Obama's Significant Wright Problem
Thu Mar 13, 2008 at 10:37:06 AM PDT
And thus we reach the question of Obama's Church.
In an article posted on the ABC News website, ABC offers transcripts of sermons given by Reverend Jeremiah Wright denouncing the United States and raising America's blame for 9/11.
The Rev. Jeremiah Wright, Obama's pastor for the last 20 years at the Trinity United Church of Christ on Chicago's south side, has a long history of what even Obama's campaign aides concede is "inflammatory rhetoric," including the assertion that the United States brought on the 9/11 attacks with its own "terrorism."....
An ABC News review of dozens of Rev. Wright's sermons, offered for sale by the church, found repeated denunciations of the U.S. based on what he described as his reading of the Gospels and the treatment of black Americans.
"The government gives them the drugs, builds bigger prisons, passes a three-strike law and then wants us to sing 'God Bless America.' No, no, no, God damn America, that's in the Bible for killing innocent people," he said in a 2003 sermon. "God damn America for treating our citizens as less than human. God damn America for as long as she acts like she is God and she is supreme."
The ABC story goes on to report that in addressing Rev. Wright, Barack Obama has been dismissive both of the Reverend and the impact his statements will have.
In a campaign appearance earlier this month, Sen. Obama said, "I don't think my church is actually particularly controversial." He said Rev. Wright "is like an old uncle who says things I don't always agree with," telling a Jewish group that everyone has someone like that in their family.
As an Obama supporter, I don't believe that this response is going to satisfy the public. More than the ginned-up and largely picked-over association with Tony Rezko, the tenty-year association between Barack Obama and Reverend Jeremiah Wright threatens to blow up the Obama candidacy.
This quote, taken from ABC News' site, summarizes the kinds of comments that have been made there, at sites such as hillaryis44.com, and at taylormarsh.com.
I agree that the candidates can't and shouldn't be held responsible for comments made by others. However, by Obama continuing to go to this church for 20 years, to put this man in a position on his campaign and to refer to him as his mentor, he obviously is embracing this man and therefore his ideas. I imagine there are many churches in Chicago and if Obama took offense at what was beign preached at Trinity there would be an abundance of other churches to choose from that better suited his beliefs. Makes me believe he is quite comfortable with where he is at.
Correct or incorrect, this sentiment threatens to spread like brushfire across the blogosphere, and, more importantly, across the watercooler and kitchen table discussions that will be had for the next six weeks and beyond.
More than anything else, this controversy stands as the greatest threat to the Obama campaign because it raises questions--rightly or wrongly--about the values and core beliefs of Barack Obama, a man voters are less familiar with than Hillary Clinton. It raises questions about why Barack Obama would associate with such views, regardless of his stated disagreement with those views. It raises questions as to why Barack Obama would continue to attend a church where such views were espoused, rather than attend a different church.
Take the Geraldine Ferraro controversy and think about what putting her comments out there was intended to do: to raise questions about Barack Obama by highlighting his race. To paint him as the "black candidate."
Now multiply it by 1000. This doesn't paint Barack Obama as just a black candidate. It paints him as a militant black condidate, even if only by association.
This controversy has the potential of doing what the muslim smear and the pledge-of-allegiance smear has not done: it has the potential to put squarely in voters' minds the notion that Barack Obama is not like them.
It will it be enough for supporters to state that Wright retired or is not a part of the Obama campaign. Those are poor defenses when set against the fact that for twenty years Wright was a "spiritual mentor" to Obama, baptised his children, inspired the title to his book. The two men are linked in a way that goes beyond position with the campaign, linked in a way that overwhelms the only recent retirement by Wright.
Like many, I already tire of the reject versus denounce game the primary season has turned into.
But Obama must do more--much more--than simply dismiss the statements as not "actually particularly controversial." They are. And he must do more--much more--than simply compare Wright to a crazy uncle you ocassionally disagree with.
This controversy is real, and it will resonate loudly with voters.
The Obama campaign must address this, address it squarely, and address it now.
