The question we have all been asking since 9/11 is"Where are moderate Muslims?""Why don't they take on the outrageous anti-Semitic, anti-Christian, even anti-Shia ideologies Imams are propagating in their mosques and schools? After all, those are the waters in which the terrorist fish swim.

Listening to Black pundits excusing the hateful rhetoric of the man Barack Obama chose as his religious mentor with their claim that he helped the community could not but remind me of those who said the same about Hamas and Hezbollah. Indeed, just as Suha Arafat accused Israel of infecting Palestinians with the AID virus, Jeremiah Write accused the US of infecting non Whites with AIDs. Moreover, Black pundits insist that Americans are naive if they believe that Jermiah Wright is a unique. The truth is that Whites have been fighting racism, Black preachers have been feeding their flock with a steady hate diet. Consider this exchange:

MR. BRODER: . . . it raises a question in my mind: What was it about Reverend Wright that attracted Obama when he had, as a newcomer to Chicago, choice of any of the number of churches or pastors to go to?

MS. NORRIS: You know, when you talk about tone, though, it's interesting. You're talking about his tone and not his words. The, the sort of fire from the pulpit..is, is not something that is unusual in an African-American church. That is, that is some--and in fact, in many churches in America. And so what you're dealing with in these, in these statements is in part the words, but also in, in the way that they were delivered. And you're right in noting that is very different from, from what Barack Obama hears.

But it's not altogether different from, from what many people are hearing at this moment in churches all across America.

Donna Brazile says on This Week that she has benefited from such"fiery rhetoric" (hate rhetoric) and that it mends the spirit of parishioners. I wish I can understand how that self professed Catholic woman can argue that hate can lift the spirit but that is secondary to the fact that we have a much neglected phenomenon in our midst - the flourishing of Black churches where racist anti-Americanism flourishes.

So, where are true moderate Blacks willing to speak truth to such racists preachers? I do not know. But refusing to buy the excuses offered by other pundits in the manner Juan Williams does on Fox News Sunday is an excellent start:

WILLIAMS: Of course it says something about him. And I think this goes back to what Bill was just saying. He joined this church really to solidify his credentials as authentically black and authentically a part of that South Side Chicago community, because it's the largest church there and Reverend Wright is well known not only in Chicago but nationally.

And he's known for making these outlandish comments. And he falls into a tradition of black ministers who -- you know, they say it's social gospel, or whatever.

But really, what it comes down to is an expression of black nationalism and trying to affirm black folks and say,"You know what? Racism in this country's terrible and it's a burden to be black in America," and all that. But they go beyond the pale at some point, then, and start off with this whole victimization, blaming people, damning the United States. And it goes to the point, then, where I think it becomes sort of -- it picks up and leads to what Michelle Obama said about -- only for the first time has she, this Ivy League-educated prominent American lawyer, proud to be an American because you're having support for her husband.

I think that's wackiness. But yet that's the kind of thing that spirals out of this. And I think it's very key here that, unlike the notion that Barack Obama wants to advance that he didn't -- or wasn't aware of it, I find that unbelievable -- or that this is a crazy uncle speaking out, this is a man who he chose to be associated with.

It's not a family member. He chose to be associated with Reverend Wright and saw advantage in it. And that's why he exploited it up to a point when he realized, especially when he was announcing, that he couldn't have Wright by his side for the announcement in Springfield and now seeks to somehow distance himself.

But it speaks to his character, and it speaks to the judgment which is the basis on which Barack Obama has been running his campaign. So I think it could be a big problem.

Yes, it is a big problem, one which goes far beyond Barack Obama and the 2008 elections. Just like 9/11 forced us to confront the Islamist hate culture we have ignored at our peril, the discovery of the videos of disgusting sermons of Jeremiah Wright forces us to confront the Black nationalist hate flourishing in our own midst. I know it is not a particularly welcome prospect but it is a necessary one. And just as moderate Muslims are the only ones who can win the battle against Islamism, moderate Blacks are the only ones who can win the battle against Black racism. Barack Obama was perfectly positioned to lead such a battle had he not chosen instead to befriend the racists instead.

Pity.

Rasmussen polled and found:

Pastor Jeremiah Wright . . .is viewed favorably by 8% of voters nationwide. . . .58% have an unfavorable view of the Pastor . . .

Seventy-three percent (73%) of voters say that Wright’s comments are racially divisive. That opinion is held by 77% of White voters and 58% of African-American voters. . . .

Most voters, 56%, said Wright’s comments made them less likely to vote for Obama. That figure includes 44% of Democrats. Just 11% of voters say they are more likely to vote for Obama because of Wright’s comments.

However, among African-Americans, 29% said Wright’s comments made them more likely to support Obama. Just 18% said the opposite while 50% said Wright’s comments would have no impact.