On one end of the spectrum , we ´ ve heard the implication that my candidacy is somehow an exercise in affirmative action , that it ´ s based solely on the desire of wide - eyed liberals to purchase racial reconciliation on the cheap . On the other end , we ´ ve heard my former pastor , Reverend Jeremiah Wright , use incendiary language to express views that have the potential not only to widen the racial divide , but views that denigrate both the greatness and the goodness of our nation - that rightly offend white and black alike .