Go Away Wright!

About two months ago when the Rev. Wright story had just blown up I was in some very long e-mail discussion with my friend Matt trying to get him to see a more nuanced view of the good Reverend. Matt maintained all along that the guy was a charlatan and was going to be a major problem for Obama. I disagreed and tried to illuminate the in's and out's of prophetic preaching, I even compared some of Wright's comments to those made by MLK and other great champions of social justice. Then after Obama gave is great speech and didn't throw Wright under the bus I felt like my point had been made and that nuanced and open minded thinking had won the day.

I was wrong. With Rev. Wright storming back on the scene it's clear that he is a narcissistic poison to Obama and our political debate. Rev. Wright is doing everything in his power to derail Obama's campaign, and throw him under the bus!

His latest appearances on PBS, at the NAACP, and the National Press Club, in the words of NY-Times editorialist Bob Herbert, have amounted to an "I'll show you!" tour. Bob goes onto say:

"This is hardly new ground [Wright speaking about inequality for African Americans]. The question that cries out for an answer from Mr. Wright is why — if he is so passionately committed to liberating and empowering blacks — does he seem so insistent on wrecking the campaign of the only African-American ever to have had a legitimate shot at the presidency...

What he is succeeding in doing is diminishing the stature of Senator Obama. A candidate who stands haplessly by as his former spiritual guide roams the country dropping one divisive bomb after another is in very little danger of being seen by most voters as the next J.F.K. or L.B.J."

Since Obama won Iowa I have perceived an unspoken deal between some of the African American leaders of today (Sharpton, Jackson, Farrakhan) to give Obama breathing room to run a campaign that might transcend his race. The Reverend Wright is doing the complete opposite, and in undermining Obama is basically telling him that he has sold himself out to the oppressive power structures of the white government. As blogger Kim Winter says, "If Barack is elected President, it completely negates everything that Rev. Wright has been trying to preach."

In my mind we aren't electing a black President, or at-least I am not supporting a 'black' President. I am supporting Barack Obama, who even more than his race, represents a generational change in power and world outlook that is incredibly significant at this time in our nations history.

It's clear that Rev. Wright believes Obama has sold him out. I have heard rumors that Wright is going to have a book out around the time of the election in November and if his current behavior is any indication Wright is going to do everything in his power to bring down Obama, and to remind America that it can never get past the past. That whites are all doomed by our inherent racism and that African Americans can find no hope except by turning inwards to themselves.

For all our sakes, I am hoping that Obama can prove that Rev. Wright is just a silly old man whose only power lies in the past.

This is my advice to Obama. Make a speech in which you tell America that the words and actions of Rev. Wright over the last few days highlight exactly why you are running for President. Your candidacy stands in direct opposition to the petty and myopic views expressed by Wright and that he is a relic of the past that society is able to pay respect to, but more than ready to move beyond.