I was at a fancy Washington party of politicos this weekend and the No. 1 topic of conversation was the Reverend Jeremiah Wright–that is, what could Barack Obama do about Wright’s assorted controversial statements. (Was Jesus really black?) With Fox News and others leading the charge–the cable news network had found videos of Wright’s over-the-top sermons for sale at his church’s gift shop–Obama quickly distanced himself from his onetime pastor’s more provocative statements. (“No one ever said it was going to be easy to elect a black man president,” an Obama supporter told me at this party.)
But Obama is not just hunkering down. Today his campaign announced he would deliver a “major address on race, politics, and how we bring our country together at this important moment in our history.” Do you think this was scheduled prior to the Wright dustup? Not likely. Will it do anything to counter whatever political damage has been (or can be) done by Wright’s remarks? Probably not. Still, it might be necessary. Then again, Obama has done rather well so far by not emphasizing matters of race. With the racial divide apparently growing starker in the recent Democratic primaries (with whites voting for the white candidate and blacks voting for the black candidate), one can only wonder if addressing race explicitly in this rather political manner is to Obama’s advantage. But when a preacher speaks, sometimes you have no choice but to take action.
And the dog that didn’t bark: There’s been no Hillary Clinton campaign conference call in which Clinton aides decry Wright’s remarks and push reporters to devote more attention to this matter. After the South Carolina primary and after Geraldine Ferraro, the Clintonites certainly realize they must treat gingerly any matter that involves race. And why yelp when there’s already plenty of noise?
