It’s time to think about the Rev. Jeremiah Wright again.
McCain insiders, including Sarah Palin, are pushing McCain to pull out all the stops and dust off their copies of the Wright tapes.
At first, you’d think this would be an easy call. All the Republicans need to do is say Obama sat in the pews for 20 years while Wright shouted sermons filled with hate, including, "God damn America." The videos are uncomfortable for a lot of folks.
The Republicans will get to "question Obama’s judgment" while their ads happen to remind rural, white voters that Obama and his preacher are black.
So why haven’t they pulled the cord yet?
Follow below to find out why the decision is more difficult for McCain than you might think and to arm yourself with an arsenal of quotes and videos to build a proper defense if McCain is crazy enough to go there.
Politico reports today that McCain won’t let his campaign play the Wright card. He’s worried about his reputation and the future of the Republican Party:
"McCain felt it would be sensed as racially insensitive," the official said. "But more important is that McCain thinks that the bringing of racial religious preaching in black churches into the campaign would potentially have grave consequences for civil society in the United States."
snip
Conservatives who want McCain to focus on Wright contend that the omission is another sign of a campaign that is unwilling to play tough enough with the Obama juggernaut.
As the top Republican official said: "There is a future beyond this election."
Wow. Who are these Republicans? They are so high-minded, considerate and cautious.
Maybe, just maybe, there’s a political reason they’re holding back. Like, say, this quote from McCain:
Asked about the issue during the firestorm over it last March, McCain told Sean Hannity on Fox News’ "Hannity & Colmes": "I think that when people support you, it doesn’t mean that you support everything you say. Obviously, those words and those statements are statements that none of us would associate ourselves with. And I don’t believe that Sen. Obama would support any of those. ... I do know Sen. Obama. He does not share those views."
McCain is on tape saying Obama doesn’t support Wright’s comments and does not share the same views.
I’m willing to bet the Obama campaign has the ad sitting in the que, waiting to hit the send button.
(The good stuff starts at 48 seconds).
It would be extremely difficult, intellectually, for McCain to say he now has a problem with Obama’s connection to Wright.
OK, that’s never stopped him before. So, let’s not forget McCain also has some pastor problems of his own.
McCain actively sought and received endorsements from the Rev. John Hagee and the Rev. Rod Parsley to shore up his religious base. McCain quickly had to reject, denounce, repudiate, castaway and dismiss Hagee's endorsement over controversial remarks Hagee made about Hitler and the Jews.
Hagee said the Catholic Church is a "great whore" and that Nazi Germany "operated on God's behalf" as part of a divine plan to drive the Jews to Israel.
(Hagee says God will unleash terrorists on America because we love Israel)
And what about Parsley?
He described Islam as "the mouthpiece of a conspiracy of spiritual evil" and an "anti-Christ religion that intends through violence to conquer the world."
(Parsley is seen here equating Planned Parenthood with the KKK and blaming the group for a "black genocide.")
Although both of these pastors are less than reputable, the Hagee connection will especially resonate because of McCain’s need to reach Catholics and Jews.
And what might the Republicans say about Hagee? They will say Hagee’s relationship with McCain doesn’t come close to Wright’s relationship with Obama.
In fact, the National Review already has:
Now, I wish John McCain hadn't courted and accepted the endorsement of anti-Catholic evangelical pastor John Hagee to help him clinch the nomination, but McCain-Hagee and Obama-Wright simply don't compare. Hagee and McCain ain't Wright and Obama. Hagee didn't marry John and Cindy McCain. Hagee didn't inspire one of McCain's books. McCain didn't choose to make Hagee a key part of his family life.
Here’s the problem the Republicans have. Some independents may perceive McCain’s actions as worse than Obama’s relationship because McCain’s political opportunism backfired. Not very wise.
In fact, the Hagee endorsement may be the first significant sign of McCain’s now trademarked erratic behavior. He actively sought an endorsement from two pastors he then had to repudiate.
Maybe he should have learned then how important vetting is during the primaries.
Speaking of vetting, McCain is now saddled with even more preacher problems thanks to Sarah Palin. And one of these pastors happens to be black – which will appear clearly on TV as Palin receives his blessing. That's not a problem for me and shouldn't be for anyone. Unfortunately, some percentage of McCain's base may see it as a problem.
You all remember when Kenyan Pastor Thomas Muthe laid hands on Palin and prayed to defeat witchcraft:
(The good stuff starts at 7:10)
But Muthe is the tip of the religious iceberg for Palin.
The Nation reports that the pastor of her current church has also said that God will damn Wasilla, Alaska, America and the whole world:
Larry Kroon, delivered a sermon called "Sin Is Personal To God."
Kroon, the senior pastor of the non-denominational Wasilla Bible Church in Wasilla, Alaska, used the book of Zephaniah as his reference point for discussing "that great day of the Lord, when God will finally bring closure to human history... a day of wrath." According to Kroon, "all things and all people" are going to bear the brunt of God's "intense anger." "There's anger with God," he proclaimed. "He takes sin personal."
snip
[God] is gonna deal with all the inhabitants of the earth. He is gonna strike out His hand against, yes, Wasilla; and Alaska; and the United States of America. There's no exceptions here -- there's none. It's all.'"
Don’t think for a minute that all those McCain supporters who've jumped on because of Palin are aware of what Palin’s beliefs are. And don’t assume they would like them if they did. Palin's churches fall outside the mainstream of American religion and McCain has worked diligently to whitewash her religious ties.
In fact, even the mainstream media is aware that Palin’s religion is a problem for the McCain camp. CNN reported last month that the GOP may be downplaying Palin's religious beliefs. Maybe here's one reason:
Palin now attends the Wasilla Bible Church. She was there on August 17, just days before entering the national spotlight. David Brickner, the founder of Jews for Jesus, was a speaker. He told congregants that terrorist attacks on Israel were God's "judgment" of Jews who haven't embraced Christianity. Brickner said, "Judgment is very real and we see it played out on the pages of the newspapers and on the television. When a Palestinian from East Jerusalem took a bulldozer and went plowing through a score of cars, killing numbers of people. Judgment -- you can't miss it."
Palin is a treasure trove of religious beliefs that won’t sit well with the public.
If McCain pulls out Rev. Jeremiah Wright, he knows that it will be a battle that will leave him marked as a racist because he's using the connection in the final weeks of the race. Plus, it opens a wide variety of political attacks that he can’t win.
Will he do it despite all the negatives? He just might. After all, he is a maverick.
Please make corrections and add additional trouble spots for McCain in the comments.