Obama No Longer Has To Worry About Wright

[demwing]

Barack Obama shouldn't worry about whether he distances himself from Rev. Wright - because Wright is doing the job for him.

Obama's message has been that the two camps really are two camps - tenuously connected, but not in the least coordinated. Obama tells us "Wright does not speak for me," and the main stream media tells us "Wright loves the sound of his own voice." It seems to me that you don't have to dig very deep to realize that Obama and the media are on two sides of the same coin on this message: Wright, love him or hate him, is a loose canon. There more he speaks out, the greater the contrast between his style and Obama's. The more we hear from Wright, the more we realize that the two men are very different in temperament, rhetorical style, and diplomacy. Obama doesn't have to prove that he and Wright are different, he just has to get out of the way and let Wright speak.

And here's some spin on the issue you may never hear outside of DU. There is one other aspect of Wright's spotlight time that helps Obama. The longer this Christian pastor gets discussed, the less likely you'll be to see ANY stories questioning whether Obama is Muslim. Even the slowest thinker in a room of heavy-browed, slack-jaws should be able to follow along that you can't criticize a man for his choice of a Christian church on the one hand, and then insinuate that he is a Muslim on the other.

So rant on, Rev. Wright. You get your spotlight, Obama gets his distance, and this issue gets overplayed, well before the GE.

[SoonerPride]

1. I think people will say "who cares about that guy when I can't afford to buy groceries?"

It's the economy.
And the war.
And healthcare.

People, at the end of the day, won't give a flying fig about Rev Wright.

[redqueen]

3. Exactly.

It's just the latest scare tactic from the GOP, the M$M, and the Hillary campaign.

[demwing]

10. Well, don't underestimate scare tactics. They work.

Fear is one of the easiest emotions to illicit, and when people are afraid, they vote on those things that ease their fear, instead of those things that solve their problems.

[redqueen]

12. I understand... but what causes the most fear?

I highly doubt that Wright's comments will be the all-powerful boogeyman the M$M and Hillary's campaign is pretending they believe they are.

[demwing]

14. I agree.

I'm willing to bet that between choosing a candidate that has a controversial Christian pastor, and a candidate that may be Muslim, the fearful will pick the Christian. It's easier for them to understand, and people generally fear less that which they understand best.

So let the good Reverend speak his piece. In the end, it plays.

[electropop]

26. Plus McCain has plenty of scary pastors in his closet.

Some of them have said basically the same thing - 'Murka got condemned by Gawd. Only on the RW side, Gawd sent us Atta and Katrina because we have hom'sekshalls in our midst. On Wright's side, Gawd is mad because we oppress and kill people.

[cliffordu]

24. Well, Fuck. They haven't worked so far. 5 weeks of this shit now and

OBAMA is still winning the election.

[EFerrari]

2. It not only kills the whole Muslim story -- it keeps the media

focused on a story that has already been detonated as we head into the next primaries.

I think that works out pretty well, don't you? :)

[hokies4ever]

4. Sad thing is

if the exit polls asked, I'd bet 10% of the people voting against Obama still think he's a Muslim. Nash McCabe probably still hates Obama for not wearing a flag pin.

[tishaLA]

5. I thnk it was 18% in PA

so it hasn't defused it completely. Almost one-fifths of Democrats?! Amazing. But those are, presumably, LI voters.

[Tim4319]

8. I've heard somewhere that 17% of the country thinks he is muslim.

And this was a poll taken last week!

[DefenseLawyer]

13. Face it, there is a certain percentage of people who can't name the current president

Seriously. As Strother Martin said in Cool Hand Luke, "some men you just can't reach".

[NJmaverick]

6. You are correct, by shining a light on himself, Wright is becoming his own man

Seperate from Obama. He is now Rev Wright, rather than Obama Pastor.

[demwing]

7. Precisely! And if you like what Wright says

Obama, looks good through the association. If you don't, Obama looks good through the distance. On the other hand, if you're just looking for an excuse to not like Obama in any way, you'll find one eventually. Who needs to convince the unconvinceable?

[thereismore]

11. I was thinking the same thing. Message #9 below. nt

[thereismore]

9. You are making a lot of sense. I needed that. Sadly I think that there

will still remain many slack-jawed bigots who will rant about Obama's choice for pastor and at the same time thinking Obama is a Muslim. But they would never vote for a black man anyway, so who cares.

In 2000 it was "us" against republicans. I feel like today it is "us" against racists.

[speedoo]

15. K&R. Thanks for posting. nt

[knixphan]

16. there is a logic to this.

Going into the GE, the celebs who really DO speak for Obama will need the airwaves...

Kennedy, Kerry, Carter, Oprah, etc...

They will do better if Wright has all the oygen burned out by then...

Let the racists get all their energy out now.

[stray cat]

17. My grandma in Arkansas is voting for Obama (she had been concerned he was a muslim)

[Aloha Spirit]

19. wow, really? this is good to hear.

[4_Legs_Good]

18. By the GE, this guy will be old news

and I think he'll be seen as an eccentric, at times hilarious person that Obama once had some sort of relationship with. This playing out so strongly now will completely numb the electorate to the so-called "issue" by the time November rolls around.

The controversy is sparked by seeing a strong black man shouting "God Damn America" completely out of context. Once you've seen him dance around and talk like Porky Pig, the shock value is kinda diminished.

David

[demwing]

20. We agree on that point

but please clarify your Porky Pig comment. I don't get it.

[RaleighNCDUer]

21. It's a reference to the Daily Show, last night.

Stewart thought Wright's imitation of JFK sounded more like Porky Pig.

I can't say I disagree.

He did do a credible LBJ, however.

[demwing]

22. Thanks for the clarification, lol!

I was 100% lost.

[jefferson_dem]

23. Yesterday, I would have vehemently disagreed. Today, I think you are spot on.

What the self-agrandizing Wright show has done is offer voters a crystal clear contrast between who Obama is and who this former-pastor is, and what their objectives are. No more blurring the lines between these two.

[RiverStone]

29. Another example of Obama turning a mess into a plus...

I'm telling ya, Obama is destined to be our next president.

[demwing]

25. Same thread, slightly different message -

So now Obama denounces - quite vehemenantly - Rev. Wright. I'm about to believe that this was a game, and Wright and Obama ARE coordinated. I'm strongly in the Obama camp, but it looks like Rev Wright was simply giving Obama a fresh chance at denouncing this rhetoric.

Think it through - If Obama were to suddenly turn around and denounce Wright based on what was in those videos loops, he would appear as if he were being political. Wrights comments were old, they were previously addressed - for Obama to change his stand would be a sign of weakness.

But now, Wrights comments are fresh from the farm, Obama can swing at will.

[The Backlash Cometh]

27. Wright gave an inspiring speech.

My 81 year old dad said that there was nothing Wright said that he would disagree with and that he liked the passion in his speech, and the manner he stuck a jab in there every now and then to see if you were paying attention.

I guess those of us who paid attention in the 60s, are not put off by the tone or intimidated by it.

[rocktivity]

28. I agree that the two of them probably cooked up this scenario together.

So rant on, Rev. Wright. You get your spotlight, Obama gets his distance, and this issue gets overplayed.

WELL played, because most important, it makes people realize that this issue was overplayed from the beginning.

Wright was a media concoction: when Obama couldn't be self-sabotaged into the role of the angry black man a la Revs. Sharpton and Jackson, they outsourced the job and found a "surrogate" in Rev. Wright. Obama survived the "scandal" because most people saw its inherent unfairness and admired his retaliating by pointing out what the real problem was. Now for the next phase: putting Wright to bed for good. He suddenly does a national press mini-blitz, gives something from which Obama can REALLY distance himself, and once again Obama "does the right thing" by denouncing him. Game over--and probably a team effort!

:headbang:
rocknation