Video: Wright-brained

As I said, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright is well on his way to becoming the Tom Eagleton of 2008. Barack Obama's top political advisors must be on suicide watch after Wright's performance at the National Press Club this morning. Video via Conservablog:



Again, Wright attempts to deflect criticism by invoking race and religion (1:34):

"This is an attack on the black church launched by people who know nothing about the African American religious tradition."

Notice Wright's self-satisfied smile after that remark, as if he'd said something extraordinarily clever in dismissing all his critics as ignorant bigots.

Next: Louis Farrakhan is "one of the most important voices of the 20th and 21st centuries. . . . When Louis Farrakhan speaks . . . all black America listens. . . . I'm not going to put down Louis Farrakhan any more than Mandela would put down Fidel Castro. . . . Louis Farrakhan is not my enemy."

If Obama fails to get the nomination, don't blame Karl Rove. Don't blame the media. Don't blame Hillary Clinton. Blame Jeremiah Wright and his irresponsible nonsense:

"As I said to Barack Obama . . . . last year, 'If you get elected, November the fifth, I'm coming after you, because you'll be representing a government whose policies grind under people.' . . . This country's leaders have refused to apologize."

Who is being "ground under" by America's policies? Do we need to apologize to the thousands of immigrants who come to this country every week? Would we have an illegal immigration problem if America was so horribly oppressive? When people are risking life and limb in the desert, paying money to coyotes to smuggle them into the United States, doesn't that suggest that America is a land of incredible opportunities, and the envy of the world?

It is impossible to reconcile this reality with Wright's rhetoric of "a government whose policies grind under people." He is not preaching the Gospel, he's peddling the politics of resentment and self-pity.

UPDATE: BTW, I just figured something out. The media notice from the National Press Club said "this event is sold out" and the event was open to "credentialed media only" -- the NPC even told The American Spectator's Phil Klein that he couldn't cover the event unless he had either White House or congressional press credentials. I've been in Washington for more than 10 years and never heard of such a thing at a Press Club event.

Watching the video, I now see why this is. Wright packed the room with his supporters. You'll see him repeatedly look off to his right and grin when they cheer and laugh at his "jokes." This explains why Wright keeps playing to the crowd as if he were a standup comedian.

UPDATE II: Michelle Malkin, commenting on Wright's Detroit "analysis" of brain differences between blacks and whites, says:

If he’s this comfortable mocking black/white differences in front of media cameras, I can only imagine what he says in private to his faithful black liberation ideology adherents.

A disturbing thought.

UPDATE III: A friend just e-mailed me the transcript of Obama's NPC appearance. The mind boggles. Asked about when he compared the U.S. Marine Corps to the Romans who crucified Christ, he defended the comparison:

The Roman oppression is the period in which Jesus was born. And comparing imperialism that was going on in Luke, imperialism was going on when Caesar
Augustus sent out a decee that the whole world should be taxed -- they were in charge of the world; sounds like some other governments I know -- that yes, I can compare that. We have troops stationed all over the world, just like Rome had troops stationed all over the world, because we run the world. That notion of imperialism is not the message of the Gospel of the Prince of Peace nor God, who loves the world.

Venezuela? Do we have troops stationed in Venezuela, Rev. Wright? Does America "run" Venezuela?

How about Zimbabwe? France? Pakistan? Chad? Sweden? Cuba? Indonesia? Mexico? How is it that "we run the world" and yet all of these nations remain under the delusion that they are sovereign and independent?

Notice that the very example Wright cited -- Caesar's tax -- is one power that the American "empire" has never exerted. The whole point of Rome's imperial conquests was that it relieved Roman citizens of the burden of taxation, since the state's coffers were filled by plundering the provinces. By contrast, Americans are taxed to provide foreign aid to nearly every government in the world.

America is engaged in the exact opposite of imperialism. Rome plundered the world; the world plunders America.

UPDATE IV: Hmmm. Numbering my updates with Roman numerals? An imperialistic gesture, maybe? But never mind that, listen to Joe Klein:

Wright's purpose now seems quite clear: to aggrandize himself -- the guy is going to be a go-to mainstream media source for racial extremist spew, the next iteration of Al Sharpton -- and destroy Barack Obama.

That's what I'm saying. Wright's egotistical desire to hog the media spotlight is 180 degrees at odds with the Obama campaign's desire to put this story behind them. Every time Wright opens his mouth, he creates more problems for Obama.

Simple question: Do you think the average Democratic primary voter in Indiana is more or less likely to support Obama as a result of Wright's recent performances?

I almost wonder if Hillary's people somehow found a backdoor way to encourage Wright to keep stirring this up.