The Wright Stuff

The biggest issue in the biggest political race in the country right now concerns a former pastor for Sen. Barack Obama, Democrat of Illinois. Sen. Obama narrowly leads Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York in for the Democratic Party's presidential nomination.

When Sen. Obama became the frontrunner, press scrutiny increased, and the media's adulation evaporated like the morning dew. Some of that evaporation was due to Sen. Obama's frontrunner status, and some was due to outside criticism that the press was treating Sen. Obama with kid gloves.

At any rate, the gloves are off, and after a series of minor gaffes and surrogate blunders, this week saw the re-emergence of Sen. Obama's former pastor, The Reverend Jeremiah Wright of Chicago's Trinity United Church of Christ, as a major issue. It briefly was discussed last year.

The Rev. Wright has made statements in his sermons over the years that are quite controversial. Videos of him saying things like, "...God damn America for treating our citizens as less than human...We have supported state terrorism against the Palestinians and black South Africans, and now we are indignant because the stuff we have done overseas is now brought right back to our own front yards. America's chickens are coming home to roost (about the attacks of 9/11)...Jesus was a poor black man who lived in a country and who lived in a culture that was controlled by rich white people...." and more.

I have no doubt there are Americans across the spectrum who agree with this. I think they are a minority, but they are there.

Some of Rev. Wright's statements were played on national television and eventually caused Sen. Obama to first distance himself from Rev. Wright, and later issue a more forceful repudiation:

"The statements that Rev. Wright made that are the cause of this controversy were not statements I personally heard him preach while I sat in the pews of Trinity or heard him utter in private conversation. When these statements first came to my attention, it was at the beginning of my presidential campaign. I made it clear at the time that I strongly condemned his comments...Let me repeat what I've said earlier. All of the statements that have been the subject of controversy are ones that I vehemently condemn. They in no way reflect my attitudes and directly contradict my profound love for this country."

But in Sen. Obama's memoir, "Dreams of My Father," the senator notes, "While the boys next to me doodled on their church bulletin, Reverend Wright spoke of Sharpsville and Hiroshima, the callousness of policy makers in the White House and in the State House."

Some reporters are questioning whether this may mean Sen. Obama did in fact, over the 20 years he was a member of the church, hear some of these statements. And if he did, did he agree with them or tolerate them, as he now says he does not?

As a result, the Rev. Wright, who was on a religious advisory group supporting Sen. Obama's candidacy, stepped down and no longer has any tie to the campaign.

Sen. Obama also spoke about this on a series of interviews on American networks.

The Obama campaign is hoping that the interviews and statements like the ones he made earlier today at a town hall meeting in Indiana, decrying the racial "forces of division," will defuse the situation.

But these forces have been in evidence in this primary fight since the South Carolina Primary on Jan. 26. And some of this has been due, according to observers, to the tighter scrutiny that the press is applying to Sen. Obama. Some commentators are suggesting that this is the first time that the Illinois senator has ever faced anything but a glowing media. This will take all of Sen. Obama's formidable political skills to tamper this issue and others like it down.

The kind of press he was getting before couldn't last forever. Anything that makes Sen. Obama look like a typical politician, after his calls for change and a new politics, hurts him.

Sen. Obama's rival, Sen. Hillary Clinton has been silent for the most part, and the Republican nominee in waiting, Sen. John McCain, said he will soon be on the way to visit foreign leaders in Europe and the Middle East.

Suffice to say, Senator Obama has been brought down from his lofty status and his once saintly image has been tarnished. There may be more of this ahead but his lead in delegates and votes still makes him the favorite for the nomination. But as issues like this one emerge, it could cause some head scratching among those yet to vote in the Democratic Primary and among the super delegates who may decide the issue in the end.