The Rainbow Sign [View All]

[H2O Man]

"Wright was among the most liberal of the African-American preachers – he could be all fire and no brimstone. When Obama knocked on Trinity’s door, Wright was in his mid-forties and in the midst of growing his Trinity congregation to its present membership of nearly eight thousand. Burly and light-skinned, Wright is the son of a Baptist minister in Philadelphia. His intellectual sermons sometimes more resemble left-wing political rants than religious preaching. Startling for a preacher, he can be both profane and provocative. ….His sermons frequently denounce Republican politics, and he has called people who voted for George W. Bush ‘stupid.’ ..

"In some ways, Obama and Wright seem a mismatch because of their distinclty different styles. But in other ways, they seem like a perfect fit – an attraction of opposites. In contrast to Obama’s cautious style, Wright is bombastic, rebellious, and, in his own estimation, unafraid to speak truth to power. ….

"Wright remains a maverick among Chicago’s vast assortment of black preachers. He will question Scripture when he feels it forsakes common sense; he is an ardent foe of mandatory school prayer; and he is a staunch advocate for homosexual rights, which is almost unheard of among African-American ministers. Gay and lesbian couples, with hands clasped, can be spotted in Trnity’s pews each Sunday. ….

"…Trnity’s less doctrinal approach to the Bible intrigued and attracted Obama. ‘Faith to him is how he sees the human condition,’ Wright said. ‘Faith to him is not (a) litmus test, mouth-spouting, quoting Scripture. It’s what you do with your life, how you live your life. That’s far more important than beating someone over the head with Scripture that says women shouldn’t wear pants or if you drink, you’re going to hell. That’s just not who Barack is’."
--David Mendell; Obama: From Promise to Power; pages 75-77

By the late summer of 2007, it was clear that the Obama campaign would eventually have to make a distinction between the Senator and his former preacher. If Barack won the democratic nomination, there were segments of the republican party that could be counted on to try to make Rev. Wright’s liberation theology an issue.

What may not have been fully anticipated was that issues of racism would become one of the central themes of the democratic primary. Representatives of the Clinton campaign have been calling "undecided" super delegates, and saying that Barack Obama can not win the 2008 election, mentioning race and Rev. Wright as two reasons that Senator McCain would defeat him.

This and other related issues being brought up by the Clinton campaign resulted in Rep. James Clyburn (D-SC) to recently voice concern that there is a potential risk of damage to the party, if the Clinton campaign continues on its reckless course. Rep. Clyburn noted that the black community had supported President Clinton in his time of need. Indeed, Rev. Wright was among those invited to the White House to lend support to Bill Clinton.

This weekend, Rev. Wright was featured in some high profile appearances that have gotten a lot of attention in the media. It is a necessary, if somewhat uncomfortable, process. How will it impact the democratic primary and the fall election? Let’s take a closer look.

We should use the simple model that applies to all elections. There are three groups: {a} those who support you; {b} those who oppose you; and {c} the undecided. In terms of Senator Barack Obama, we will see a couple things in the near future. First, Rev. Wright will create distance between himself and Obama, as he identifies the attacks on him as being attacks on the black church. The larger black community and other progressive and liberal supporters will recognize that the attacks on Obama which use Rev. Wright for what they are. The Clinton campaign must recognize that Rep. Clyburn was speaking the truth.

The young voters who are exposed to Rev. Wright are not going to turn their backs on the Obama campaign. Far from it. It will be somewhat like when the students in Selma invited Malcolm X to speak to them, at the time Martin Luther King, Jr., was in jail. Those in power decided that they were better off dealing with Martin than Malcolm. Today, those in power do not want young folks to hear Rev. Wright speaking about the war in Iraq.

Those opposed to Obama fall into three groups: (1) the Clinton campaign; (2) the republican party; and (3) a portion of the media. One expects the Clinton people to try to use this to pressure undecided super delegates; likewise, their grass roots support will try to use this situation for gain on the internet. The republican party will use it, although their religious right wing must also be kept from hearing Rev. Wright’s entire message. And the media will use it to try to divide the democratic party.

Group C can be looked at as two distinct sub-groups: (1) the undecided voters in the states with primaries; and (2) the undecided super delegates. The attention given to Rev. Wright does have the potential to reduce support in Group C-1. However, if the Obama campaign is able to re-focus attention on the important issues – the war in Iraq and the economy – the public is likely to be able to recognize what is important in their lives.

The super delegates, on the other hand, have already been looking at the Rev. Wright "issue" in terms of its potential consequence in November. They will know that few republican/conservative/racist voters were considering supporting Obama over McCain, but will now change their minds. Rather, their concern will be the damage that Rep. Clyburn spoke of.

There are going to be uncomfortable issues that the democratic party will have to deal with, in order to win in November. And our country is not going to be able to move in the right direction if the democratic party doesn’t make the changes needed to lead the way. But, as Spinoza reminds us, "all noble things are as difficult as they are rare."