Here are some of the words from Rev. Jeremiah Wrights' speech to the NAACP Detroit Branch last night:
There are several things I have to wonder about all of this. First, what is really so divisive about his comments? When you get past the sound bite shock value of some of his phrases what he is saying, in general, is really not all that far from John Edwards and his "Two Americas." It is more race focused than Edwards but the message is quite similar.
Second, I have to wonder what the Obama people are thinking about all of this. Do they want him to just go away? Speaking out may actually be the best way for him to show what he is and to dampen the problem. Meanwhile, the Obama camp isn't scripting HIS speeches so even if they are alright with this strategy, they have to be nervous every time he approaches a podium with cameras focused on it. (As he will again today.)
Obama was asked about Wright again this weekend (from the WaPo):
Obama himself was asked again about Wright in a "Fox News Sunday" interview broadcast Sunday morning. Although the senator from Illinois said Wright had been "caricatured....in a fairly deliberate way," he noted, "People were legitimately offended by some of the comments that he made in the past," and added "the fact that he is my former pastor...makes it a legitimate issue" in the presidential campaign.
I personally think this whole issue of "attribution of affiliated peoples views" crap needs to go away. Candidates usually have enough problems explaining the things they said on subjects long ago. Is Obama's record really so unblemished that we need to go looking for others around him whom we can hold over his head? Apparently the media thinks so.
Oh, and please don't blame this on Hillary Clinton. She is trying to win a nomination for President here. I think it can be justified that she tried to make it an issue. The problem is that she tried and the media acquiesced. This is the media, plain and simple.
Rather than continuing to try to pin John Hagee's comments on John McCain, perhaps we should try to focus on real issues. McCain does not support every (or even most) utterance(s) of John Hagee any more than Obama supports every utterance of Wright or I support every utterance of my pastor. While a more distinct repudiation of the specific remarks made be Hagee would be nice, I still don't believe that McCain himself believes a word of this bunk. (And it is rather insulting to him to ask him to specifically repudiate them.)
Stop covering crap and get back to the real issues please. Sphere: Related Content
