The Tribune opens the door for discussion about Obama's home church Trinity United Church of Christ's 12-point Black Value System.
The piece includes one line from a 45 minute long interview between IR Editor Fran Eaton and Tribune reporter Manya Brachear:
Looking to weigh Obama down with some of that baggage, conservative critics have seized on Trinity's 12-point Black Value System, especially the portion relating to "middleclassness," as evidence that Obama is a divisive candidate who rejects mainstream American values and is primarily focused on the black community.
"I question his . . . ability to be able to reach out to a lot of people when he is committed to a group of people who are focused on helping a certain group of people," said Fran Eaton, editor of Illinois Review, a conservative political blog. "It seems wrong."
But Obama scoffed at the suggestion that Trinity espouses a value system that seeks to help blacks exclusively. "If I say to anybody in Iowa--white, black, Hispanic or Asian--that my church believes in the African-American community strengthening families or adhering to the black work ethic or being committed to self-discipline and self-respect and not forgetting where you came from, I don't think that's something anybody would object to.
Link: Race, religion sensitive subtext in presidential campaign | Chicago Tribune.
