The debate over Barack Obama's relationship with his pastor, Dr. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr., has dominated the reader blogs this week, to the point of eclipsing just about all other topics. That said, I'd like to start with a few posts that are not about "Obama's pastor problem." After the jump you'll find enough on Obama and Wright to hold you over until this storm passes.

First off, reader FlyOnTheWall not only takes the candidates to task for their willful negligence of the current economic crisis, but also lays out what a comprehensive speech on the economy might look like, if anyone had the nerve to make it. (Reader clearthinker's response, which emphasizes energy over finance, is also well worth a read.)

Next, The Zaftig Redhead explains why we shouldn't let the overwhelmingly good odds for Dems in upcoming congressional elections shade our expectations for the presidential race.

Reader Alex Sherman looks to historian Richard Hofstadter for help interpreting Obama's "vague" call for change.

Rick Spilman takes down the New York Times's less than thoughtful commemorative op-ed page on the Iraq War's fifth anniversary.

More after the jump. . .

Gerard Jones asks how the question of race and racism can be confronted if Americans can't seem to discuss the issue without calling for heads to roll.

Many people have asked recently, why Barack Obama stayed on as a member of Trinity Church, despite admittedly disagreeing with the views of Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright. Reader and pastor Eric Folkerth's answer to this question is interesting not only in light of Obama's relationship to Trinity, but also with respect to a broader understanding of the changing role of churches in society.

Reader Hilary tracks some of the headlines following Obama's big speech on Wright and race. The results seem to show that the coverage of the speech coming from Pennsylvania news outlets is somewhat more favorable to Obama than that of the cable news networks.

Two members of the Trinity United Church of Christ who happen to blog here have offered up their views on this week's controversy. Read Gladys Mitchell's post here and Grover M's here.

Finally, some of our readers, both Clinton and Obama supporters, have expressed a desire for a more civil inter-campaign discourse, and I think the results so far have been very positive. Check out the ongoing debate here, here, and here.