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BARACK GETS A "DO-OVER" ON WRIGHT.
April 28, 2008 -
May 4, 2008
Two wrongs don’t make a right, but for Barack Obama a second chance to deal with the radical rantings of his preacher may put his suddenly faltering campaign back on track.
When Reverend Jeremiah Wright’s vitriolic sermons gained national attention a month ago, Obama was reluctant to disavow him. He danced around what he knew, what he had heard and not heard from the pulpit ever the past twenty years at Trinity United Church of Christ, and whether he ever confronted Wright about his sermons. By mishandling the affair, Obama provided an opening that Hillary Clinton and her team were quick to exploit.
Obama got a second chance this week when Wright gave a series of high profile speeches and interviews. He made the most of his “mulligan” by clearly and unequivocally denouncing his former pastor. "I am outraged by the comments that were made and saddened by the spectacle that we saw,” Obama announced at a press conference in North Carolina a day after Wright’s incendiary presentation to the National Press Club.
“The person that I saw yesterday was not the person that I met 20 years ago," he said. "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.”
I gave him the benefit of the doubt in my speech in Philadelphia, explaining that he has done enormous good in the church," Obama told an audience in Winston-Salem. "But when he states and then amplifies such ridiculous propositions as the U.S. government somehow being involved in AIDS; when he suggests that Minister Farrakhan somehow represents one of the greatest voices of the 20th and 21st century; when he equates the U.S. wartime efforts with terrorism – then there are no excuses. They offend me. They rightly offend all Americans. And they should be denounced, and that’s what I’m doing very clearly and unequivocally here today."
Obama’s rejection of his former preacher will evoke some outrage among a narrow minority of those who think Wright is right, but the broader range of American voters are almost certain to embrace Obama’s harsh criticism of the racist and conspiratorial wackiness espoused by Wright. Was that the intent all along, or has Obama simply taken advantage of the opportunity to have a “Sister Souljah” moment?
In 1992 hip-hop artist and political activist Sister Souljah was asked during a Washington Post interview about the riots in Los Angeles that occurred in the wake of the acquittal of police officers who had beaten black motorist Rodney King following a high speed chase. Souljah noted that “black people kill black people every day; why not have a week and kill white people.”
A few weeks later, Presidential candidate Bill Clinton was speaking at a Rainbow Coalition conference hosted by Jesse Jackson and used a portion of his speech to attack Souljah’s comments. Although Jackson and other black leaders criticized Clinton for his position, the repudiation of the racist statement by Souljah allowed Clinton to demonstrate to moderate voters, both black and white, that he was not going to pander to Jackson and the extremist elements in the black community.
Obama has essentially accomplished the same thing with his denunciation of Wright. And this time he did not have to throw his grandmother under the bus to do it. Wright is not likely to disappear from the debate over race in the months ahead, but by taking full advantage of his “do-over” Obama will now be able to stop the bleeding and close the deal for the Democratic Party nomination.
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DEMOCRATS ARE THE SOURCE OF OUR PAIN AT THE PUMP. -
April 14, 2008 -
April 21, 2008
“Democrats have a plan to lower gas prices…join Democrats who are working to lower gas prices now.” – Then-Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), April 19, 2006.
The average price of gasoline hit $3.33 a gallon last week, a stunning $1.14 higher than it was when the Democrats took control of the U.S. House and Senate following a campaign built in large part on campaign promises to dramatically LOWER gasoline prices. The price of a barrel of oil was $56 the day Nancy Pelosi took over the S... |
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LIBERAL TALK RADIO HAS A REALLY BAD WEEK. -
April 9, 2008 -
April 16, 2008
The important Spring ratings period for radio is not starting out with a bang for the already beleaguered liberal talk radio format. Millions of dollars have been poured into liberal talk networks by Democrat Party activists determined to create a supposed counter-balance to conservative talkers. But despite these efforts to create a powerful new weapon in the Liberal arsenal, both listeners and advertisers have turned away. The turmoil, financial and otherwise, that has plagued liberal talk rad... |
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TENNESSEE LEGISLATIVE RACES WILL BE KEY BATTLEGROUND IN 2008. -
April 7, 2008 -
April 14, 2008
Most politically savvy Tennesseans have been focused almost exclusively on the Presidential race over the past year. The continuing battle for the Democratic nomination, and the looming war for the White House between John McCain and whoever prevails in that fight, will draw the lion’s share of attention in the next few months. But, unless Tennessee somehow emerges as a battleground state in the presidential race, the real focal point for Tennessee politics will soon shift to the legislative rac... |
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IS AL GORE STARTING TO MAKE HIS MOVE? -
March 30, 2008 -
April 6, 2008
In recent weeks, talk of the potential emergence of former Vice President Al Gore as a consensus candidate for the Democratic Party nomination for President has increased in volume. Newsweek columnist Eleanor Clift and Time columnist Joe Klein have both noted that Gore could provide the Democrats a winning exit strategy from the protracted Obama-Clinton primary battle, a fight that promises to get bloodier in the weeks ahead. One Democrat Congressman and Super Delegate, Tim Mahoney of Florida, h... |
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DOES SPITZER NEED "HOOKER CREDITS"? -
March 11, 2008 -
March 17, 2008
New York Governor Eliot Spitzer desperately needs a creative way out of his scandalous interlude with a high-priced prostitute in an exclusive Washington, D.C. hotel. News that he paid $4,000, plus train tickets, cab fare, mini bar and room service, travel time and hotel, for a Valentine’s Eve flurry of fun, have placed his political career (and presumably marriage) in jeopardy. Fortunately, he can follow the Al Gore “global warming” formula for cleansing his record.
Al Gore, in his mad... |
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