Rev. Jeremiah Wright is on his nationwide tour to restore his image that has been under constant attack over the last several weeks. After receiving more negative press than probably anyone in today's news, the man that preached three sermons every week for 30 years has decided to engage the public and the media and submit a more complete picture of himself than what others have offered.
This is probably a bad idea for Barack Obama as he can't really win. This guy is doing Obama no favors by constantly staying in the public eye. Regardless of what he says, many people simply will not listen long enough hear his point, agree or not. They will only remember the sound bites from the clips that have been run and re-run countless times.
I was watching the panel on Fox News on Friday. They were highly critical of Wright's interview with Bill Moyers. But, at the time of the panel's discussion, the interview didn't even hit the airwaves. It was scheduled to broadcast later that evening.
I still think that this tour will have a negative impact on Obama's campaign as he tries to bring whites who are still undecided to his campaign. Unfortunately, this campaign has began to take on racial overtones since Bill Clinton's episode in South Carolina. Sean Hannity decided to put his stamp on the election, local Republicans some counterparts in the media followed Clinton's lead and the country has since been mired in racial turbulence; irrespective of their own skeletons.
From what I can see, Jeremiah Wright is more concerned with his message, image and responsibilities than Obama's presidency. Reverend Wright is making his rounds clarifying his remarks and answering questions about the issues that he brought up. However, he is quite unapologetic about his criticism of American policy of yesterday and today. In today's America, any criticism of the country's policies or execution thereof means you hate your country and Rev. Wright has no shortage of criticism. Again, this cannot be good for Obama as the some in the media attempt to paint him as an arrogant, radical, potential Muslim that has been listening to "kill whitey" from the pulpit for twenty years.
However, if you heard the sermons in their entirety, one would get a completely different understanding. Lost is the picture of the country hating American and the picture of an educated and articulate theologian that weaves race and political commentary into his sermons. There just isn't the anti-white attitude that many promote. Pretty disingenuous. I still don't agree with him on several points. I also think suggestions, solutions and calls to action should accompany any negative announcements. It doesn't do much good to simply state the problems without offering solutions. But, his points along with the biblical support deserve more than simple dismissal.
Doesn't matter though. This presidential race is now about race and peripherals instead of the issues that folks care about. In the next few months, we will hear more about Jeremiah Wright than the right course in Iraq, more about the William Ayers than clean air in our cities and more about the size of Jeremiah Wright's new house than the size of government creeping into our own houses.
