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The Huffington Post has flagged comments by John McCain's campaign manager, Rick Davis, that suggest the McCain campaign might bring up Jeremiah Wright, Barack Obama's controversial former pastor, in the final weeks of the campaign.

McCain has previously declared Wright off limits.

"Look, John McCain has told us a long time ago before this campaign ever got started, back in May, I think, that from his perspective, he was not going to have his campaign actively involved in using Jeremiah Wright as a wedge in this campaign," Davis said on conservative host Hugh Hewitt's radio show. "Now since then, I must say, when Congressman Lewis calls John McCain and Sarah Palin and his entire group of supporters, fifty million people strong around this country, that we're all racists and we should be compared to George Wallace and the kind of horrible segregation and evil and horrible politics that was played at that time, you know, that you've got to rethink all these things. And so I think we're in the process of looking at how we're going to close this campaign. We've got 19 days, and we're taking serious all these issues."

Lewis compared crowds at Republican rallies to those at the rallies of George Wallace, a prominant segregationist in the 1960s. McCain called on Obama to repudiate the remarks at the last presidential debate.

Some Republicans, including GOP vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin, have suggested that Wright, the pastor whose controvertial statements (among them "God Damn America") were widely publicized during the primary campaign, should get more attention. As Sam Stein notes, Palin at one point said she doesn't know "why that association isn't discussed more, because those were appalling things that that pastor had said."

In recent weeks, the McCain campaign has instead tied Obama to former Weather Underground member William Ayers, with whom Obama's relationship is far more tenuous.

We have extensive coverage of this story on the politics page, but in case you've yet to see it, here's a short video of Barack Obama criticizing his former pastor at a press conference today:

There remains one dominant issue in the presidential campaign today, one week before the North Carolina and Indiana primaries – Rev. Jeremiah Wright. Barack Obama’s former pastor is making headlines for yet one more day. And they’re not pleasant ones for the Illinois Senator. There are the tabloid headlines like the one in the New York Post proclaiming a “Pastor Disaster.”

Then there is the serious advice, like that coming from the conservative Wall Street Journal editorial page: “Early in his campaign, Senator Obama earned support from many voters with the notion that he wanted to transcend racial politics. Rev. Wright is exacerbating them in a way not seen in recent years. Barack Obama cannot remain on both sides of this. He has to make a decision. He is not running for national Mediator. He is running for President. In time, that job brings tough decisions. He's there now.”

It’s the fodder for the morning papers and talk shows that opinion-makers (and superdelegates) are waking up to this morning: “Mr. Obama seems more and more like someone buffeted by events rather than in charge of them,” writes New York Times columnist Bob Herbert. “Very little has changed in the superdelegate count, but a number of those delegates have expressed concern in private over Mr. Obama’s inability to do better among white working-class voters and Catholics. Rev. Wright is absolutely the wrong medicine for those concerns.”

The Washington Post’s Eugene Robinson weighs in as well on Wright’s recent comments and appearances. “I’m sorry, but I’ve had it with Wright,” he writes. “Politically, by surfacing now, he was throwing Barack Obama under the bus. Sadly, it’s time for Obama to return the favor.”

What real impact all this might have on the Democratic nomination battle remains unknown. The initial round of Wright controversies took place in that gulf of time between the Texas/Ohio primaries and Pennsylvania and Obama performed about the same among demographic groups most likely to be affected by it, in some instances marginally better.

But it’s not pure Democratic primary voters those superdelegates are most concerned about, it’s those “Reagan Democrats” and independents who’ve shown a proclivity to vote Democratic in 2008 they want to keep in their column. It may take a while before the total impact of Wright is felt, so why should Democrats be in a hurry to get this race over with?

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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.

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The Pennsylvania results have gone through a mostly thorough digestion within the political community and attention is rapidly shifting toward the end-game of the Democratic primary and on into the general election. Regardless of the drama of the week, nothing has fundamentally changed for Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton as we head toward Indiana and North Carolina on May 6th.

For Obama, it’s a matter of running out the clock without any missteps along the way – a task made none the easier with Rev. Jeremiah Wright’s current media tour (his interview with PBS’ Bill Moyers airs tonight). The Illinois Democrat is almost assured to finish the race with a pledged delegate lead, something that the superdelegates would likely find hard to overrule unless something occurs to severely damage his candidacy. The groundwork for that something exists, but much more fuel is required to disqualify him in the eyes of party leaders.

Clinton’s is a much harder row to hoe. She must find a way to narrow the delegate gap and, more attainable perhaps, the popular vote margin. Even if she does manage to bring the Florida and Michigan results back into the equation, it may not be enough to put her ahead when all is said and done. And, she must make the case to the superdelegates that she is not only more electable in November but that Obama is somehow unelectable. That’s not going to be easy when Bill Clinton continues to be a part of the conversation (witness Rep. James Clyburn’s interview in the New York Times today calling the former president’s behavior during the campaign “bizarre”).

Yet in the end, Obama will need Clinton’s supporters – those lower-to-middle class blue collar workers and white women in particular – as much as she would need his black supporters and young legions of activists for the fall campaign. In spite of all the seemingly insurmountable obstacles and psychological drama involved, the dream ticket may still in the cards after all.

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Rev. Jeremiah Wright, longtime friend of and pastor to Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, is getting back into the news, this time on his own terms and initiative. As Chicago Sun-Times’ Lynnn Sweet points out, Wright is going very public in the wake of controversies stirred by taped remarks of some of his sermons, which included often replayed statements like “God damn America.”

First up is an interview with Bill Moyers of PBS, which will air Friday evening. Next comes a turn at the National Press Club in Washington, DC on Monday. According the The Caucus blog at the New York Times, Wright tells Moyers he feels the controversies are unfair. “I felt it was unjust. I felt it was untrue. I felt for those who were doing that, were doing it for some very devious reasons.”

Wright says the political reasons for the flap are clear. “I think they wanted to communicate that I am unpatriotic, that I am un-American, that I am filled with hate speech, that I have a cult at Trinity United Church of Christ. And by the way, guess who goes to his church, hint, hint, hint? That’s what they wanted to communicate.” And, in a seemingly back-handed compliment, he says Obama has dealt with the issue the only way he can. “He says what he has to say as a politician. I say what I have to say as a pastor. But they’re two different worlds. … I do what I do. He does what politicians do.” Stay tuned for more from Wright’s interview.

North Carolina Republicans have unveiled an ad labeling Barack Obama "too extreme" for the state – and hammering two Democratic gubernatorial candidates for endorsing him.

The spot, which you can watch here, opens with an announcer saying, "For 20 years Barack Obama sat in his pew, listening to his pastor." That controversial pastor, Jeremiah Wright, is then shown saying "No, no, no. Not God Bless America. God Damn America."

"Now, Bev Perdue and Richard Moore endorse Barack Obama," the announcer continues. "They should know better. He's just too extreme for North Carolina."

The Charlotte Observer writes that the ad "is believed to be the first time nationwide that Republicans have used Wright's comments in a TV advertisement since the comments first drew scrutiny last month."

Presumptive GOP nominee John McCain has sent a letter to North Carolina Republican Party Chair Linda Daves asking her not to run the ad.

In his letter, which was sent to reporters, McCain writes, "The television advertisement you are planning to air degrades our civics and distracts us from the very real differences we have with the Democrats."

"This ad does not live up to the very high standards we should hold ourselves to in this campaign," he adds, calling on Daves to "withdraw this offensive advertisement."

Barack Obama's controversial former pastor, Rev. Jeremiah Wright, continues to make headlines. The most recent focus? His church's newsletter.

A June 10th, 2007 issue of the newsletter featured an open letter written by Ali Baghdadi, appearing on the "Pastor's Page," that calls Israel an "apartheid" regime. The letter says Israel worked on an "ethnic bomb" that kills "blacks and Arabs." The letter also says "Israel was the closest ally to the white supremacists of South Africa."

In the introduction to an article printed on the "Pastor's Page" on July 7th, 2007, Wright references "the 'state' of Israel" – note the quotation marks around the word "state."

And on July 22nd, the "Pastor's Page" carried a pro-Palestine article by Hamas leader Mousa Aba Marzook excerpted from the Los Angeles Times.

"Why should any Palestinian recognize the monstrous crimes carried out by Israel's founders and continued by its deformed modern Apartheid state," Marzook asks.

The revelations could hurt Obama's standing with the Jewish community, with whom some commentators have already suggested Obama has a problem. The American Spectator has seized on comments by Obama advisor Merrill McPeak concerning the influence of pro-Israel voters on Middle East policy. ("Obama has a Jewish problem and McPeak's bigoted views are emblematic of what they are," wrote Robert Goldberg.)

But Obama trails Clinton by just five points among Jewish Democrats, according to this recent Gallup poll – a divide that is within the poll's margin of error and one that cuts against the notion that Jewish voters are rejecting the Democratic frontrunner.

Barack Obama's controversial former pastor, Rev. Jeremiah Wright, continues to make headlines. The most recent focus? His church's newsletter.

A June 10th, 2007 issue of the newsletter featured an open letter written by Ali Baghdadi, appearing on the "Pastor's Page," that calls Israel an "apartheid" regime. The letter says Israel worked on an "ethnic bomb" that kills "blacks and Arabs." The letter also says "Israel was the closest ally to the white supremacists of South Africa."

In the introduction to an article printed on the "Pastor's Page" on July 7th, 2007, Wright references "the 'state' of Israel" – note the quotation marks around the word "state."

And on July 22nd, the "Pastor's Page" carried a pro-Palestine article by Hamas leader Mousa Aba Marzook excerpted from the Los Angeles Times.

"Why should any Palestinian recognize the monstrous crimes carried out by Israel's founders and continued by its deformed modern Apartheid state?" Marzook asks.

The revelations could hurt Obama's standing with the Jewish community, with whom some commentators have already suggested Obama has a problem. The American Spectator has seized on comments by Obama advisor Merrill McPeak concerning the influence of pro-Israel voters on Middle East policy. ("Obama has a Jewish problem and McPeak's bigoted views are emblematic of what they are," wrote Robert Goldberg.)

But Obama trails Clinton by just five points among Jewish Democrats, according to this recent Gallup poll – a divide that is within the poll's margin of error and one that cuts against the notion that Jewish voters are rejecting the Democratic frontrunner.