Barack Obama is a very smart guy. But this is the era of "Is our children learning?" His speech today was a well-conceived Hail Mary that several times posited some "controversial" statements, then fleshed them out and even undercut them in some elegant ways. That’s quite a Hail Mary.
But I am concerned, especially after seeing the poll saying 56% of Americans would be less likely to vote for Obama because of Rev. Wright, that the Hail Mary may fly right over the heads of the vast mouth-breathing segment of our population. I hope that means only Republicans will still go on sputtering about Rev. Wright while they ignore their own rabid maniacs like Hagee, the fundamentalist who recently endorsed McCain and who has said things that make Wright look pretty milquetoast.
Wright said "God damn America," and qualified it as a reaction to our actions as a nation. But Hagee said it a little more directly: "As a nation, America is under the curse of God."
When is McCain’s condemnation speech?
Is it different when a white Republican says it? Oh, right. It is. Nevermind.
But I’ve found that my most pessimistic predictions in the political realm are oft-realized. Then again, I was wrong about the House Democrats, who stood up to Bush on the moronic idea that we should offer telcoms retroactive immunity and thus forego finding out what Bush and Co. have really been up to. So please, go ahead, prove me wrong again, oh fickle fates.
