Obama-Wright, McCain-Bush, and Guilt by Association
Robert Goidel
Posted: 04.29.2008 / 3:24 PM EDT
Say this much about Reverend Wright, he certainly is enjoying the opportunity to join in Barack Obama’s national conversation about race.
And while his original comments may have been taken out of context, his unfiltered comments before the NAACP or the National Press Club are not any more palatable. The more he talks, the happier Hillary Clinton and John McCain have to be.
When the Wright controversy first appeared, Obama said he could no more disown Wright than he could disown his white grandmother. A former law professor, Obama might want rethink the idea of legally separating from his grandmother. .
He certainly appears on his way to disowning Wright, commenting today that he was outraged and offended by Wright’s comments, and that “The person I saw yesterday was not the person that I met 20 years ago.” Sorry Grandma, you have to go.
Meanwhile, John McCain visited Louisiana last week as part of a tour of forgotten places and made news by calling the federal response to Katrina “disgraceful.” McCain’s visit is part of an ongoing effort to disassociate himself from his biggest liability as a presidential candidate – George W. Bush. He may not “disown” him, but he is clearly putting as much distance as possible between himself and W.
Politically it is not clear whether McCain’s association with Bush or Obama’s association with the Reverend Wright carries the most lasting damage. Reverend Wright’s imprint on the campaign may eventually go away.
McCain’s visit to New Orleans may also have been part of an effort to give Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal a test run as a potential vice-presidential candidate. The conventional wisdom is that Jindal is too new to the office, but as minority, elected in the Deep South, a policy wonk, and in good standing with the religious right, he would be an interesting pick and a nice Republican counterpoint to Barack Obama.
Just a few months into his first term, Jindal can take credit for an overhaul of state ethics laws and reducing business taxes. But perhaps most importantly, he can run for Vice President without giving up the governor’s mansion.
He appeared on the Tonight Show last night and will appear at the National Press Club on Friday. He isn’t very funny, but then being funny isn’t a characteristic you want in a Vice President. (Remember Dan Quayle?).
April 30th, 2008 at 7:21 am
Dr. Goidel must be on the Clinton payrole. For the first time in 40 years we have two quality democratic candidates with a plan to serve the american people rather than special interest abroad. You have a powerful tool that could be used to educate and inform people about issues that effect us all such as the economy,war, fuel, stem cell research,and health care just to name a few.
Guilty by association? Maybe. but does that make them poor candidates or just human?
April 30th, 2008 at 9:31 pm
I noticed recently the New York Times blog featured a photo with then President Bill Clinton and Rev. Wright. “Guilt by Association”. Is Clinton now guilty for inviting Rev. Wright to the White House? It is my understanding he was a “spiritual advisor” in President Clinton’s time of trouble. There is also an email circulating that Bill Clinton’s former pastor is going to jail for child molesting. “Guilt by Association”!
One of my neighbors thinks Rev. Writght is a “genius”. A graduate student at Southern University in Baton Rouge has written her Master of Arts thesis on “The political significance and relevance of the Black church in the twenty-first century: a profile of Reverend Jeremiah Wright and Trinity United Chuch of Christ of Chicago.” I do not know what to think about this whole situation.
One thing I know for sure, America has received more insight into what Sunday morning is like in most African American churches since segments of one of Rev. Wright’s sermon from circa six or seven years ago appeared on YouTube. There are cultural differences. To paraphrase what Rev. Jesse Jackson once said the Sunday worship hour is the most segregated hour in America. Perhaps, this is the reason Rev. Wright’s statements are misunderstood by the media and the America public.
Growing up Baptist, I was not allowed to discuss the minister after Sunday service, but in other families “roasting” the minister was the main course for Sunday dinner. Why did those families continue to attend a church where they disagreed with the pastor? Well, for a number of reasons other than religious or spiritual. Mostly having to do with tradition, social status or politics. My late father believed and I now agree you do not attend church to worship the minister. Rather, you attend church to worship God and have fellowship with other believers.
If a majority of the congregation, however, did not like the minister’s preaching, he would not be at that church for long. “Guilt by Association”?
With respect to if Obama does not get the Democratic nomination when it appears that he has the lead based on the mathematical calculations. I probably would vote for McCain. He would not be my first choice but I think we cannot afford another “Clinton” Administration.