Obama will survive the Wright storm- and that will silence the critics.

[Colobo]

People were saying that Obama needed to be vetted and what not. Well, here you have him in the middle of what could be the biggest smear against him in this process- his relationship with an "anti-American" pastor. All the doubts people had in their minds about Obama's "patriotism" are reflected in this issue. It could have destroyed him, especially if he didn't act quickly to confront it, just like Kerry decided not to act quickly against the Swifties in '04.

Obama has acted quickly- he has confronted the issue and has used every possible major media news outlet and the internet to clarify things. Yes, he will take a hit in the polls during this weekend and maybe for the first three days of next week, and he will be pounded mercilessly by ridiculous individuals like Sean Hannity, Bill O'Reilly and the rest of the right wing talk radio gang. But his quick action will help the issue die faster, and we can expect it to be a non-issue by next Thursday. And then, on to Pennsylvania.

Those who had doubts about Obama's ability to survive in the middle of a storm will be silenced, and the Democratic Party will realize Obama won't be stopped by the GOP in the general.

[saltpoint]

1. Agree. It's not much of a storm. Atlanta this morning could tell us a thing

or two about storms.

[11 Bravo]

2. We'll see.

It was certainly politically expedient of him to utilize the tried and true "Friday night news dump".

[rocktivity]

6. Also, he walked into the lion's den of Fox News and took their best shots

That was politically expedient, too.

:headbang:
rocknation

[11 Bravo]

8. I was proud of him for that, and he comported himself extremely well.

The news dump, however, was a tad Repukey for my taste.

[ProgressiveEconomist]

19. Do you think Obama saw Major Garrett's list of questions in advance?

A fixed list of questions, agreed upon in advance, would have been a smart thing to negotiate in return for an appearance on Fox. I feared that Obama would be diminished by having Sean Hannity talk over him, but fortunately that did not happen, and appeared to me to have been prevented by agreed-upon groundrules.

[Scriptor Ignotus]

22. fox wouldn't do that for a Dem

but all campaign staffs have media consultants and specialists. I think they had a good idea what questions a "hostile" or aggressive journalist would ask him.

[leftrightwingnut]

18. I was extremely impressed by that appearance.

Obama tailored his comments to the Fox News audience so well without pandering (it was the truth, after all.) Obama was talking about his faith and how Wright helped him find Jesus and all that stuff.

It was amazing armor he wore: completely impervious without being smug or condescending. On the contrary, quite warm and human. I wouldn't be surprised if Obama picked up a few right wing fans that day.

The host, whoever he was, looked like he was crapping his pants. He could very well be fired for failing to stick to Obama. Others have been fired from Faux News for failing to deliver the corporate line on far more hopeless assignments.

I'm sure it was a disaster from Fox's perspective. I doubt very much that Fox will allow Obama to appear any more. Except perhaps for O'Reilly. O'Reilly's ego is too big.

I'm not an Obama fanatic by any means -- but I'll toast anyone who can stick to Fox like that... :toast:

[Kittycat]

Agreed!

And in the end... Most Votes, Most States, Most Delegates = Nomination.

[MNDemNY]

12. Nomination= Preident McCain.

Gotta luv the math!

[rocktivity]

3. Once everyone calms down enough, they'll remember

that Obama is NOT the first politician this has happened to.

:headbang:
rocknation

[Evergreen Emerald]

of course he will. He has the media covering for him. No one will

question his lies and distortions. The fact that his answers don't make any sence whatsoever, does not even suggest to the media that they should question the response.

He will survive. He has the media for cover.

[roguevalley]

25. don't make sense? Like your posting?

[JoFerret]

4. He won'tin the fall

I put money on that.

Maybe by 2012 we will have all grown up a bit. Including Obama.

[Colobo]

5. He will win in the Fall. Rest assured he'll beat McCain.

He'll come stronger out of this.

[JoFerret]

15. The tragic audacity of false hope

I am not willing to gamble on that horse. Too much is at stake.

[TwilightGardener]

7. I agree, I think the American people will have fairly limited interest

in what his retiring old pastor said--it's just not that big a deal. There's only so many news cycles this can consume, because at the heart of it, Obama didn't do anything wrong. He didn't sleep with/do favors for a lobbyist, he didn't refuse to release his tax returns, he didn't earn a shitload of money from dicey foreign business deals and "consulting" work, or take millions from Saudis to build a Presidential library. Anyone who gives a shit already wasn't predisposed to vote for him. If this is the worst they can dredge up, this and Rezko, he's doing pretty good.

[Scurrilous]

9. It's blowing over as we speak.

Nothing about it in my morning paper.

Alas, HillFolk.

[JVS]

10. But.. but.. but... He was sexually GYRATING!!!!!!!

WON'T SOMEBODY PLEASE THINK OF THE CHILDREN.

[rocktivity]

17. I heard that Obama MASTICATES in full view of his children

and that he used to emulate his mother, too!


rocknation

[theoldman]

11. A day is a long time in politics, a week is an eternity.

Next week everyone will pick on Clinton or McCain. Shit happens, you just have to remember to wipe your ass immediately.

[goclark]

13. McCain supported Obama on this issue on Hannity

I have to give it to McCain,he took the high road.

It was on you tube

Where is HC's response?

[tblue37]

21. Exactly! If HRC would respond similarly a lot of this BS would go away.

But she sees it as an advantage to her, even if it could hurt Dem chances in the general, and all she cares about is her own advantage.

[kwenu]

14. And then Hillary has to come with a plan to avoid releasing her income tax returns.

[MzShellG]

24. Exactly. Thus has NOT been completely vetted. She acts as though she has something to hide.

Why release the papers AFTER she's the nominee? Those papers are a part of the vetting process.

[Kurt_and_Hunter]

16. If he weathers this it could be better than if it hadn't happened.

Agreed on that point. There's something to be said for getting an inevitable issue on the table.

But it depends what weathering the storm means. If it means winning the nomination, than he can weather the storm. If it means escaping a broad attitudinal shift among non-AA swing voters, that's not as likely.

There's a temptation to diagnose racism over-broadly. Lots of people like Morgan Freeman and don't like Ice Cube. Lots of people like MLK but don't like Malcolm X. There's a world of difference between not voting for someone for his color and not voting for someone for a perception of his association with a political/philosophical body of thought within an ethnic group.

It still has obvious racial-attitude aspects, but there are millions of non-AA people who would vote for MLK but not for Malcolm. (And quite a few AA folks also)

That's the perception Barack is up against... and voters are subtle. There's a difference between being perceived as 95% Martin-5% Malcolm and 90% Martin-10% Malcolm, and so on.

Best of luck to us all.

[The Backlash Cometh]

20. Survive it? I haven't even bothered to learn about it. That's how over I am about it.

That goes for the Ferraro-Clinton thing. Water under the bridge. Let's move on.

[Drachasor]

23. Silence the critics? Hah!

Is anything going to silence them? Well, probably when Obama wins the nomination they will be mostly silenced.

[Vinca]

26. I've decided this has been a blessing in disguise. They can no

longer use the Muslim terrorist scare tactic and the pastor tapes are out early enough so they'll do little damage in the general.

[madfloridian]

27. There is a very thoughtful post on this subject at Booman Trib.

http://www.boomantribune.com/story/2008/3/15/111148/567

Hagee and Parsley can endorse McCain with impunity, saying far more horrible things than Wright did.

"There is only one explanation for why Obama was forced to kowtow to the American media last night and repeatedly repudiate Reverend Wright's statements while McCain skates away relatively untouched. That explanation can be described in one word: racism. Hagee, Parsley and Falwell are white conservative Christians. They are permitted to do and say outrageous things with little fallout for them personally or for the political candidates they endorse and support. Rev. Jeremiah Wright, on the other hand, is black. Anything the least bit "controversial" he says, no matter how grounded in fact, is simply too much for white Americans to hear. And so he and his opinions are used to attack Barack Obama in ways that the views of Falwell, Hagee and Parsley, far more extreme and controversial white ministers are not used to taint John McCain.

Reverend Wright may be guilty of hyperbole, but he told the truth."