Starting Gate: The Wright Stuff

Whether you think he’s right or wrong, the public speaking tour by Barack Obama’s former preacher Jeremiah Wright is going to dominate the political discussion heading into a very pivotal week in the presidential campaign. And there are few positives for Obama’s campaign to be found in that reality.

In a combative appearance at the national press club this morning, Wright provided more ammunition for critics who contend that his brand of theology is divisive at best, troubling at worst. In his prepared remarks, Wright contended that such criticisms were not an attack on himself or Obama’s campaign but on what he called the “black church.”

And he did nothing to distance himself from earlier comments that have been looped and replayed over and over again. He praised Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan as an important voice for black Americans while insisting that he did not agree with everything the controversial leader has said. Wright described Sunday mornings as the most segregated time in the nation, blasted the U.S. government and, asked whether he believes that it spread the AIDS virus within the black community, insisted, “I believe our government is capable of doing anything.”

Obama’s campaign says their candidate has said all he’s going to say about his former pastor but that’s not going to stop the questions he’ll get as he stumps in North Carolina and Indiana this week in advance of very important contests in those states.

Rev. Wright has made a point of insisting that his role is not that of a politician but of a religious and community leader. That’s not going to be of much comfort to Obama’s campaign. Whether he sees himself as a politician or not, Wright has thrust himself right back into the middle of the political conversation – and has done so in a very confrontational manner.

Wright insisted that he’s not Barack Obama’s spiritual adviser, but the two are linked in the minds of voters and provides an opening for political opponents to use in or out of context. “Maybe now an honest dialogue about race in this country will begin,” Wright said according to prepared remarks. “Just maybe now as that dialogue begins the religious tradition that has kept hope alive for a people struggling to survive in countless hopeless situations will be understood." The dialogue will certainly continue – and not in the way Obama’s campaign would like.


Worth More Than A Hundred: The DNC has produced a new ad using John McCain’s “100 years” line from the primaries in which he said that the U.S. might have some sort of presence in Iraq for that long if that’s what it takes to win the war. “What John McCain doesn't understand is that the American people aren't fine with being in Iraq for 100 years in any capacity," DNC Chair Howard Dean said in a release on the ad. "The American people want a President who will responsibly end the war, not more of the same failed policy in Iraq that continues to cost $12 billion a month. They want a President who will invest that money here at home to create jobs and ensure our kids have health care. The more voters learn about John McCain, we're confident they will recognize that he is the wrong choice for America's future." You can watch the ad here.


Debateable: The debate over debates. It’s about as predictable as B-list celebrities showing up at the White House Correspondent’s Dinner. The candidate looking for something to spur a comeback invariably wants more debate opportunities to do so and the front-runner wants to run out the clock. No surprise then that the Clinton campaign is calling for expansive, Lincoln-Douglass style debates. And no surprise that Obama is saying, no thanks. "We have participated in 21 nationally televised debates, the most in primary history, including four exclusively with Senator Clinton. Senator Clinton refused an earlier invitation that had been accepted to debate in North Carolina. Over the next 10 days, we believe it's important to talk directly to the voters of Indiana and North Carolina about fixing our economy, cutting the cost of health care and ending a war in Iraq that never should have been authorized in the first place," said Obama spokesman Robert Gibbs.


Around The Track

Elizabeth Edwards took aim at the media’s campaign coverage in a New York Times op-ed Sunday: “Did you, for example, ever know a single fact about Joe Biden’s health care plan? Anything at all? But let me guess, you know Barack Obama’s bowling score. We are choosing a president, the next leader of the free world. We are not buying soap, and we are not choosing a court clerk with primarily administrative duties.”

Former Bush strategist Karl Rove is giving some advice to Obama in the lastest issue of Newsweek. Rove’s bottom line: “You have talent, intelligence and tapped into something powerful early in your campaign. But running for president is unlike anything you've ever done. You're making mistakes and making people worry that you're an elitist. So while you'll almost certainly win the nomination, Democrats are nervous about the fall. You've given them reasons to be.”

Howard Dean says he wants one of the presidential candidates out of the race sometime in June but won’t be the one pushing anyone out of the race. “Either of these candidates, if it's time for them to go, they'll know it and they will go. They don't need any pushing from me. You know when to get in and you know when to get out. That's just part of the deal," Dean told ABC News.

In the midst of a primary campaign that seems to threaten party unity for the fall, Democrats should take some solace in articles like this pointing out that the party has added a million new voters to its rolls in just the past seven primaries.