Preening
The Rev. Jeremiah Wright spent an hour this a.m. at the National Press Club answering questions about his sermons, political views and most famous parishioner. With each new appearance, he must know he's hurting Barack Obama, who is working feverishly to connect with the white working class in NC and IN before those states vote. Wright was interviewed last week by Bill Moyers and spoke at the Detroit NAACP dinner this weekend.
It's hard to know if Wright's re-emergence is evidence of his vanity or a sincere desire to address questions about his character and the mission of his ministry. Probably some combination of the two. Still, his disposition this morning -- cocky, glib -- was of man enjoying his more than 15 minutes, and little concerned about how his media tour could affect Obama's campaign.
A moderator asked Wright if he understands that many people view his sermons as unpatriotic. "How do you feel about America and about being an American?" she said.
"I feel that those citizens who say that have never heard my sermons, nor do they know me," he said. "They are unfair accusations taken from soundbites and that which is looped over and over again on certain channels. I served six years in the military. Does that make me patriotic? How many years did Cheney serve?"
Fair points. Wright also defended his decision to speak out -- even if he is viewed by Obama's campaign as a detriment to the senator's cause.
"On Nov. 5 and on Jan. 21, I'll still be a pastor," he said. "As I said, this is not an attack on Jeremiah Wright. It has nothing to do with Sen. Obama. It is an attack on the black church, launched by people who know nothing about the African American religious tradition."
Wright showed today, as he did in the Moyers interview, a seething disdain for the media -- and an obvious personal distancing from Obama.
"If God intends for Mr. Obama to be the president then no white racist, no political pundit, no speech, nothing can get in the way because God will do what God wants to do."
Tough. Or, in a twisted way, might this remark help Obama? For the church-going public, who backed Hillary Clinton in PA, are there points to be scored in deferring to God's will?
Certainly Wright's expression of his affection for Louis Farrakhan can only hurt Obama as he struggles to win friends in the Jewish community.
We might not know the totality of Wright or his work, as he suggested today, but with each new glimpse of the man, we see intelligence, sure, but terrible arrogance, too. We see a man more concerned with righting his public standing than electing his friend to the White House, more interested in reaffirming his standing within the black community than finding points of commonality between us all.
(JENNIFER SKALKA)
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