JustASC

Here’s a fascinating, and in this campaign climate, a seemingly unprecedented statement of open-mindedness by a political operative. Lanny Davis, Washington attorney and Clinton supporter, originally wrote a piece for the Wall Street Journal and the AC360 blog  saying Obama had yet to answer to his satisfaction questions about his pastor. Wrote Davis:

Why did he stay a member of the congregation? Why didn’t he speak up earlier? And why did he reward Rev. Wright with a campaign position even after knowing of his comments?

In his April 13 post, Davis shares an email he received in response from Jeh Johnson, whom he identifies as an African-American attorney from New York.  In his email, Johnson discusses the role of the black church in the lives of middle class blacks like himself and Obama. And he writes of the radical messages he sometimes hears from the pulpits, and why, despite them, he continues to attend such churches even as he “harbors no ‘anger’ or racial animosity toward anybody, including my white law partners, my white neighbors, or my white family members.” Writes Johnson:

The reality is this: Those of us who participate in both the white and African-American experiences will very likely have a Jeremiah Wright in our lives – it could be our teacher, our uncle, our brother, our father, or our pastor. It is simply part of the American experience.

Davis says this about Johnson’s email:

One e-mail sent to me moved me the most, giving me a better understanding of Senator Obama’s reaction to Rev. Wright’s sermons. While not answering all my concerns, it still opened my mind and heart much more than before.