Barack Obama's former pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, has been on the sawdust trail lately. But it's anybody's guess who he is really backing for president.
It's not Barack Obama. Can't be. There's just no way.
Every time Wright opens his mouth, John McCain seems to gain in the polls. Even Hillary Clinton starts looking downright presidential.
After Wright's incendiary damn-America sermons became public a month ago, Obama gave a barnburner speech explaining life and times in the black community. He did criticize what Wright had to say, but refused to denounce the man himself. Very admirable, I thought.
Over the past week, Wright's put himself back into the limelight, just about when folks were beginning to forget about him. A televised chat with Bill Moyers. An appearance before the National Press Club (which, according to some accounts, was arranged by a hard-shell Clinton backer, which kind of figures). Wright didn't disappoint. He drew comparisons between the U.S. military and Roman legions. He expanded on his statements of the U.S. "inviting" terrorist attacks by its conduct among other, weaker nations -- live by the sword, die by the sword.
"I do what pastors do," Wright said of Obama. "He does what politicians do."
Ouch. That bump you just felt was Wright throwing Obama off the bus, and probably backing over him a few times. With friends like that, you sure don't need enemas ... uhh, enemies.
Has the media made a big deal out of Obama's relationship with Wright? Yes and no. Obama is, in fact, running for President. The public deserves to know who they're voting for.
Except for Obama's associations (and it seems he sure has some smarmy friends) and a slim senatorial resume, Obama's an even bigger mystery than the Manchurian Candidate.
Wright, meanwhile, is defending himself. In one of his talks, the pastor accused the media and the voters of cherry-picking his statements, keying on the more controversial stuff. Uhh, yeah. The electorate is like that. A 45-minute sermon is awfully hard to digest, let alone print in entirety in the local newspaper. To the average Joe a five-second sound bite is a lot more palatable.
But a few sound bites, taken together, do give an honest look at how the speaker really thinks. You don't have to eat the whole egg to know if it's rotten. About the only exception to this is if the speaker is a total whack job who can't put a coherent thought together.
It's almost like reading this blog. Many of my entries are fairly long -- too long for the person who is too busy or has no inclination to dig deep into the issues. That's OK with me; I'm used to that. But I can turn a pithy phrase, partly due to my own warped sense of humor. It's those eye-catching phrases that my reader will remember.
But, take some of my phrases, either in context or out, and the reader will come away with an impression that's remarkably close to where I'm coming from.
But Wright's talkativeness is not doing Obama any favors. In recent polls, voters said Hillary Clinton would beat John McCain by a six-point margin in a one-on-one, while Obama and McCain would battle to a draw. Before anybody had heard of Wright, two months ago, these numbers were almost reversed -- Obama up by a few points over McCain, Clinton about even with McCain. Meanwhile, more and more Democratic voters are saying that if their candidate isn't nominated they'll likely vote for the Republican.
Singlehandedly, Wright polarized the electorate along racial lines, nullifying Obama's talk about bringing us all together.
Elections are rarely won. The vast majority of the time, they're lost. While Obama's own comments about rural and small town white folks clinging to God and guns don't help his cause any, his now-ex-pastor continues to throw every kind of wrench into the Barack campaign works.
It's not Barack Obama. Can't be. There's just no way.
Every time Wright opens his mouth, John McCain seems to gain in the polls. Even Hillary Clinton starts looking downright presidential.
After Wright's incendiary damn-America sermons became public a month ago, Obama gave a barnburner speech explaining life and times in the black community. He did criticize what Wright had to say, but refused to denounce the man himself. Very admirable, I thought.
Over the past week, Wright's put himself back into the limelight, just about when folks were beginning to forget about him. A televised chat with Bill Moyers. An appearance before the National Press Club (which, according to some accounts, was arranged by a hard-shell Clinton backer, which kind of figures). Wright didn't disappoint. He drew comparisons between the U.S. military and Roman legions. He expanded on his statements of the U.S. "inviting" terrorist attacks by its conduct among other, weaker nations -- live by the sword, die by the sword.
"I do what pastors do," Wright said of Obama. "He does what politicians do."
Ouch. That bump you just felt was Wright throwing Obama off the bus, and probably backing over him a few times. With friends like that, you sure don't need enemas ... uhh, enemies.
Has the media made a big deal out of Obama's relationship with Wright? Yes and no. Obama is, in fact, running for President. The public deserves to know who they're voting for.
Except for Obama's associations (and it seems he sure has some smarmy friends) and a slim senatorial resume, Obama's an even bigger mystery than the Manchurian Candidate.
Wright, meanwhile, is defending himself. In one of his talks, the pastor accused the media and the voters of cherry-picking his statements, keying on the more controversial stuff. Uhh, yeah. The electorate is like that. A 45-minute sermon is awfully hard to digest, let alone print in entirety in the local newspaper. To the average Joe a five-second sound bite is a lot more palatable.
But a few sound bites, taken together, do give an honest look at how the speaker really thinks. You don't have to eat the whole egg to know if it's rotten. About the only exception to this is if the speaker is a total whack job who can't put a coherent thought together.
It's almost like reading this blog. Many of my entries are fairly long -- too long for the person who is too busy or has no inclination to dig deep into the issues. That's OK with me; I'm used to that. But I can turn a pithy phrase, partly due to my own warped sense of humor. It's those eye-catching phrases that my reader will remember.
But, take some of my phrases, either in context or out, and the reader will come away with an impression that's remarkably close to where I'm coming from.
But Wright's talkativeness is not doing Obama any favors. In recent polls, voters said Hillary Clinton would beat John McCain by a six-point margin in a one-on-one, while Obama and McCain would battle to a draw. Before anybody had heard of Wright, two months ago, these numbers were almost reversed -- Obama up by a few points over McCain, Clinton about even with McCain. Meanwhile, more and more Democratic voters are saying that if their candidate isn't nominated they'll likely vote for the Republican.
Singlehandedly, Wright polarized the electorate along racial lines, nullifying Obama's talk about bringing us all together.
Elections are rarely won. The vast majority of the time, they're lost. While Obama's own comments about rural and small town white folks clinging to God and guns don't help his cause any, his now-ex-pastor continues to throw every kind of wrench into the Barack campaign works.
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