If you knew of Rev. Wright BEFORE the Obama campaign began...

[islandmkl]

let alone before the past 2 months...what did you know and when did you know it?

Without Obama in the spotlight, Rev. Wright would be an unknown pastor to 99%+ of all Americans. To assign some significance to him so you can assign some critical assessment to Obama is intellectually irresponsible. To attach some 'proof of beliefs' to Obama based on Rev. Wright's comments, versus Obama's OWN STATEMENTS CONCERNING HIS BELIEFS, is mere political gaming and nothing more.

To deny the base root of anything involving Rev. Wright being the focus of the MSM, and thereby the general public, of being anything more than sensationalized election-year distraction is to deny the truth about how American elections are conducted:

The REAL PROBLEMS facing Americans, which most entrenched politicians have exacerbated, and which most politicians seeking office will perpetuate, are ignored while distractions of such nature as Rev. Wright are 'discussed' ad nauseum. And worse, the punditry and opponents of the target (in this case Barack Obama) will 'conclude' that 'this proves __________ about ___________' and further 'proves' that '___________ is unfit, unelectable, etc....'.

If Rev. Wright is a problem for you, then the problems facing America are very limited by your perspective. It becomes easy to assess the importance of Rev. Wright to Barack Obama by those who were against him from the beginning, for those who want him to not be the Democratic candidate, for those who want the status quo to remain.

This WAR, this ECONOMY, these JOBS, these PRICES, this CONSTITUTION....all these are nothing for public discussion. WE MUST DISCUSS REV. WRIGHT!!

[Yossariant]

1. Obama knew about Wright. He should never have run for President. Unelectable.

[cali]

2. ridiculous.

but hey, why break an unbroken streak? Wright may or may not end Obama's winning the nomination, but he does not make Obama unelectable in the general. there are many different factors that will emerge in the general, and it's 6 months in the future.

[MNDemNY]

6. It has become obvious that Obama knew the Reverend...

was a major issue-to-be at least a year ago, If he had taken steps to distance himself then, he would be in MUCH better shape today.

[Pavlovs DiOgie]

4. Hillary is sooooo unbelievably electable.

I mean, she has zero that the republicans can hit her with. She's squeaky clean. She's the perfect candidate. She should have run years ago because she's so undeniably perfect. And Obama, who does he think he is, going to church and all? He has friends and stuff - didn't he know that he's accountable for everything they've ever said? Man, that guy has NO business not only running for office against Perfect Hillary, but to actually be BEATING her. The nerve of that guy. Sheesh.

[jasmine621]

3. My spouse and I watched Rev. Wright on TVOne for more that two years

before Obama even announced his run and we watched him live on TUCC live stream most Sundays before going to our own church. We from the very beginning that Obama's connection to him would be a problem. Another reason why we thought Obama was coming out of the political gate too soon. He hadn't "paid his dues," wasn't ready to run for President yet, had a lot of baggage from Chicago polotics that he hadn't distanced himself from, was a little too arrogant toward seasoned black politicians in Chicago. We felt he would make a fine candidate for 2012 or 2016 but their was an air about him that rubbed us the wrong way. Had he waited, the Wright issue could have been easily put behind him. Just think where the Dem party could be now had Obama chose to sacrifice his ambitions for the sake of the party and used his talents and oratory to support John Edwards, or Kucinich, or Biden or even Dodd...even Hillary. Just think what a position we could be in now and for the next four decades. Instead, we are a party divided at our roots and the one fighting candidate who could stand toe to toe with the RW smear machine and who could pull from eight years of final best days of the US is being smeared and demonized by her own party, from the top to the bottom. I think we get what we deserve in the end.

[Rabrrrrrr]

5. Yep! I love what you said "To deny the base root...of being anything more than sensationalized

election-year distraction" is perfectly spot on.

The only reason that Wright is being made an issue is because the media, completely owned by people and interests who are afraid of an Obama presidency, has decided that the only way to protect their profits and their political power is to distract America with, as you say, a sensationalized election-year distraction.