It does look like in both cases, the backlash is starting to outweigh the benefits of those types of associations and endorsements, and I think that's a healthy thing.

Hear hear!

And likewise, I think it's quite obvious that for some time now, the Religious Right has had that kind of inappropriate influence so that conservative leaders have had to kiss some, um, rings.

It does look like in both cases, the backlash is starting to outweigh the benefits of those types of associations and endorsements, and I think that's a healthy thing.

As for having his staff vet the stuff- I do think that's what staff are for, can't imagine how one man could sift through everything along with all else that he needs to be doing in a campaign. But by that I'm not absolving him of responsibility- that's why I did say that it reflects badly on the competence of his team (and that in turn reflects on him.) But with Obama's situation there's no middleman so it's a different type of error- one that he personally made in not considering the harm of Wright's preaching.

That said, is there anything Obama could actually do to allay your fears he had bad judgment?That's hard for me to say because Obama's policies are all way too far to the left for me to consider him, so I have to admit I'm not motivated to try to reconcile this. If I had to answer, though, I think I would have felt a lot better about the judgment issue if he'd presented it as an epiphany when he gave his speech- perhaps saying that he'd known all along of some of Wright's controversial statements but perhaps he was too close to the situation to see it clearly and now that it's been put in front of him he has a different perspective and sees that he was wrong to not confront Wright more forcefully years ago.

Just one example of why I have such a problem with Obama not denouncing Wright years ago- there are people who work in public health who've said that there is a problem with blacks in certain areas being suspicious of govt so that they are unable to successfully deliver public education that could be lifesaving, about AIDS prevention. That alone is a huge thing to me- how could you not then see that a beloved preacher who tells his flock that our govt may have created the AIDS virus in a genocidal plot against African Americans is doing a grave harm?

But you protest, he wasn't McCain's spiritual adviser. No, that's Parsley, praised by McCain as “a great leader, moral compass and spiritual adviser.” That is unequivocal. That wasn't a failure of vetting by his staff. He didn't just accept Parsley's endorsement, HE ENDORSED Parsley. The guy who says America was founded to wipe out Islam, that mainstream Islam–not Islamic extremism–is the Antichrist.

So, have I changed my mind about this as an issue? No. I deplore it. But a part of that old song by Clinton and the Pundits is “can Obama throw a punch?” (Attention superdelegates, if he can't stand the heat…) We saw Kerry swiftboated and many people feel he responded too slowly and too timidly. Now the swiftboater himself has been hired by McCain to dig up dirt on Obama. It's pretty clear how McCain intends to run this campaign. I hope that Obama can prevail in calling a truce (pass on the Wright BS unless you want Parsley/Hagee on your back, and skip the stuff with Michelle unless you want to revisit all the crap Bush dug up on Cindy.) But I doubt that's possible. Fox will replay Wright clips right up to election day, and Obama supporters, including Olbermann, will fire back. And worse still, people of above average intelligence like those here are singing right along, both sides finding an excuse for why it's OK for our side to attack but not the other. The pathetic state of American politics.

I seriously doubt Obama will have all the blacks rise up to kill whitey and as for McCain: a political pandering? Oh no say it ain't so! I think the whole epsiodes reflect a lot more on society rather than the candidates.

That said, is there anything Obama could actually do to allay your fears he had bad judgment?

Or as the LA Times would put it, The Magic Negro has run out of tricks.

Stay classy.

You (lack) of principles is showing, regardless of how you wish to spin it. Either you believe such stuff is irrelevant, or you don't.

A principled man stands by his own convictions and acts accordingly, not on the basis of actions of those whom he purports are his inferiors.

You can spare me the holier than thou speeches. I stand by the principle of universality. If McCain is going to apply a standard of conduct to someone else, then he better damn be ready and willing to have it applied to him.

If McCain and his supporters don't like having attention called to his crazy pastor friends (Hagee and Parsley), then he should shut up about Wright.

If McCain doesn't want attention called to his dubious divorce and second marriage, then he shouldn't lecture gay people on the sanctity of marriage.

And so on.

Does the MSM even investigate any of this, or does the blogging community have to do what used to be investigative journalism.?

If Barack had a 20-year relationship with an off-the-wall whack-o Farrakhan supporter, doesn't that trump the Hagee flirtation by McCain?

Strap on some frontal lobes over there on the left, if they're not completely burnt out. Obama is going to crash & burn. Or as the LA Times would put it, The Magic Negro has run out of tricks.

McCain has been trying to have his cake (by using Hagee as evidence of his religious bona fides to pander to that certain group of people) and eat it too (by attacking Obama and using Wright's comments).

Now that someone in the McCain camp finally figured out that McCain's problem is like Obama's problem, and that McCain's problem is now more of a liability with necessary centrist voters and no longer an asset with religious voters, McCain has finally decided to dump Hagee.

It's a shame that we're distracted by these inconsequential issues when there are so many more important discussions to have.

You (lack) of principles is showing, regardless of how you wish to spin it. Either you believe such stuff is irrelevant, or you don't.

A principled man stands by his own convictions and acts accordingly, not on the basis of actions of those whom he purports are his inferiors.

The headline on memeorandum is “McCain officialy rejects Hagee endorsement”. I don't recall seeing that headline when Obama's name is substituted for McCain's and Wright's substituted for Hagee's.

Ummm. http://www.memeorandum.com/080429/p93#a080429p93

Chris, jchem is right about the circularity.

No he's not correct. It's not an equal situation if the Democrats don't start it.

By using as the defense of Obama the idea that the attack itself was unwarranted, you take the teeth out of any such attack on McCain.

Only if the attack doesn't call attention to hypocrisy of the original attacks on Obama.

I couldn't say it any better. The headline on memeorandum is “McCain officialy rejects Hagee endorsement”. I don't recall seeing that headline when Obama's name is substituted for McCain's and Wright's substituted for Hagee's.

Joe's original post talked about the length of time it took McCain to reject this…isn't this what many were asking when it came to Obama and Wright? Obama gave a great speech on race relations and how he couldn't reject his pastor; but when Wright came out trotting himself around and reaffirming many of the ideas he was spouting then Obama thought it necessary to “distance” himself from Wright. Talk about “politics.”

Another blogger brought up that if anything, this just reflects a bit badly on McCain's campaign staff for not having vetted out Hagee's degree of unpalatability enough. But really, I think it just goes to the fact that McCain's camp underestimated the turn of the tide, misreading the situation so that he probably didn't realize that it's just as important for him to not associate with the religious right too closely as it is to make sure he doesn't alienate them too much.

But the fact remains, that any vetting of Hagee's comments would have been necessary because there is zero actual association between McCain and Hagee. Deciding whether to court or accept an endorsement from him was purely a political calculation, and at worst what he did was neglect due diligence in figuring out what Hagee's really like. It's a far cry different than choosing to have a close, lifelong association with someone and call them a mentor. Wright goes to Obama's judgment, while Hagee goes to McCain's political competency in calculating when to pander vs. when non-pandering gets more votes.

Moreover, it's not identical “association,” by even the stretch of any leftist's overactive imagination. The tie between Obama and Wright is substantial and of many years; it dwarfs into nearly nothing-ness any “tie” (if the word could even be used honestly at all here) between McCain and Hagee. (Plus we already know An Inconvenient [and Real, This Time,] Fact, that McCain has publicly criticized and even can be said to have opposed the Religious Right in the past.)