Jeremiah Wright is so 2008. Look, I don’t support this man and his incendiary rants, but he is old news. Nothing about this dated story is relevant. This story didn’t even get much traction four years ago. Obama cut his ties with Wright’s church during the last campaign and has not looked back. I’m pretty sure he has not been secretly skyping with Reverend Wright to get his church on. Let’s focus on issues and character and values and action. Mud slinging is messy business.
If the GOP and its funders like Joe Ricketts want to face their opponent head on, digging up old news isn’t the way to do it. Seems to me like they are scavenging for scraps and scrounging for dirt. The last ditch effort has begun mighty early. Even Mitt Romney and Karl Rove think invoking Reverend Wright is a dumb idea. So there, you can mark this as the day that I agree with those two men.
Republicans are ranting about the “false” war on women and high gas prices (which, by the way, no president controls; it’s much more complicated than that), yet their plan of attack focuses on the least relevant issue out there. I can’t help but wonder whose bright idea this was. Even Joe Ricketts, who wanted to spend tens of millions of his own money to fund these Obama + Wright ads has pulled the plug. He has a vendetta, but super PAC advisors steered him in the right direction to ditch the ad. Fred Davis, some Hollywood strategist, conjured up this ad concept, basically regurgitating a failed idea from the last campaign, cementing the notion that nothing original comes out of Hollywood anymore.
I am frankly disgusted by a system that values spending tens of millions of dollars on dirty politics when so many people are hurting in this country. It’s obscene, and both parties are guilty. Joe Ricketts and his ilk are focusing their energy and resources in the wrong direction. Super PACs are destroying what little integrity our campaign system had. Let’s focus on issues and people. Enough division already. We are after all, the United States of America. We can’t let money and power divide us, and we can’t let dirt drive us.
It’s wrong to dredge up Jeremiah Wright. Propaganda will get us nowhere in a hurry. Facts matter. The truth matters. As Fergie would say, Jeremiah Wright is so 2000 and late.
This post is part of a weekly conversation with our Moms Matter 2012 political bloggers. To see the original question and what the other writers have to say, read Does Jeremiah Wright Matter in This Election?
Image via White House
This Hot Dad Wants to Do Your Ironing
KStew Refuses to Shower
This Hot Dad Wants to Cook You Dinner
This Hot Dad Cooks AND Does the Dishes
Comments 14
I remain concerned about Obama's ties to Wright. It didn't get much traction 4 years ago because Obama's media poodles knew it was best to ignore his association when a man who actively preaches hate for our country. That says a lot about character and values, just not in the good way the Left wants. So I do agree that it's much too late to make Wright a campaign issue, but it's definitely not too late to draw conclusions about Obama's hatred of America and his choice to hold Wright near-and-dear for many, many years - the apple hasn't fallen far.
I'm with rightside on this one. I SO wanted to love Mr. Obama when he was running the first time for myriad reasons but as soon as the Reverend Wright issue came to light, it was over for me. The incendiary, racist, awful things that this "man of God" spewed forth would have been enough, but followed up by Mr. Obama's assertion that he never realized that's what his pastor was saying made me roll my eyes and think, "exactly how stupid does this man think I am" and I'm afraid I've not stopped feeling that way throughout his presidency. He is a genuinely likeable man, but that doesn't make him a good president, a great leader or even an honest man.
Reverend Wright can't be an issue this time around for all of the reasons that you state, but it doesn't mean that he's not still in the back of my mind, serving as a reminder that our president thinks that I am one among a nation of dolts.
See, now this is a well written piece! Complete sentences, ordered paragraphs, not too many quotes or parentheses (and no links that lead back to your own articles or someone's twitter feed!). It's too bad you always have to follow Lori or Jenny's articles in these weekly mash-ups, Ilina, because usually by the time your well reasoned post hits the page we've already had the debate. Better luck next week, I guess, when the Stir will probably ask you to espouse the merits of the type of underwear the candidates claim to wear.
Boxers or Breifs? What do the candidate's choice of undershorts tell us about their ability to reform the economy?
Rightside, I agreed with you until your last sentence. Do you really believe that Obama hates America? I don't think so. He's made some regrettable decisions and bad choices during his presidency but I do believe he loves this country. I'm just not sure that he's the right guy for the job.
Rightside, I agreed with you until your last sentence. Do you really believe that Obama hates America?
Yup. 100%.