“The person I saw yesterday was not the person that I met 20 years ago. His comments were not only divisive and destructive, but I believe that they end up giving comfort to those who prey on hate, and I believe that they do not portray accurately the perspective of the black church. They certainly don’t portray accurately my values and beliefs. And if Reverend Wright thinks that that’s political posturing, as he put it, then he doesn’t know me very well. And based on his remarks yesterday, well, I might not know him as well as I thought, either.” After an unrepentant Jeremiah Wright ratcheted up the heat again at the National Press Club yesterday, thus bringing the punditariat to a full boil, an “outraged” and “saddened” Sen. Obama definitively cuts Wright loose.
A bit depressing that this had to go down, but, at this point, Obama really didn’t have much choice. (Wright was practically begging for it, what with promoting the AIDS and Farrakhan stuff anew yesterday.) So, hopefully this helps bring an end to the sad diversion that was the Reverend Jeremiah Wright. Now, perhaps we can move on to other matters, such as the Rev. John Hagee and the “Strangelovian” obliteration of Iran…
Update: While we all mull the fallout from Wrightgate II, consider this: Sen. Obama picked up two more superdelegates today, Rep. Ben Chandler of Kentucky and DNC member Richard Machachek of Iowa. I believe that puts the post-PA total at 6 for Obama, 2 for Clinton, meaning Sen. Clinton is now a full 10 behind where she needs to be to stay “alive.”
Update 2: Count three more supers for Clinton, and now three more for Sen. Obama. The new post-PA tally: 9 for Obama, 5 for Clinton, meaning Clinton is down 13 from her needed mark.
I (white educated male) watched on TV the second half of Wright’s speech in Detroit on Sunday. I thought it was refreshingly candid reflection of the “African American religous tradition”. I also think he indulged himself in some divisive talk, and making fun of stereotypes. That said, I was thoroughly amused, relieved to hear such things, and not offended. However, I can also imagine how the fringes must have thought about his antics.
I saw no reason for Obama to go and claim to not knowing him as well as he once thought. It worries me why he might capitulate to popular sentiments.
-s
I never could have imagined back in January just how depressing this whole thing could turn out to be. I should have known better, really. I guess I just thought it would take until the general election for things to get really bad like this, and that by then it would be expected and deal-withable, mainly because we’d be united and strong, happy warriors fighting like hell to finally put an end to the evils of the past 8 years and more. I didn’t think I’d have to fight fellow Democrats on this sort of ground, and that reality has been mighty disheartening and depressing. I thought we had won the intra-party battle in ’06, but the DLC is yet another Beast That Won’t Die, and having to kill two of them in one campaign is no fun at all.
I also didn’t account for the media being quite as racist and sexist and blinkered and just downright frivolous and clueless as it apparently is. I knew it was bad after what happened to Gore and Kerry, but I also thought Gore and Kerry were just terrible media candidates and personalities compared to either Clinton or Obama. Now it seems like it just doesn’t matter whether you’re skilled and charismatic or not. Obama held out well for quite some time, but the onslaught of crap is just unceasing and nobody can stand up to that unsullied forever. He’s not done for or anything, but I think any hopes of him really changing the playing field or the conversation pretty much are. And if he can’t do it, who the hell possibly could? That’s not fun to contemplate.
So, I’m trying to concentrate on the process stuff. Huge increases in Democratic voter registration and turnout nationwide. Huge fundraising influxes and revolutionary uses of the new online tools for fundraising and organizing. Huge amounts of ground game infrastructure built in all 50 states. And total malaise on the GOP side at the same time. Surely this stuff is truly game-changing, and surely it will tell, both for this election and going forward.
But all of this inane fuckery sure makes it a lot harder to get excited about and enjoy any of that, and I’m afraid it may well dampen a lot of the fresh new enthusiasm that has driven it. It can’t be good for the enthusiasm and engagement of all of these idealistic new Obama supporters (and to some extent even the Hillary ones, insofar as she has engendered that sort of response) to see their hero being thrown into the muck and then kicked while he’s down by charlatans, opportunists, and fools, and to be forced into a civil war with elements of their own party that they didn’t really ask for. If it’s wearying and depressing for someone like me, who has seen this game play out before and should know better, it has to be awfully tough on someone who is newer to it and less cynical and resigned.
I certainly agree with the previous comment. This is exhausting.
You know, someone can support McCain or Hillary for reasons of policy or temperament or whatever, that’s fine. And I’m far from agreeing with Obama on every policy point. The fact is, however, that he’s the first serious presidential candidate in a long time to talk to Americans like grown-ups, and it seems like the media can’t stand this.
yes, this is very depressing. And I keep hearing more and more anecdotes of conversations with people who say they’ll never vote for Obama because he’s a muslim. what is wrong with you people!
Do Republicans ever go all swishy like we do? I’ve been feeling seriously bummed out too, but it’s beginning to feel like we’re all so shell-shocked and traumatized by conservative hegemony that we go weak in the knees at the first sign of trouble.
HRC and the GOP are certainly doing a number on Obama… and he seems to be pretty gunshy himself. I know there are solid reasons for his unwillingness to “hit back,” but he still seems to lack a little fire when he’s needed it the most. I’ve noticed that he seems a lot more comfortable talking tough against McCain than when Hillary is the issue…
Very well-put, Jdunn. You’ve put your finger on it perfectly, as the rest of the comments attest. I was just talking to my sister over dinner last night, and we’re both in the exhausted, thoroughly-disgusted, ready-to-walk-away-from-politics-forever camp if Clinton manages to eke it through.
That being said, even given Wrightgate II, I still have every faith that that will never happen. In fact, I’m willing to bet most of the undeclared supers dislike the Clintons now as much as most progressives do, that Clinton’s reputation in the Senate is in tatters, and that Clinton can expect a fierce primary challenge in her next New York Senate race.
And, to go back to a metaphor I clearly used prematurely a few months ago, once the treason of Isengard is laid to rest, I think it’ll be a lot easier for all of us, both psychologically and in practice, to focus our fire on Mordor.
Steve, I agree with you that the weekend media response to Wright was way overheated, particularly given recent events in the Sean Bell case. But Wright’s appearance at the National Press Club Monday seemed almost specifically designed to kneecap Obama, so I’d agree with the general consensus that it, unfortunately, had to be done, or we’d be hearing variations of the same theme for the next seven months.
Also, this is still probably the best advice for all of us at this moment.