Posted by
Crispian on Tuesday, April 29, 2008 3:30:04 PM
After watching Obama's forceful rejection of his Reverend Wright, I was left thinking this is now going to be more than a mere distraction for him.
In prior weeks, the public heard the clips of Wright denouncing America and found them disgusting and probably just the tip of the iceberg. Obama compared Wright to his grandmother - with maybe outdated views, maybe an inflammatory way of speaking, but who expressed otherwise valid ideas. Much of the media accepted this explanation.
In the light of day, in a public forum, Obama seems to finally recognize that which anyone not blinded by partisan support for him already recognized - Wright's worldview is offensive. Obama demurred when asked today about "black liberation theology" preached at his church, saying he just went to pray, listen to sermons, and help the community. Obama appears to have developed a false impression in his own mind. Deluded himself to the point of risking his presidential bid.
Because of this, the question that will remain is how he went to that church for 20 years and exposed his children to such vitriol, while remaining so willfully ignorant.
Cynics will say Obama only (finally) renounced Wright because politics demanded it. It would have been politically smarter for Obama to just let Wright to fade, however slowly. Obama appears genuinely angry, but his speech reveals that Obama suffers from a certain naivety that as long as a good measure of hope and change are at work, the underlying negative elements may be considered mere surplusage.
In his church, the inflammatory sermons were reinterpreted by Obama in light of the church's community outreach and spiritual communion. He missed the underlying worldview being sold to the congregation.
I see the same unfortunate naivety in the substantive issues of the campaign as well. As long as we just get out of Iraq and change the way we think about the world - to reject the flawed thinking of the Bush administration that got us into the war - then the realities on the ground in Iraq are really not that important. As long as American soldiers are no longer dying and we can free up funds to be used for education and improving the lives of regular Americans, then the Middle East can be put into context. We can then engage the Middle East in a hopeful way, by shifting the debate we can deter nuclear proliferation, national ambitions, and Islamic terrorism. I do not want to put words into Obama's mouth, but this is the proposition he seems to be pushing.
It may be argued that there is a big difference between recognizing objectively harmful remarks while in church and making strategic decisions about the future of the nation. This is true. But this willful ignorance/naivety now appears to permeate everything Obama says and does.
In light of Obama's admission of either willful ignorance or naivety, he has greatly increased my doubt of his ability to make sound judgments on the issues facing this country.