Monday, April 28, 2008
What do you think?Marc Ambinder: (emp add) ## The Obama campaign knows that Wright is throwing Obama under the bus, and they're of two minds about the political repercussions. On the one hand, they want him to shut up, knowing that the press is likely to repeat the Crazy Uncle soundbites more than they are the intelligent, learned theologian soundbites. The public associates Obama with Wright; the more they think of Wright, the more they think of Obama. They do not believe that the tour will rehabilitate Wright's image with those voters who were offended by the comments. Joan Walsh: (emp add) [Wright] is a man of enormous self-regard, and he's clearly trying to hurt Barack Obama. His national rehabilitation tour started fairly sympathetically with the Moyers conversation, but it's devolved into self-pity and self-glorification ever since. His Sunday night talk to the NAACP was mostly silly, from the questionable science behind his insistence that black children are right-brained (creative) while white children are left-brained (logical and analytical) to his mocking the way white people talk, dance, clap, worship and sing. Andrew Sullivan, posting an email he received: (emp add) Jeremiah Wright fucked Obama today and fucked him good. Remember how good everything felt right after Obama historical speech in Pennsylvania -- like we might inch toward an honest discussion on race? Wright seemed to do everything he could this morning to shut that down. Kos Diarist ThatPoshGirl: (emp add) I hate to say it, but I think Wright is intentionally hurting Barack Obama. Jeremiah Wright is an intelligent man and surely knows the damage he is doing. He has recently made statements and done things that he has to know are causing Obama problems. Yet he remains defiant and continues to dig the whole deeper and deeper for Obama.
What makes me believe these actions are intentional is his body language. When I have watched him recently, he has not appeared angry or hurt, he seems to be filled with glee. I have gotten the impression that he is thoroughly enjoying himself. Bob Herbert: (emp add) The Rev. Jeremiah Wright went to Washington on Monday not to praise Barack Obama, but to bury him.
Feeling dissed by Senator Obama, Mr. Wright gets revenge on his former follower while bathed in a spotlight brighter than any he could ever have imagined. He’s living a narcissist’s dream. At long last, his 15 minutes have arrived.
The question that cries out for an answer from Mr. Wright is why — if he is so passionately committed to liberating and empowering blacks — does he seem so insistent on wrecking the campaign of the only African-American ever to have had a legitimate shot at the presidency.
[I]t’s not like [Wright's] naïve politically. He knows exactly what he’s doing.
My guess is that Mr. Wright felt he’d been thrown under a bus by an ungrateful congregant who had benefited mightily from his association with the church and who should have rallied to his former pastor’s defense. What we’re witnessing now is Rev. Wright’s “I’ll show you!” tour. For Senator Obama, the re-emergence of Rev. Wright has been devastating. Any Jeremiah Wright supporters out there that disagree?
posted by Quiddity at 4/28/2008 05:04:00 PM
4 comments
Who Fox has joined together, let no one put usunder. And not just Fox.
This is great news for Obama. Wright is Sister Soljaing himself! Obama doesn't have to undercut his message of unity and inclusiveness by throwing Wright under his bus. Couldn't be better for the Obama brand.
I don't think Wright is trying to hurt Obama. While I doubt Wright is stupid enough to think what he's doing is benign, I think he's an egocentric pr**k.
Sullivan's quoted e-mail says "Remember how good everything felt right after Obama historical speech in Pennsylvania -- like we might inch toward an honest discussion on race?" - I'd imagine that Wright's been hearing that sot of thing for 40+ years.
But voters probably won't want to have this discussion at the same time there's a war on and a recession pushing down on everyone.
If Obama wants their votes, the Right wing might want him to offer some concessions (like throwing any current or future applications of Affirmative Action under the bus). And Obama might hope that by adopting some of those ideas he can push off the honest discussion about race until after his election.
Maybe Wright is concerned that there is a risk in that sort of tradeoff that outtweighs the potential current value of the "honest" discussion. If you have to make concessions to get to the table, hope might not be the best strategy.
1. A portion of the working class white base of the Democratic party seems to fear Obama because they believe that he represents a black community that is like Wright.
2. Wright is opposed to Obama because Obama has publicly rejected Wright's gospel of black nationalism wrapped in a certain amount of "Anti-American" cloth (which you're going to get, because there is a long history of anti-African-American activities that have undeniably been committed by the American establishment, which is white and male).
3. Black voters are still voting for Obama, indicating that they ALSO REJECT Wright's attitudes and beliefs.
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It's time for poor white voters to wake up. The majority of black voters are not interested in black nationalism, they are interested in an America that includes them instead of excluding them. This is not tantamount to a slave insurrection, this is about getting beyond centuries old prejudices and a history of segregation and oppression and moving on. This helps black and white people, and it's about damn time.
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