Rev. Jeremiah Wright: Sen. Obama's Cross to Bear

Just when you thought the Rev. Jeremiah Wright was done casting aspersions on Senator Barack Obama's patriotism, judgment, character and his bid for the White House, the controversial pastor publicly reemerged not once, not twice, but three times within four days to further undermine the Obama campaign.

Just as biblical tenets teach that in life each of us have crosses to bear via our trials and tribulations, so it seems that the Rev. Jeremiah Wright is proving himself to be Sen. Barack Obama's cross to bear while he tours the country trying to repair the damage done to his reputation; a damage that the Rev. Jeremiah Wright owes much to his own orchestration, but repeatedly blames on the media and the tradition of the Black church every chance he gets.

On Friday, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright appeared on PBS' The Bill Moyers Journal for the first time to speak publicly about his fiery post-September 11 sermons that sparked much debate and displeasure among Americans. During the interview with Bill Moyers, one could indeed see a stark contrast between the ranting, angry pastor looped time and again in media sound bites and a more relaxed, thoughtful Jeremiah Wright, a point the Rev. Jeremiah Wright hopes will validate his belief that the media have exploited, twisted and decontextualized his words to feed the heated political climate. Rev. Jeremiah Wright also pointed to the idea that an attack on him is essentially a misunderstanding of the historical role of the Black church in America.

Surely, the media have given Rev. Jeremiah Wright more air time than he probably deserves and it is true that some African Americans will argue that Rev. Wright's comments are in keeping with the tradition of the Black church, but lest not forget that the Rev. Jeremiah Wright did say those now infamous, hurtful words and for that he should just apologize, even for the sake of just apologizing and move on.

But the Rev. Jeremiah Wright couldn't even do just that for himself, the country or the Obama campaign. What was clear from the interview on PBS was that the Rev. Wright, although seeking to repair and redeem his public image, was not very repentant, culpable, nor apologetic. So, why is he speaking then? It is hard to know considering he is not going to get in America's good graces by not apologizing and that he, while trying to redeem himself have in fact cut into the heart of Sen. Barack Obama's message of transcending politics by suggesting that Sen. Obama is just a "politician", doing what he must to survive.

On Sunday, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright's explanation tour rolled into the NAACP Freedom Fund dinner in Detroit, where after extolling the virtues of the work done by the Detroit chapter of the NAACP, he then commented on his recent public woes. On Sunday, like Friday, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright pointed to the tradition of the Black church and the media exploiting his words as excuses, saying: "I'm sorry your local political analysts are saying that I'm polarizing and my sermons are divisive. I'm not here to address an analyst's opinion. I stand here as one representative of African-American church tradition, believing that a change is going to come."

Today, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright emerged once more to address the National Press Club where he gave a speech as well as a Q and A session, a session in which the controversial pastor seemed more like the Youtube-fed portrayal he so much despises. Headlines such as Jeremiah Wright Goes to War from Time only serves to show the defensive stance the Rev. Jeremiah Wright has taken for all the heartache he has caused the country, himself and the political aspirations of a former member of his flock. And if the Rev. Jeremiah Wright did not drive home the point that Sen. Obama is just like every other scoundrel of a politician on PBS' The Bill Moyers Journal, he certainly took another swing at bat today to drive home this point. The Rev. Jeremiah Wright further undermined Sen. Obama's candidacy and character when he said: "We both know that if Senator Obama did not say what he said he would not get elected. Politicians say what they say and do what they do based on electability ... based on polls."

Rev. Jeremiah Wright, through his explanation tour, continues to provide political fodder against the Obama campaign as well as further alienate white voters from the Illinois senator by insisting to support Louis Farrakhan and to tout conspiracy theories that whites are using diseases to wipe out minority groups.

If it's any indication from recent Pennsylvania polls Sen. Obama already has enough problems courting the votes of white, working class and conservative voters in America without Rev. Wright's help. An overwhelming 71 per cent of the rural white vote in Pennsylvania went to Sen. Clinton. Some of these votes can be attributed to Sen. Obama's failure to directly speak to the economic and social needs of these groups in a specific way; some can be attributed to just a fervent support of home town heroine Sen. Hillary Clinton, and some can be attributed to the Rev. Jeremiah Wright's comments which have Sen. Obama guilty by association.

The Rev. Jeremiah Wright could potentially cost the Obama campaign the votes of the white working class in the upcoming May 6 primaries in Indiana and North Carolina. According to the latest Newsweek Poll two-third of registered voters who said they would not vote for Sen. Obama point to the Rev. Jeremiah Wright controversy. Now, if the Rev. Jeremiah Wright continues on this course, it will only drive a wedge further between Sen. Barack Obama and white voters, especially as the Rev. Jeremiah Wright is so publicly praised by the African-American community despite his comments.

It is this kind of divisive politics that Sen. Barack Obama has tried to avoid during the course of his campaign, but which the Rev. Jeremiah Wright ultimately injects like venom every time he addresses the public. If Sen. Obama is seen to have lost more ground among white voters in the May 6 primaries or fail to make up ground, it will raise serious questions about his electability and feed into Hillary Clinton's arguments to the Superdelegates that they should overturn the will of the majority for the party's chances in the general election. This move could prove detrimental to Democrats come November, inciting protests among young voters, African-Americans and all the others who feel they have been cheated their vote.

But according to Rev. Jeremiah Wright, if Sen. Obama is to be President no act of man, white racists or anything can stop him. Funny, he forgot to mention, idiotic, unrepentant pastors who could very well cause Sen. Obama the nomination. The Rev. Jeremiah Wright calls himself a patriot who served in the military; to be truly patriotic, however, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright simply needs to go away, stop feeding the press and stop dividing the Democratic Party as well as America along racial lines: Sen. Barack Obama's campaign is about unity, not racist segregation. For as long as the Rev. Jeremiah Wright remains unrepentant he will continue to be the proverbial cross that Sen. Barack Obama has to bear.