Obama in crisis mode

Tom Bevan:

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Obama's handling of the controversy has only raised more questions. Juxtaposed with clips of Wright's shocking diatribes in ABC News report, for example, was an undated video clip of Obama describing his pastor as "not particularly controversial." Nor did Obama's claim of never having been in the pews at Trinity Church when Reverend Wright said something incendiary or controversial seem completely believable. As others have noted, Obama was not totally oblivious to Wright's reputation: in February 2007 Obama rescinded an invitation (at the last minute) for Wright to give the invocation at Obama's official announcement in Springfield.

The fact that there doesn't appear to be any record of Obama ever protesting or condemning any of Wright's outrageous utterances over the years - until confronted with them this week - is particularly lethal to Obama because it only adds to the suspicions that he's less a principled agent of change than a pragmatic politician trying to have it both ways.

Obama's various attempts at brushing the controversy aside (Wright is like a crazy uncle, he comes from a different generation, no guilt by association) have all fallen short because none of them live up to the expectations and the rationales he laid out as a candidate to be President of the United States.

Put another way, Obama has been busy preaching a new kind of politics but failed to stand up after his preacher told the congregation on the Sunday after September 11 that "America's chickens have come home to roost." Seven years later Obama remains a member of the church, and just last year was still publicly praising Reverend Wright as a "great leader."

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While Obama may reject Wrights rhetoric today, his church is compounding his problem by defending it. What this does is put him in the position of having to reject his church in the middle of his "transformational" campaign for the presidency. I don't think it is going to work. Obama will have to reject black liberation theology. If he does, will the followers follow him or their beliefs in its message of hate and victimhood? Or will this just wink and say, he is jsut saying that to get elected? Neither is a very appealing choice for a candidate.