Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Will There Be a Black Voter Backlash Against Obama for His Response to Wright?

I think there are a few remarkable things about Obama's takedown of Wright today that I have not seen the MSM get at all.

1) He took down a veteran preacher. This is no small deal. Pastors, usually, occupy a place of social importance in black communities for which there is no comparable example in white communities. I will be curious to see if many black people, especially ones more of Wright's generation, see Obama's move to break with him as an uppity, irreverent betrayal.

2) Obama specifically derided beliefs and feelings which are not exactly rare in black communities. I saw recently where a poll had found that 27% of blacks surveyed found it credulous that the US government had created HIV in a lab, and 16% thought such a thing was done to control the black population.

3) Obama seemed (both rightly and smartly so) broadly dismissive of Wright's views. Will this be seen by many black people as unfairly ignoring many other points and grievances which Wright aired that many blacks think are legitimate?

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