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Jewish World Review May 6, 2008 / 1 Iyar 5768 How Obama will win By Jack Kelly
http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
Rarely in the history of American politics has a bigot had as much power as the Rev.
Jeremiah Wright enjoys today.
Support for Sen. Barack Obama has plunged nationally and (more importantly) in North
Carolina since Rev. Wright confirmed at his National Press Club appearance Monday
that he does indeed hold racist, lunatic, anti-American views, and implied that Sen.
Obama has been insincere in separating himself from them. "He had to distance
himself, because he's a politician," Rev. Wright said.
Sen. Obama was more upset by Mr. Wright's assertion he was being disingenuous than
by the extremist nature of his remarks, the New York Times reported Thursday.
"As Mr. Obama told close friends after watching the replay, he felt dumbfounded,
even betrayed, by Mr. Wright's implication that Mr. Obama was being hypocritical.
He could not tolerate that," the Times said.
For good reason. In a Rasmussen poll in New Hampshire released Thursday, 56 percent
of respondents said Sen. Obama denounced Rev. Wright because it was politically
convenient. Fifty four percent said it was at least somewhat likely that Sen. Obama
shares some of his pastor's controversial views.
Sen. Obama's belated denunciation of Rev. Wright hasn't helped matters. "Does Obama
really expect Americans to believe it was Wright, and not the prevailing political
winds, that changed overnight?" asked the Denver Post.
He may be a foul mouthed bigot, but the Rev. Jeremiah Wright is no fool. He had to
know his high profile speaking tour would harm his former protege. So why did he do
it?
His feelings are hurt, a Wright intimate told Fredric Dicker of the New York Post:
"After 20 years of loving Barack like a member of his own family, for Jeremiah to
see Barack saying over and over that he didn't know about Jeremiah's views during
those years, that he wasn't familiar with what Jeremiah had said...this is seen by
Jeremiah as nonsense and betrayal," his source told Mr. Dicker.
Others speculate Rev. Wright may not want Sen. Obama to be elected, because if
America does elect a black president, it would undermine his thesis that whites are
incorrigibly racist.
The simplest explanation may be that Rev. Wright cares more about his moment in the
limelight than he does about the harm he's doing to Sen. Obama.
If you're running as the candidate of hope and change who will "bring us together,"
it is hard to imagine how things could get worse. But they can.
Jeremiah Wright could destroy his former protege in a single interview. Radio
talk show host Hugh Hewitt explains:
"If Pastor Wright agrees to be interviewed by other than Bill Moyers, the questions
should ask not for his opinions on various controversies, but for facts about his
relationship with the senator. Did Pastor Wright discuss (militant black Muslim)
Louis Farrakhan before, during or after they both attended the Million Man March?
Did Sen. Obama indicate unease with or criticism of Farrakhan? How often did you
see Obama at Trinity on Sunday over the past 20 years?"
Rev. Wright need only grant such an interview to torpedo Sen. Obama's candidacy. It
doesn't matter whether he answers the questions truthfully, because only he and
Barack know what the truth is. What a club to hold over the head of a presidential
candidate! I doubt Sen. Obama has slept well since Monday.
Rev. Wright already has drilled some big holes in the hull of the SS (sinking ship)
Obama. Hillary Clinton has caught up with Barack in polls among Democrats since the
reverend's appearance at the National Press Club, and she runs slightly better than
he does against prospective GOP nominee John McCain.
The pundits say Sen. Clinton faces a must win primary in Indiana Tuesday. That's
true. But the more important primary that day may be in North Carolina, which —
because of the state's large black population — was to have been Sen. Obama's
firewall. All polls taken since Monday show the race there has narrowed
dramatically. One showed Sen. Clinton with a slight lead. If Hillary were to win
in North Carolina, it would be clear the bloom is off the Obama rose.
If he wins, however narrowly, in North Carolina Tuesday and, two weeks later, in
Oregon, Sen. Obama can limp to the nomination, because super delegates are more
afraid of offending blacks than they are of losing in November.
That's probably what will happen...unless Jeremiah Wright opens his mouth again.
Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in the media and Washington consider "must-reading". Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here. JWR contributor Jack Kelly, a former Marine and Green Beret, was a deputy assistant secretary of the Air Force in the Reagan administration. Comment by clicking here.
© 2008, Jack Kelly |
Arnold Ahlert | |||||||||||
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