Politics, Religion, Race, and Paid Search

A day after Senator Barack Obama denounced his former pastor and his statements, a search for “rev. wright” brought up these sponsored results:

The first to appear comes from PreachingSermonsToday.com. The site says it has over 300 sermons for sale, including the Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr.’s “The Audacity to Hope” speech. It’s available as a Word file for $4.95.

Another paid link, labeled “The Audacity of Hate,” leads to a column in the Philadelphia Church of God’s publication. The “audacious message of hate…does little in the way of helping the black community,” Steven Flurry, the columnist, writes.

“Jeremiah Wright Supported,” links to a site registered to Boyce Watkins, a CNN commentator, a finance prof, and self-described “huge fan” of Rev. Wright. “The point that Pastor Wright makes is both correct and clear: America is a racist country. It has been in the past and continues to be to this day,” Watkins writes.

And they say politics and religion don’t mix. Need further proof?