Obama's Lingering Minister Problem

In this recent post, I discussed the visual and audible nature of Obama's recent attempt to distance himself from his hate-filled former minister, Jeremiah Wright.


In this post, I want to touch on the failure of the content of Obama's speech to explain his lingering problem- credibility.

As I, and many others, see it, Obama refuses to acknowledge that Wright's remarks last week contained no new hate speech- merely repetitions of hate-mongering comments which he has made over the past twenty years.

Viewed in this light, Obama's decision to 'throw Wright under the bus' becomes the height of political calculation. Despite the Senator's insistence that now he finds Wright's comments objectionable, he will not acknowledge that the statements to which he referred last week were not new, merely re-affirmations of old hate-speech.

If these statements did not necessitate Obama from referring to Wright as an 'uncle,' and refusing to disown him, a month ago in his speech in Philadelphia, then why would the same comments now force Obama to disown him?

That's the question those of us not already under the control of Obama pixie dust ask.

How can it be that Obama suddenly finds Wright's years-old statements, which were merely repeated last week in Washington and Detroit, now objectionable?

It all goes to judgment and maturity. This issue is not, and never was, strictly about Wright's hate-speech, but, rather, Obama's acceptance of it until it became a political liability.

Now that Obama has responded with last week's remarks which marked an about-face on this issue, it will remain with Obama until November's election. By reacting in so contrasting a manner to no new Wright statements, Obama has unwittingly played his hand as a politician seeking to appeal to all voter segments- radical blacks, moderate whites, and upscale, guilty white liberals. The very real possibility that the second group might bolt from Obama's voter base, especially in advance of the Indiana primary, forced him to bet that the first and third groups won't mind if he abandons his minister of twenty years.

All very indicative of the fact that Obama is no 'post-partisan' Presidential candidate, but just another typical, uber liberal Democratic Presidential candidate making fast and ever-changing political calculations regarding with whom he will still associate, as he seeks to assemble a voting coalition for November.