"Oh Lord, Please Tell Rev. Wright to Shut Up!"
- the title of
a blog entry by James Withers of Visible Vote 08
You want him to shut up, James? Then shut up about wanting him to shut up. And that goes for the rest of you, too.
Over the past several weeks, it seems that you can't spit in the mainstream media without hitting a story about Rev. Wright. Forget the the imminent recession, or the effect of skyrocketing world food prices, or the fact that Paraguay's ruling party was defeated after a good 61 years. No, instead we need every political authority under the sun to talk about a man who, if he had never become a public figure, would not have had any impact whatsoever on Barack Obama's campaign or their relationship.
By the way, of the aforementioned political authorities, has there been a single one who hasn't said the exact same thing as the rest of them? This is like making an entire CD of covers of "American Pie."
The media is suffering from a complex that has also afflicted liberals for the past decade. They seem to believe that the more they attack Wright, the less powerful he will become. This is how liberals feel about people like Ann Coulter. The two have the exact same goal in mind: attention. Obscurity rarely, if ever, translates into power. Talking about them merely distracts us from what is truly important in this world. Like "American Pie." Just kidding.
And so, if there's going to be a final word on Rev. Wright, let it be this one.
Here I will commend the news director at the radio station where I work. Since the story was broken, Wright's name has been absent from every page of news briefs we've read. Yes, we are an independent station from Canada, but the US election has come up before; we've just managed to stick to the important parts, knowing that there's nothing new to be said on the so-called "issue" of Rev. Wright. Good work, Geoff.