Did Obama Do The Right Thing?

When Senator Barack Obama publicly announced his ‘appalled’ reaction to the statements made by his former pastor and “spiritual adviser,” Rev. Jeremiah Wright on Tuesday, did he do so because he felt political pressures forcing him to react, or was his response a heartfelt and sincere one?

By distancing himself from the public remarks given by Rev. Jeremiah Wright in Detroit over the weekend and then at the National Press Club, Senator Obama set himself up for another media sound-bite, roller-coaster. All the major cable news channels, with their so-called election ‘experts’ and ‘analysts’, still continued their angry mob rants and raves against Senator Obama and questioned his sincerity and honesty.

So, by coming out against his ‘family friend’ and ‘spiritual adviser’ and presenting the face of shock at Tuesday’s press conference, Senator Obama opened himself up to more criticism and debate. Now, the question is: Why didn’t Barack distance himself from Rev. Wright years ago? Why did he see it necessary at this point to end a relationship with Rev. Wright, a man that Obama himself labeled an ’Uncle’?

As Rev. Wright mentioned at the National Press Club, he believed that Senator Obama is guilty of ‘political posturing.’ It would seem that even though Senator Obama took offense of this critique on his persona, in all likelihood, this is the case. How do you end a relationship with such an important person in your life simply because you don’t agree with their politics?

Another key issue to note is that the Obama campaign did not have to dignify or signify anything that Rev. Wright mentioned in either of his speeches. An issue that doesn’t hold merit should not be quantified. This is where the Obama campaign made their fatal error. Believe it or not, Senator Obama lost a significant amount of the African American vote when he denounced Rev. Wright. His ‘political postering’ was evident in his denouncement. To gain the vote of White America, Senator Obama ‘postured’ brightly and radiantly.

But will that be enough? And will African American voters whom supported Obama up until yesterday, throw their weight over to Hillary Clinton’s campaign?