Robert Novak has a column that may partially explain the silence of the pols that Daniel Henninger pointed out (see previous post). It seems that strong Obama supporters were more than a little dismayed at Obama's tepid response to Jeremiah Wright's vitriolic, conspiracy theory-laden rhetoric.
"That is just terrible, absolutely dreadful," a prominent supporter of Barack Obama said Monday morning after listening to the Rev. Jeremiah Wright's screed at the National Press Club. He proposed to me that the presidential candidate at long last must denounce his former pastor, unequivocally and immediately. It took 28 hours after a tepid early reaction Monday, but Obama finally did it Tuesday afternoon.
Did that solve Obama's pastor problem? Leading Democrats certainly hope so, but they are not sure. His vulnerability transcends relations with a radical preacher. If Obama comes to be seen not as a presidential candidate who happens to be black but as a black candidate in the mold of Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton, he will face a difficult struggle in the general election against John McCain even if he bests Hillary Clinton.
The problem goes back to the reaction Obama and his strategist David Axelrod crafted about two months ago, when videos of Wright's racist sermons first circulated. Insisting that Wright's incendiary remarks had been taken out of context, Obama took the high road in delivering a widely praised speech on race March 18 in Philadelphia. The issue surfaced again, however, at the widely criticized April 16 Democratic debate, leading Obama to rule out further debates with Clinton. The Obama campaign thought the pastor problem had been put to bed until Wright went on his little road tour.
Obama's danger is being perceived by white voters as representing a hostile, separate culture……..
According to Novak, Obama should have thrown Wright overboard two months ago rather than wait until Wright's virulence went on full display coast-to-coast. I suspect that's correct. I pointed out on Tuesday that I thought the damage was already done.
My guess is that a lot of big-name Democrats sensed the same problem in Obama's misplay of the situation. That would explain why they stayed away in droves rather than rushing to Obama's defense.
"Obama’s danger is being perceived by white voters as representing a hostile, separate culture"
You mean he doesn’t? Whether it is the supposed ‘black’ culture represented by Wright or his far left liberalism the very definition of either (and both are apparently appropriate for him) is "a hostile, separate culture". Either way, he’ll never get my vote.