Folks, this is what primaries are *for*.

[calmblueocean]

I've been leaning toward Obama for months now, in part because of his clarity on the stupidity of the war of choice we are in in Iraq, and in part because I saw him as more electable than Hillary. But I've been careful to keep some part of my heart open and accepting, should Hillary become the nominee, and this morning I feel that part of myself growing bigger.

I listened to Hillary's communication director Howard Wolfson on the Bill Press Show this morning, and was impressed when he showed the good judgment to refuse to attack Barack Obama on the issue of his former pastor, and simply said he'd let the Obama campaign say whatever needed to be said. A refreshing change of pace from some of Wolfson's previous jabs.

Hillary has run a tough, bruising, at times even ugly campaign, but she has done so because she anticipated a moment like this happening, a moment when the phenomenon of the Obama campaign crashes into the brick wall of political reality. Maybe Barack is such a phenomenon that he can defuse the whole thing. I'll wait and see. But if he can't, I'm so glad the fate of the Democratic party, the fate of the country, and of the world, isn't tied to Obama and his pastor.

If Obama stumbles here -- and let's be honest, he stumbled a long time ago by not choosing his pastor with the discretion and judgment that someone who aspires to be the president should -- there are going to be millions of people in our nation who are depending on Hillary to help them with health care, millions of people who have family or friends at war overseas who ought to come home. If Obama stumbles and falls here, I'm relieved that his mistakes don't damn us to 4 or 8 years of a President McCain, who has already promised us there would be "more wars", hundreds of years of war, and who has no plan for health care at all.

These have been emotionally rough primaries, but there's a reason we have them: so the *strongest* candidate against the Republicans can emerge. I've been inspired by Barack, but if he turns out not to be the strongest candidate anymore, then the primaries will have done their job, and I'll be overjoyed that we've got someone as tough and tenacious as Hillary to take the torch.

[tekisui]

1. His pastor is not a deal-breaker.

THis is an attempt to scare people by the "angry black man". Oh, no, black pride can not be allowed.

Be afraid! Be afraid! Just last month, remember, he was a scary Muslim.

[butterfly77]

2. Hillary's spokesperson wolfson is full of it...

just like this point:let's be honest, he stumbled a long time ago by not choosing his pastor with the discretion and judgment that someone who aspires to be the president should --WRONG..

[EmperorHasNoClothes]

3. Yes, because Wright is just a big sock puppet for Obama

Obama controls everything he says and does, so Obama is obviously at fault when Wright says something stupid. :eyes:

[calmblueocean]

6. Obama's not at fault for Wright's remarks, but who you associate with has political consequences.

That applies to everyone, whether it's McCain and his lobbyist sweetheart, or Hillary and donors like Hsu, or Obama and his pastor.

Hillary and Bill have some pretty ugly characters in their past, especially regarding fundraising, but obviously that kind of inside baseball is never as politically volatile as the sort of remarks Wright has made. I don't think this is the end of Obama by any means, but the political consequences of having such a close relationship with someone so far from the political mainstream are just facts. I wish it wasn't so, but it is.

[calmblueocean]

5. What do you think is wrong about that point? I'm interested.

Anyone who plans on running for president knows that their conduct and associations are held to a high standard. Other candidates have sunk their campaigns over less than this. I don't think it's a death blow, by any means, but it hardly makes sense to voluntarily associate yourself with someone as prone to inflammatory rhetoric as Wright appears to be. Had Obama chosen a different church, this wouldn't even be an issue.

[Iceburg]

4. A reasonable perspective on the primaries: K&R/nt