The former leader of the Nation of Islam, Louis Farrakhan, praised Barack Obama yesterday comparing him to Nation of Islam founder Fard Muhammad.

“A black man with a white mother became a savior to us,” Farrakhan said. ”A black man with a white mother could turn out to be one who can lift America from her fall.” Farrakhan told the 20,000 gathered for the Nation of Islam Saviours’ Day they should vote “their own self-interest.”

Here’s a chopped up video clip. If you find a better video clip, let me know.

UPDATE 3:39pm - I came across this interesting connection between Louis Farrakhan and Barack Obama. It makes me wonder what Obama thinks about Farrakhan.

Barack Obama is a member of Chicago’s Trinity United Church of Christ. Its minister, and Obama’s spiritual adviser, is the Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr. In 1982, the church launched Trumpet Newsmagazine; Wright’s daughters serve as publisher and executive editor. Every year, the magazine makes awards in various categories. Last year, it gave the Dr. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr. Trumpeter Award to a man it said “truly epitomized greatness.” That man is Louis Farrakhan.
[Obama’s Farrakhan Test - WashingtonPost - 01-15-08]

UPDATE 3:48pm - Obama’s reaction to the paragraph above. Farrakhan has a much stronger relationship with Obama’s spiritual advisor than he does with Obama.

“I decry racism and anti-Semitism in every form and strongly condemn the anti-Semitic statements made by Minister Farrakhan,” Obama said in the statement. ”I assume that Trumpet Magazine made its own decision to honor Farrakhan based on his efforts to rehabilitate ex-offenders, but it is not a decision with which I agree.”
[Race, Anti-Semitism and a Campaign - MSNBC - 01-15-08]