Wright Speech “Ammo” for GOP
By SusanUnPC on March 19, 2008 at 8:46 AM in Barack Obama, Race, Republicans, Rev. Jeremiah Wright Jr.
Long before it occurred to anyone else, Larry Johnson has been analyzing why Republicans have been quietly salivating at the prospect of Obama as their general election opponent. Read Larry’s “Why Are the Rightwing Republicans Hyping Obama?,” from December 2007. (Why have the ‘wingers been excoriating Hillary? To get her out of the way.)
The latte elite pundits have opined that it was Hillary who is most divisive — despite repeated proof that she can win rural and blue-collar areas — while Obama represented “post-racial” America, a white-guilt-based theory that is more a product of their fantasies than reality. Now we have Newsday and Politico articles, quoted below, that point out how the GOP will take full advantage of Barack Obama’s problem with Rev. Wright if he is the general election nominee. (If you think the GOP just stumbled on the Rev. Wright problem, think again: They’ve known all about Wright for two years, at least, probably longer. And Rev. Wright’s tapes are sold to the public by Obama’s church.)
Suspend your disbelief for a moment, and listen to former House speaker Newt Gingrich’s bull’s-eye analysis of Obama’s Philadelphia speech. Again, agree or not, you have to admit that Gingrich describes the problems — “fundamentally intellectually dishonest” and “Obama never once had the courage” to confront Rev. Wright — better than just about anyone else has:
Bye, Bye Independents and Republicans for Obama: In “GOP sees Rev. Wright as pathway to victory,” Politico‘s Jonathan Martin writes that “GOP strategists believe they’ve finally found an antidote to Obamamania”:
In their view, the inflammatory sermons by Obama’s pastor offer the party a pathway to victory if Obama emerges as the Democratic nominee. Not only will the video clips enable some elements of the party to define him as unpatriotic, they will also serve as a powerful motivating force for the conservative base.
In fact, the video trove has convinced some that, after months of praying for Hillary Clinton and the automatic enmity which she arouses, that they may actually have easier prey.
As I see it, having watched far too much of Rev. Wright the past few days, there are three explosive problems that Obama can’t orate away:
- Wright deeply insults every patriotic American;
- Wright is consumed by a toxic hatred that is frightening and repugnant; and
- Wright is batshit crazy — and no sane person would have anything to do with him, so why did Obama have anything to do with him?
Here’s what Newsday found:
“This is far and away the most damaging issue of the campaign for him, and his wonderful speech did nothing to make it go away,” said Whit Ayres, a longtime Republican pollster.
Obama, whose victories in mostly white states like Iowa and Wisconsin were powered by a multiracial coalition, has been on the defensive after release of a video showing Wright shouting “God damn America” during a sermon on racism.
Obama has tread lightly on the issue of race for fear of being marginalized as a “black candidate.” And it was a measure of his anxiety over the Wright controversy that he addressed race head-on during Tuesday’s hastily scheduled speech in the shadow of Constitution Hall.
[...]
Republicans pounced on the speech, saying Obama’s measured criticism didn’t go far enough and promising to invoke Wright early and often should Obama win the nomination.
“I think it’s an obligation of any opponent to use this issue, to make Reverend Wright a centerpiece of the campaign,” said Rep. Peter King (R-Seaford).
“His speech was disappointing and shameful,” King added. ” … This goes to the heart of who Barack Obama is. He’s trying to say he represents the 21st-century view on race and here he’s sticking up for this guy.”
Added pollster Ayres: “The problem is the contradiction between the fundamental message of the Obama campaign about bringing America together and Wright’s hate-filled, divisive message.” …
We must always keep in mind what Gingrich pointed out: It’s not like some GOP sleuth hunted to find those tapes. The tapes were SOLD WIDELY BY OBAMA’S OWN CHURCH.
Why did Obama and Axelrod never take care of this huge problem long ago? Did they really think they could pull the wool over our eyes that the 20-year close ties with Rev. Wright would not be revealed and taint Obama?






















