Tales & Tails of New York

 

Such were the seemingly prophetic words of Reverend Jeremiah Wright when speaking of his former close friend and parishioner of 20 years, Barack Obama.

 

Like the "politician" he really is and after reading critical OpEds and hearing pundits from New York to California decry a campaign in serious trouble unless the Illinois Senator "came out fighting" to denounce the errant preacher, Barack Obama stepped in front of cameras yesterday.

 

Appearing somber, composed and elegant, Barack Obama, in carefully measured words, effectively "threw his former pastor under the bus."

 

"His (Jeremiah Wright's) comments were outrageous, divisive and destructive," said the Presidential candidate about his former mentor and confident of 20 years......"He showed no concern for me and what our campaign is trying to achieve."

 

And as suggested by numerous pundits, editorial writers and polls, Obama went on to specifics in terms of which of Wrights's comments most offended.   The allegation, for example, that the government created AIDS for purposes of killing African Americans was "ridiculous."  

 

"Let me make it clear and unequivocal, Reverend Wright does not speak for me or my campaign.... Our relationship has changed."

 

A quick and easy "divorce" in the space of roughly 15 minutes. 

 

But, is the American public to truly believe this seemingly Oscar worthy performance by Barack Obama?

 

Only the night before, Obama was referring to coverage of Reverend Wright's comments as "silly" and "distracting."

 

And at a political rally, following the press conference only hours later, Obama seemed to blame everyone from Hillary Clinton to John McCain to the media for the whole unfortunate incident.

 

Everyone is seemingly out to "get" Barack Obama.

 

Ah, the politics of victimization!

 

Had Barack Obama really thought seriously about the comments of Reverend Wright, he might have chosen Wright's sarcastic mockery of John F. Kennedy's famous, "Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country" line to particularly condemn. ("Eeass not what your country can do for you. Eeass what you can do for your country!").  Mocking a murdered President who was a hero to most Americans seems particularly offensive.  Tearing down the line the President is most famous for seems like a type of blasphemy.  Moreover, the Kennedys and Lyndon Johnson (a President whose Texas accent was also mocked by Wright) were pioneers for the advancement of civil rights.

 

But, Obama seemed far more focused on how Wright's comments potentially damaged him, than how they denigrated either the country or mocked former Presidents.

 

 

One suspects that had Wright not accused Obama of "political posturing" and the media not focused on the recent antics and words of Wright, the political "divorce" would not have occurred at all.

 

After all, Wright's statements accusing the government of inflicting diseases on African Americans and blaming the United States for 9-11 have been out there a long, long time.  Why did they not "offend" Barack Obama sooner?

 

The only Wright statements that were seemingly "new" were the mocking of dead Presidents and accusing Obama of being "a politician."

 

All things considered, it seems that the one statement of Wright that is truly indisputable is that Barack Obama is indeed a "Politician who says and does what he has to as a politician."

 

The question Obama has to ponder now, is did his eloquent, news conference "divorce" come too little and too late to save his Presidential quest?

 

To this one voter and observer of the 2008 election campaign, the answer to that question is an emphatic, "Yes."   -- PCA

 

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