Wright or Wrong?

Palin And The Anti-Semitism Question

Yesterday, Ben Smith posted a remarkable story about Sarah Palin's attendance at an anti-Semitic sermon delivered at her church just two weeks ago.

The sermon, given by the executive director of Jews for Jesus, blamed Jewish victims of terrorism for the attacks which claimed their lives. If Jews had just converted to Christianity, he said, they would have lived.

This is crazy, paranoid stuff, and it is far beyond anything Jeremiah Wright ever said, yet we went through six weeks of nonstop scrutiny over his politically extreme statements.

I don't want to see a repeat of that inquisition, but I do want to know more about how Sarah Palin reacted to this lunacy.

So far, all we have is a statement from the McCain campaign's blogger that Palin does not share the views expressed at her church. That's not enough.

I want to hear a full accounting from her. Did she agree with what was said? If not, did she complain to her pastor? Is she still a member of the church? Is this the first time she's sat through such anti-Semitic ravings? How many more anti-Semitic sermons would it take for her to leave the church?

On a related note, her former church has mysteriously blocked access to its archives, citing technical problems due to high traffic volume. This is the equivalent of saying the dog ate my homework. There is more there, there.

These are reasonable questions to ask, both about the anti-Semitic sermon and her former church's curious decision to block access to its archives. There's no need to super-sensationalize it, but there's also no excuse for sweeping it under the rug.

After all, if John McCain does get elected, she will have a better chance of becoming President than any other Vice President in the history of the United States of America.