"Thrown Under a Bus"

What was he supposed to do? Just keep on one of his most fervent supporters who continually bashes the US in all ways possible? No. Sen. Obama did the right thing in "disowning" Rev. Jeremiah Wright, his spiritual guide for the last twenty years. But did he do it in time or with enough effect?

Earlier this year, some videos started circling on YouTube of the Reverend's sermons, in which he accuses past governments for giving HIV/AIDs to black men and the Bush administration of orchestrating the 9/11 attacks. These remarks, along with many others, soon found their way to major news networks and have bestowed Rev. Wright the description of the most outrageous supporter of any Presidential candidate ever.

So, this last Tuesday, Sen. Obama officially denounced the Reverend, saying that "I want to...make people absolutely clear that obviously whatever relationship I had with Reverend Wright has changed as a consequence of [his comments]." He made it clear that from now on, when Rev. Wright speaks, he is not doing it for the campaign.

With all the media attention, Rev. Wright gets his fifteen minutes of fame; however, in the end it severely hurts his reputation and his relationships with other African American leaders in the US. Not only does it hurt Wright, but it also hurts Obama. Throughout the campaign season, Obama has been trying to avoid the "race" questions, for fear of the label of the "Black candidate", which could cause him to loose the support of white voters in November (granted he gets the nomination). I personally fear that Jeremiah Wright's comments have tarnished Barak Obama's appeal. If he were to get the nomination in August, he would have to continually battle the right over this issue; with the influence the media has on elections these days, it is pretty well guaranteed that the Reverend will never disappear.