I Watched It, and Sen. Obama Was....Presidential.
Tue Apr 29, 2008 at 01:10:29 PM PDT
The Dog saw the press conference that Sen. Obama gave repudiating Rev. Wright at lunch today. I have to say it is the best I have seen him recently. The Senator was clearly both angry and sad that a long time family friend would say things that put him in the position to have to cut the ties. But he did it, and he did it well.
There is nothing harder for a politician to disown the actions of a long time associate (the Dog does not want to characterize a relationship that he does not have all the facts about) and for someone in an African American church, it must be doubly hard, given the position of leadership that often goes with the pulpit in those churches. I know that some of my fellow Kossacks will say that it is easy for politicians to do this, but the Dog says that just because they can and do cut long time ties does not mean that it is an easy thing to do. Politicians work all the time to make connections that make their elections possible, and giving up on the emotional investment of twenty years is never going to be an easy thing.
It was a necessary thing all the same. The Rev. Wright did more than speak his mind the last few days; he undermined the campaign of Sen. Obama, in language both inflammatory and damaging. Yes, every politician is going to say things in a way that allows them to be acceptable to the widest possible group of voters. That does not mean that you have to state it in terms of "He will say whatever he has to, to be elected". That type of statement coming from your supporters is a wound that can be fatal to a campaign.
You think the Dog overstates? Well, this might be hard for the hard core supporters to buy but there will be a fairly large group of people that voted for Sen. Obama from buzz and excitement. They are not strong supporters and having even a little doubt is going to make them rethink their choice. I have more than one person in my office that was a supporter of Sen. Obama when we caucused in February, say that they might be regretting their choice. The good news is that wishy washy folks like this can be won back, but the bad news is that they are being affected by all of this.
We will need the excitement of the voters to help carry us to victory this Nov. We are likely to win for structural reasons, but these types of little doubts, planted by supporters of Sen. Obama allow room for Independents and weak Dems to be seduced to the glamour (as in fairy magic, not beauty) of Sen. McCain. This is why Sen. Obama had to make the forceful break that he did. He made it very clear that Rev. Wrights comments are his own and have nothing to do with the campaign.
It is a near certainty that we will see an attempt to tie them back together but Sen. Obama took the steps that the situation required. How often did supporters of Sen. Clinton wish that she did the same with Mark Penn? How often have the supporters of Sen. Obama hammered her and them about the fact that she did not? Do not be upset that this happened; it says more about Sen. Obama’s readiness to do what it takes to lead this country than it does about loyalty or vision. Be clear, if you are not helping the cause that he is championing, you will not be part of his campaign. This is what leaders do, and it is a hopeful sign for the Dog.
What you should not expect is that the Repugs will be able to play Sen. Obama. They will not be able to manufacture controversy that gets him to jettison his close advisors. After all, initially Sen. Obama stuck by Rev. Wright. Only the actions of the individuals, showing their lack of support for the overall goals of his campaign will earn this type of repudiation.
