day I started asking, not who, but why would someone want to do this to us.  

I don't usually mention in comments that I'm black, even when talking about racial issues in comments, because it adds impressions to what I'm saying and that can take away from my arguments.  But in this case I will because it will lend some pathos to what I'm trying to say.  And that is that I agree with the diarist, this country is still split racially and a segment of the black community (but not each individual black person) does see 9/11 and this country in a slightly different way than the rest of the country.  And this is in large part due to recent history.

I'll go further, and say that within the black community there is a split on how this nation is seen.  On the one hand, there is reverend Wright, who grew up in a very different country than the one where I grew up.  He grew up in a place where racism was tolerated and in some parts of the country encouraged.  He grew up seeing poor black neighborhoods remain poor black neighborhoods despite 50 years of complaining about lack of funding, lack of services, lack of police protection, lack of educational opportunities, lack of business incentives, etc. etc.  This is the very angry, and for good reason, side of the black community, who, for good or bad, will never trust America, because of what they have personally been through.

Then there is the next generation.  A generation that grew up after the civil rights movement and don't have the same impression of the U.S. as their parents.  Racism is more about being followed by the security guard in bloomingdales, being pulled over an inordinate number of times by the police (I personally was stopped 5 times in the span of one month in North Carolina, but never received a ticket.  Usually I was told I was going a bit too fast and let go with a warning.  Never mind that I very rarely go faster than the speed of traffic), not being able to catch a cab in NYC if you're going in a certain direction, or after dusk.  Being told that you owe your college acceptances to the fact that you're black, not the nights you worked your ass off studying.  It's a different type of racism, I don't worry that I'll be lynched when I go to the voting booth.  This is Obama's generation.

And so, being given opportunity and a chance to succeed in this country despite racism, something the last generation didn't have in abundance this new generation sees the country differently.  Sees it as one that, although far from perfect, has great potential.

The issue here is that you cannot forget or simply dissocatiate yourself from your mothers and fathers and uncles and that previous generation that can't find it within themselves to trust this country (specifically "rich white people").  You would be hard pressed to find a black person that lives in a black community that doesn't have family who can't stand this "racist" country.  You would be hard pressed to find a black preacher, 60 years or older who does not have a negative view of white America.

So, do I agree with Wright.  No, not everything.  Somethings yes, somethings no.  But I understand from where his anger comes from, and I understand how prevalent it is in my community.  If we blame Obama for this, then we're saying that we will not be able to find a black politician who has a chance to make it to that highest office for another 20 years.  Because I guarantee that the vast majority of them have some family, and maybe one pastor that they've known for quite a while, who have said very similar things.

I once tried to practice Christianity:  The version that says you should try to be like Jesus.  I failed...it is not possible to be like Jesus.

But the version you describe professes to be the exact opposite of Jesus.  I cannot accept that.  I do not care if white Christians also invoked Christ to justify slavery.  They are both wrong.

If you want a model for how Christianity can be used for liberation, while actively seeking reconciliation with those that oppress you...then you need to look no further than Nelson Mandela.  It was not that long back either....