shakran: you're making one very large assumption: that Wright gave sermons like that every Sunday. I'm sure his sermons were consistently energetic (it'd be near impossible for Obama to go to a black church that
didn't have energetic sermons like that), but I doubt he was saying "god damn America" week after week. (Which is not even bothering to address the already exhausted point that for a preacher to say "god damn America ... for killing innocent people" is not something that should be considered scandalous in the least.)
Also, you're assuming that the only reason Obama, or anyone, went to the church is because of Rev. Wright. As abaya pointed out, churches do far more than provide a pulpit to a preacher. There is also the overall church community which, in and of itself, is enough of a reason to attend a church for 20 years. Then there are all the things Trinity does around Chicago. For a lot of people, social service is a
very important part of their Christian faith. And while Obama may not agree with certain things Rev. Wright said, such as expressing conspiratorial views about HIV, there is a much larger, much more important issue of the things Trinity does for the community, tangibly speaking. I'd be shocked if Obama could participate in Trinity's community outreach and not befriend Rev. Wright, regardless of any disagreements they may have had.
It's all nice to say "actions speak louder than words" as an excuse to hold Obama's 20 years of attendance against him. But then apply the "actions speak louder than words" metric to Rev. Wright and Trinity as a whole. Aside for being the largest
United Church of Christ church in the nation, and one of the largest church of any kind in the Chicagoland area (clearly, either Chicago is an anti-American region, or just maybe there's a hell of a lot more to the church than what the media is showing), Trinity has a ton of
ministry programs that provide service to the Chicago area and also work to help out poverty in Africa (because, frankly, no one else is doing it). They also provide free computer training and a number of scholarships (most of which are
not limited to African Americans).
EDIT: And I
still don't understand why so many people refuse to give Obama the benefit of the doubt regarding Trinity and Rev. Wright, despite him never having done or said anything to indicate that he is anti-American, a believer in the HIV conspiracy, or any of that. All while Clinton and McCain both get the full benefit of the doubt for their assocations with
The Family and
John Hagee respectively. Ultimately, I do think it comes down to the fact there are still plenty of Americans today who are afraid of "angry black men," consciously or not.
Let's look at this from a slightly different angle as well.
Had Rev. Wright said "god damn George Bush for killing innocent people" or "god damn the legislature for making drug laws that target lower income, and often black, abusers," it would have still been controversial, but it wouldn't have created such an enormous uproar. Now, if you think innocent deaths are a justifiable side effect for what you believe to be a just war, there is certainly room to disagree with such a statement. But unless you're incapable of putting yourself in another person's mindset, then you must also understand why some people (many people) would view the cause of innocent death in that manner as damnable.
Next - and I know there are some people who contest this, but let's put it aside for now - it is important to remember that George Bush was elected by the people of the United States. And he continues to conduct his administration in the way he does because the people of the United States tacitly accept of it. It doesn't matter that opinion polls say people are overwhelmingly against the war now: few people do anything about it. Make no mistake about it: if enough people put enough pressure on elected representatives, they would get the guts to impeach Bush and Cheney and fight against the Iraq war. The Congressional Democrats are spineless because the most many people are willing to do in order to express their opposition is answer a poll. That hardly gives them confidence that they can weather the storm it'd cause to stand up to this administration. The point is, we, the American people, and America as a whole, are responsible for our government's actions, regardless of whether or not we agree with them.
So, why again is it inappropriate to say "god damn America?" Disagreeable, sure...but inappropriate? No.