Does Rev. Jeremiah Wright want Barack Obama to lose the presidency? The Cable Gamer knows it sounds crazy, but please hear me out. And then remember that you heard it here first!
As if Obama didn't have enough problems--a new ARG poll shows him dropping 20 points in Pennsylvania in the wake of his "bitter" comments"--his other big source of trouble, , has opened up a new front, by attacking the Fox News Channel.
The Chicago Sun-Times and ABC News reports that at a funeral eulogy he delivered on Saturday, Wright "pillor[ied] some of his critics, including Fox News commentators Bill O'Reilly and Sean Hannity."
Praising the memory of the late R. Eugene Pincham, a retired judge, Wright recalled that Pincham had reached out to all sorts of people, including the notorious Louis Farrakhan. It's bad enough for Wright to wade into this territory, reminding everyone that Obama has frequently traveled in the same circles as his fellow South Sider, the notorious hater and anti-Semite, Farrakhan. But then Wright went further:
"Fox News can't understand that. O'Reilly will never get that. Sean Hannity's stupid fantasy will keep him forever stuck on stupid when it comes to comprehending how you can love a brother who does not believe what you believe."
Needless to say, Wright's remarks received a standing ovation in the packed church.
Now something tells me that O'Reilly and Hannity will both respond to this attack, starting today, on their respective radio shows, and then tonight, on their respective FNC TV programs. Indeed, something tells me that Wright made the day of both Foxmen--they will get more ears and eyes as a result of being thrust back into the middle of a raging controversy. Tune in tonight!
So why would Wright do this? Why make Obama's political path even more difficult by throwing out more rhetorical bombs? Remember back when Obama was supposed to be "post-racial," sort of like Oprah Winfrey? Those days are gone, forever--Obama is just another angry black activist with a chip on his shoulder.
One possible answer, of course, is that Wright just can't help himself. He is simply so full of rage, that it blows out of him all the time, like the geyser Old Faithful. (And OK, if the promise of an explosion from Wright helps fill pews, and increase speaking fees, and maybe sell some tapes and books, well, that's fine, too.)
But The Cable Gamer has another explanation: Maybe Wright is actively sabotaging the Obama campaign. Why would Wright seek to hurt Obama, his parishioner? The man he married? The man whose children he baptised? Why thwart the best chance that an African American has ever had to win the White House? Here's why. If Obama won, if he were to get elected by all the people of America, it would undercut the whole world view that Wright has built up over his many angry decades here on this earth. By contrast, if Obama does lose, well then, everything that Wright preaches will be vindicated, at least in the minds of Wright and his fan base.
To put it more plainly, If Obama were to win, the Wright was wrong about America. If Obama loses, then Wright is "right" about America.
So of course Wright wants Obama to lose. Whether it's conscious or unconscious--or a little bit of both--Wright's optimality path is plain to see. Sorry, Barack! When theory confronts reality, theory must win, as far as the theorist is concerned.
It's as simple as that. Count on Wright to keep talking/venting, all the way through Election Day, if Obama is the nominee. To make sure that his own twisted worldview is vindicated, Wright will twist the knife in the back of Obama. And of course, the press will be following Wright's every move, for as long as Obama is front and center--Wright will love that, since it will give him a chance to endlessly expound, his own Farrakhan-esque views. No doubt he will attack Fox, happily escalating his war of words with O'Reilly and Hannity, and adding new enemies as he gets the chance.
You watch Wright try to destroy Obama, in this indirect but effective way. And please remember, as this drama unfolds, that you first read the preview here at The Cable Game.
Meanwhile, of course, for cable news, especially
