Rev. Jeremiah Wright's Media Blitz Forces Barack Obama to Face the Angry Black Man Test -- Again

For so long, those of us who watch black folks and politics assumed this challenge would come from Jesse Jackson or Al Sharpton.

We knew there would come a moment when the first black man with a realistic shot at becoming president would have to reconcile black anger and frustration with white fear and resentment. It's a critical test: acknowledging the righteous anger of people frustrated by continuing racial inequality without looking like the kind of Angry Black Man often rejected by more conservative white voters.

Our mistake: We assumed that, for Obama, this issue would come flying from the direction of someone like Sharpton or Jackson -- a traditional civil rights leader who would insist Obama prove his fealty to black issues by showing the kind of aggressive advocacy which often turns off traditional white voters.

Who knew that the race-based bullet wounding Obama's campaign would come from friendly fire -- his spiritual mentor Jeremiah Wright -- adding yet another unpredictable twist to the most unconventional electoral contest in history?

I've already pointed out how the initial stories about Rev. Jeremiah Wright's sermons have distorted many of his points. So I'm not saying he shouldn't feel compelled to defend his church and his reputation by facing down the media he way he has by speaking to PBS' Bill Moyers, speaking to the Detroit NAACP Sunday and speaking to the National Press Club in Washington D.C. as I write this.

But by now it's obvious Obama is deep in a sound-bite-fed, image-waged war. By now, a man smart as Wright knows it doesn't really matter what he says. He's been reduced to an emotional image -- the Willie Horton of 2008 -- a boogeyman of black nationalism and aggression, used as a prop to make the professorial Obama look like a smooth talker hiding more radical inclinations.

Obama's people probably hoped they might flick him off the campaign's radar the way the candidate quoted Jay-Z in pretending to flick off criticisms from Hillary Clinton. Or the way Obama flicked off traditional black power brokers such as Sharpton and Tavis Smiley. Black folks surprised us pundits by accepting the notion that Obama didn't have to touch base with these traditional leaders to get black votes, and white voters seemed pretty ready to disregard complaints from these figures, given his success with black constituencies.

But Wright's recent appearances will continue to hurt the candidate, because the reverend is the radical Obama never was, and he's close enough to give skeptical white voters an excuse. Right now, Wright is holding court before the world's TV cameras and an admiring audience at the Press Club. His dismissive attitude toward the moderator's questions -- which basically articulate the concerns many white voters have about Wright's public statements and positions -- are playing well in the room, but will likely stoke anger among the assembled press and probably among some white viewers.

The Today show this morning featured a clip from Sunday's speech where Wright took aim at John F. Kennedy's accent (he was noting that people rarely criticize the way the Kennedys mangle English the way some black people do). But I think his more controversial comments came when he maintained the black people learn differently than white people because of the way their brains work -- something a lot of people, black and white, will find more objectionable.

Obama's problem is that Wright is genuinely controversial, though not in the way some pundits maintain. And he's now given Obama's critics a fresh raft of soundbites to wedge into news reports and campaign commercials.

What's obvious to me, is that a moderate like Obama is much better equipped to referee America's inevitable struggle to reconcile black anger with white resentment. But Wright's bombastic tactics will put his skills to the test, forcing the candidate to bridge one of the largest cultural chasms in America while running one of the tightest races for the Democratic nomination ever seen.

Wouldn't it be ironic if Obama's pro-black pastor was the one who kept Democrats from presenting their first black nominee for president?

Check out one spicy part from Wright's sermon below:

Comments

[Paul]

Indeed, so much for the notion that what unties us all is that we’re all human beings; that cultural practices and traditions aside, we are alike, one, share the same inner structures, as we’re all the same species. This can be (and was, at one time), in my estimation, the profoundly powerful – and central – fuel that drives claims for social justice. But now that Rev. Wright’s taught me that, no, we are fundamentally and biologically wired differently (it’s not just how we’ve lived, it’s in our DNA), I guess I need re-think the whole idea of “race.” Wonder how my “white” brain will go about this.

Paul -- Just because The Reverend Mr. Wright says something doesn't mean that you have to accept it. Use your brain to assess and evaluate what others say. Blaming The Reverend for a change in your basic belief system is a weak argument. Do you always believe what others say? As far as the content of this blog, I agree that The Reverend Mr. Wright is doing Senator Obama harm by keeping the controversity alive. But so, Mr. Eggans, are you.

I apologize for mispelling your name, Mr. Deggans, in my last post.

[Eric Deggans]

Well, it's not the job of a journalist to ignore news.

What i'm trying to do, hopefully, is dissect the meaning of a media and cultural event in a way that furthers substantive conversation and provides some important context.

I don't think you deal with issues like Rev. Wright's public comments by ignoring them. But I also don't think you can deal with them adequately by treating them superficially or reducing them to sound bites.

It's a fine line, I admit. But every cable newschannel carried the Press Club speech live. So I thought it was a media issue worth taking a hard look at...

[rick]

"White Resentment"?? Are you painting us with a broad brush?

Moderate?? You're kidding right? Can you provide any evidence(not rhetoric) that Senator Obama could be considered a moderate?

As far as Wright is concerned, I don't totally disagree with everything he said, however, I refuse to believe that Senator Obama was not aware of Wright's personal views. I felt he should have acknowledged that he was aware. There's nothing wrong with acknowledging our shortcomings. This damages his credibility and that was his main appeal. That was a lack of courage. I think it's also a lack of courage to undermine any attempts to get a proper primary from MI and FL fearing a closer race. He lost my support by doing this. I know I am not alone.

[Eric Deggans]

i think on the issues that Wright has spoken out about -- and on issues of racial inhequality and systemic racism -- Obama is a moderate, prticularly compared to Wright.

Go back and read or watch Obama's speech on race, and then look at some of the clips I have on my blog of wright's own sermons. They have different ideas of how to address racial injustice, and different ideas about where that injustice lies...

[Hank]

Wright is a megalomaniac who wants to be on TV. When his big mouth got him in trouble now he is expalaining the controversy as an attack on his church and the white bogeyman doesn't understand his church. That is BS. The whole nation, black and white is supporting Obama and wants to vote for him but he has to prove he is not just another black man who only plans to support black issues

[Kay]

He is not just another black man. He is a mixed race human, well educated and worldly.
Rev. Wright is his spiritual advisor, not his political advisor. Keep that in perspective.
You are right, Mr Deggans, that you should not ignore the news and I appreciate your willingness to have open communication on this blog with all.
Unfortunately, I am unable to view the video on my computer but frankly I have no need to hear the anything the Rev has to say. I've heard enough.
Kay

[rick]

Relative to Wright, most anyone would be considered a moderate, I'll concede that one. What I would like to see out of Obama is some toughness. Every time there's a problem or controversy, we get a speech, not a course of action. And though his speeches are well written and well delivered, He speaks in generalities and rarely in specifics. Are we to have a fireside speech every other week in an Obama presidency to combat the latest crisis? How long do you think it will take for citizens to become immune to the "talk"? When Reps put the freeze on him, will a speech make them lay down their arms? I need to know that he's got the mettle to handle things when speeches fade.

[rick]

"Birds of a feather flock together" is typically a true statement. Prove to me that this case is different. Either Obama concurs to some degree with Wright and is afraid politically to admit it or he has slept through every sermon for 20 years. Again, I do not disagree with everything Wright said, but I think a President should have the courage of his convictions.

[Lin]

If one listens carefully to what Rev. Jeremiah Wright says on differences, he is talking primarily about basically superficial cultural differences in the way people do things. I think part of what is causing so much controversy is that many people believe there is only one right way of doing things. In addition, Wright is a little verbose, very passionate, tends to wander on and puts things in unusual context, which can be a bit jarring. But with Wright - and others - can't we be more civil about disagreeing with whatever it is we disagree with, along with still finding, or trying to find the points we agree on in what he says? It's all about free speech and dialogue.

[Jon]

Rev Wright also made comments attributing the AIDS virus to a US government plot to kill black people. NO contender for the Presidency should know and continue to associate himself with a person publicly espousing those ideas. That Obama has shows a complete lack of judgement. Obama may be ready for the Presidency in 12-16 years but he's far too green to go from state senate to the US Presidency in 4 years. A state senator in that region probably NEEDS Rev Wright. A US President needs to plausibly distance himself from such a man. This is why Hillary is such a much better candidate in 2008 than she would have been in 1992. FWIW, I'm a Republican and am salivating at the prospect of Obama's campaign being swift-boated with Rev Wright sermons superimposed with Obama's embrace of him during Obama's supposedly nuanced race speech. If Democrats were smart, they'd nominate Hillary. Frankly, I'm nearly completely basing my hopes of a Republican win in November on the ability of the Democrats to snare defeat from the jaws of victory. Afterward they will blame their self-destruction on a vast right wing conspiracy.

[Oscar]

The thing that this whole controversy shows me is that Rev Wright thinks this is about him. I don't begrudge a man an opinion, everyone should have one, but if he loves Barack like he says he does, then he should back off.

I kind of hope that the media will keep playing that Kennedy sound bite, because it makes him just look foolish. He should know what is at stake and take a back seat.

I don't think however that the the Obama/Wright connection will decide this election, it will be the McCain/Bush relationship that everyone will remember.

[Leland Milton Goldblatt, PHD]

Wright has a right to defend himself. Why should Rev. Wright go and hide when the media and Obama are harming HIS image.

Why is all about Obama's image?

Shalom,

---The Reverend Leland Milton Goldblatt, Ph.D.
Reverend Chancellor Leland Milton Goldblatt Ph.D. ED.D. M.F.A, D.Div.
M.Theo .

Distinguished Professor