Obama's turbulent pastor Jeremiah Wright seems to be rather enjoying his new-found notoriety. Last weekend he did an interview with Bill Moyers on TV; today he spoke and took questions at the National Press Club Breakfast in D.C.
You might have thought that if he wants his old friend to do well he'd be staying away from press conferences and the like. But nope, he seems to relish going over the issues raised by his sermons again and again, giving the news shows endless excuses to play the same old clips of him raising hell from the pulpit, before cutting back to Obama.
As NBC'S Chuck Todd says here, the Reverend's media blitz is an act of extraordinarily selfish vanity, and there's no doubt that it's damaging Obama in the days leading up to that crucial contest in Indiana.
At this point, no matter one's political inexperience, Wright has to know he's not helping his friend; his decision to go public and defend his reputation at this point in the campaign is doing nothing to help Obama, if anything, it's leading some to believe he's actually trying to sabotage him. He's hurting him and hurting him very badly. Frankly, it’s as selfish of a move as we've seen in some time...Still, if Wright Vol. 1, “bitter,” and Pennsylvania didn’t move superdelegates, what will? Nevertheless, Obama seems to be starting off this week in about as bad of shape as we've seen in him in some time.
Well, since President and Mrs Clinton invited the good Reverend to the White House to counsel them, along with other church ministers, immediately after Mr C. admitted adultery with Ms Lewinski, perhaps Revd. W. thinks all this publicity will hurt Senator C. as much as it hurts Senator O. Indeed, Senator O. has fully explained his relationship with the Rev'd but Senator C. is yet to do so, as far as I am aware.
Posted by: peter | April 28, 2008 at 05:55 PM
Read an article that explains how the psychological theory of “cross-race recognition deficit” may be exacerbating the indelible linkage of Jeremiah Wright’s views to Barack Obama…here:
http://www.thoughttheater.com/2008/04/crossrace_recognition_deficit_why_linking_obama_to.php
Posted by: Daniel DiRito | April 29, 2008 at 02:13 AM