Obama’s line has been crossed

I suspect it won't make very much difference and hope I'm mistaken. The reason: I am more and more convinced that the political culture in the U.S. is now set up in a permanent attack mode where real discussion of issues is unlikely to happen. Those who dislike Obama (within and outside of his own party) will find his comment insufficient, or not stated the way they wanted it stated, but if you look at the evolution of past campaigns, they increasingly focus on issues that often come out of nowhere and the goal is to get someone on the defensive. (I'm at a hotel b y the way where I can barely post so will do posts and comments sparingly from a nearby starbucks until thursday afternoon)

Obama should just reference John Cole.

Obama did what he had to do... nay NEEDED to do.

Far too many on the fringe right-wing (as well as some in the left-wing) were using the Rev. Wright BS to paint Obama as some radical ideologue like Wright.

I think Obama is better for it but I fear that Joe may be correct - that it won't make much of a dent in the media talking-points.

http://thepajamapundit.com/

PajamaPundit... this is not just about "media talking points." While supporters of Obama might not like it, this is a legitimate story.

Wright wants to damage Senator Obama. Whether from ego or revenge, who knows...but he clearly wants to do this.

A great many Obama supporters "invested" in defending Wright in order to protect Obama. Obama decided to stand by Wright as best he could...gave a speech on race that was read around the world.

Now Wright has responded by essentially spitting in Obama's face...and in the faces of the Democrats who defended him and found countless excuses for him.

You can't seriously claim this is not a story...and let's move on to talk about "the issues."

I actually feel badly for Obama. This is how he was rewarded for not repudiating Wright.

But it raises a question of judgement (something Obama does talk about a lot):

It is one thing to goddamn America, claim AIDS was invented yada yada.

But Obama's 11th-hour repudiation suggests that it is much worse to insult Obama and imply that Obama was not sincere in his speech to the American people.

I would add, this might create sympathy for Obama.

Wright was pretty treacherous, given Obama's defense of him.

While the countless folks on the Left that found excuses for Wright are left looking like goobers (the Right bloggers will crow on this count). . . this won't hurt Obama much among African Americans, I think, as T-Steel's post suggests. No one likes a backstabber.

How it comes down in mainstream America is anyone's guess. Obama was loyal to a father figure, who stabbed him in the back.

Is Obama now Sympathetic due to Wright's treachery?
vs.
Has Obama displayed Bad Judgement in his 20 year association with someone EVERYONE now concedes is a nutter?

I'm not sure how this will end up. Obama remains the leader, with less negatives than Clinton. But Wright is not just a Dem activist black churchman, but has farther left, more evil and scuzzy "liberation theology" tainted baggage. Probably the best thing is for him not to be hidden but continue to speak (I posted the transcript of the Press Club appearance by him) and for people to note that some of what he says is truly crazy, parroted only by the rest of the leftist lunatic fringe.

It won't stop the Left Wing Noise [and Hate, Marlow, you neglected that fact] Machine from defending him (or Clinton if Clinton is nominated instead) and attacking McCain as the next Death Star Bush-Cheney.

"While the countless folks on the Left that found excuses for Wright are left looking like goobers"

Anti-US-and-decency-and-civilization scum is closer to it. Where's the Chomsky endorsement, issued jointly with fringe-left heroes Nasrallah and al-Sadr? hahahaha

"I actually feel badly for Obama."

The wackier Wright is, the better Obama will recover from this. Obama is a left-leaning-Dem Chicago-style Cyanide Nation machine politician. Okay, but is he also saying that whites invented HIV as some kind of black-genocide weapon? So far, I have yet to hear that. Does he strike anybody as someone would would say, or more importantly, believe such a thing? Or be so stupid as well as dishonest as to call the United States some kind of terrorist nation a la ANSWER?

Didn't Ron Paul have a few embarrassing extreme right-wing fans with arguably closer, worse kinds of ties?

One last note (no hogging threads!): In addition to the sanity distinction between Obama and Wright -- how more quickly will this fade after the next Clinton scandal, eh???

Hey, at least no one is confused about Obama being a muslim anymore.

Slamfu, I disagree. Some*, in their confusion (or is it deliberately dishonest? Noooooooooooooooooooo) would say he's a Muslim terrorist. (Where's the cartoon of him with the burning fuse projecting from his head? Yeahhhhhh)

* And they aren't lefties. I believe they can be found on Town Hall, Free Republic...

Seriously, the smugness and shamelessness Wright has recently expressed would piss off anyone. Obama is now well within his rights to throw ths self-absorbed, preening preacher under the bus, because he is almost actively and purposefully distorting Obama's message and MAKING IT HARDER FOR A BLACK MAN TO BECOME POTUS.

There's an interesting subtext to this...if/when Obama is POTUS, what happens to "God Damn America" and the "United States of KKK?" The narrative that "TEH MAN" is out to getcha is suddenly in trouble. I'm not saying that Wright is consciously acting in that way, but he's certainly not doing Obama any favors at the moment. Or maybe DLS is on to something, and Wright popped up to seem even more loonball crazy so Obama could really zing him? Or does Wright really have the political/racial acumen of a flea?

By the way, I hate politics even more now. Back to ignoring the news for me.

Obama did today what he HAD to do. For today. He may have to do *more* further down the road, and I have a sinking feeling he will have to do more (does anyone truly believe this whole saga is over yet?)

Still way too early to tell how this will all play out yet. Immediately following Obama's press conference, the talking heads were discussing the pros and cons. Then I switched over to Fox, and the very first thing I heard was the newsperson (NOT a pundit, NOT a color commentator, but the on-air news personality) say, "Cindy McCain and Bill Clinton should be measuring the drapes in the Oval Office today. This is the death-knell of the Obama presidency."

Sigh.

PUTTING THE POLITICS ASIDE (before it drives me crazy),,
I see this Wright episode entirely from a different. angle. I see it as a golden opportunity lost.

This was a rare chance for the nation to finally talk in the open about race. liberation theology, black churches and all the rest, WHILE LISTENING TO THE OTHER SIDE., Here was our chance to not sweep it under the rug and pretend there is no prolbem,
Yes, we've come a long way, in 200+ years !!!, but once in a while, we should also wonder why we haven't come further in that time and how many more centuries it will take before we feel we've arrived, if ever. .
Instead, we've put the 'bad' label on Wright, thrown him in a place from which we hope he'll vever emerge, and pretend that this will solve our probllems. By doing so, we leave the field to the hate-filled,, the screamers and the politcal mavens who will just use this to score unearned points in the babble.,

I keep wondering where the white Christian preachers are hiding. We've needed them to help deali with this. We've missed out by not hearing the 'peace, love, and understanding' message they claim to represent.
All the ones I've heard are out denouncing, denouncing, denouncing.
Peace, love and understanding will have to wait a lot longer.

Meanwhile I've heard 3 black preachers and Sally Quinn (religion blog at WaPo) speak intelligently and thoughtfully on the subject. . They pullied no punches but also refused to sink to the level of soundbites and discussion by labeling.
On Charlie Rose's show I heard that rare thing, an intelligent discussion.

If that's the best we can do in order to counter the hysterics in the media and on some blogs, then we're in big trouble, as I see it.

Obama should have left his comments to himself. Rev. Wright is just being himself. It is not the first time Obama has heard this. Rev. Wright went on to say. Bill Clinton stood up for black people, so there is a plug for Hillary. Obama needs to toughen up and stop doing what he thinks he should do for a certain group of people. If he is for all people he should not worry about what Wright has to say. Be A Man and A REAL President. I feel almost too afraid to vote for him, for fear he may not be able to handle the fact that he is a black man and sometimes he is going to have to go for the black man whether it is popular or not. Rev. Wright is a very intelligent man. He does not care about what people think he should be saying. He is not ashamed to say what he feels is right . Please remember he is telling it simply the way he sees it. Alot of what he has said is true. Maybe he should have delivered the message a little more polshed, but he decided to keep it real. The truth is Obama is a politician and Wright is a pastor.