The Political Inquirer

Yesterday, hundreds of bloggers watched Jeremiah Wright’s speech at the National Press Club.  Afterwards, most of them criticized him for opening old wounds, for hurting Barack Obama’s candidacy, or for using incredibly divisive language.  Even Andrew Sullivan, who downplayed the speech at first because he thought it was simply political gossip, denounced the reverend’s “ugly” and “repulsive” comments as “poison”.  Dana Milbank added that Wright’s speech may have doomed Obama’s campaign by adding “lighter fuel” to an already controversial racial situation. 

No doubt if I had come up with another adjective or metaphor, I’d have posted it yesterday in bold lettering and thought that, with the help of my Thesaurus, I was participating in the collective online discussion too.   But for as much as I want to use “atrocious” or “cantankerous”–no one has taken them, yet–I’d rather approach Wright’s NPC speech from a different angle. 

In March, Barack Obama gave his speech on race and proved he would solve the racial divide by paying lip service to white Americans who were hurt by affirmative action.  I remember listening to highly educated, white people exclaim how honestly Obama dealt with the issue of race, and how he would put this broken country back together again.  It is amazing how much a couple of words can accomplish in the eyes of a young college graduate. 

This is not to say that words don’t matter.   Words do matter.  A lot.  But words did not cause the racial divide in America, and they can’t unravel it either.  I think that’s the lesson we have to learn from someone like Jeremiah Wright.  Wright represents the somewhat misplaced anger and frustration of a large segment of society, and Obama’s nice speeches won’t make him go away.  He isn’t right, but he’s real, and a lot of people listen to him. 

Obama’s supporters keep hailing their candidate as the only hero able to heal the racial divide and bring this country together.  Hopefully, they add, he’ll be able mitigate the Iraq war, reform health policy, and a handle a host of other issues.  But he’ll definitely be able to bridge the racial gaps in this country, make friends out of enemies, and create a colorblind society…right?  

 If the Reverand is any indication, maybe not. 

Just to be clear, I don’t think we’re witnessing the end of the Obama campaign.  There are many months before November, and plenty of political events can change his situation for the better or the worse.  I think we are witnessing how hard of task unifying this country will be. 

 Whether or not Wright is justified in his rantings, he is listened to by millions, and those millions of listeners are not pacified by anodyne messages.  They are pissed, and while Obama’s election would undoubtedly help,  I think this country doesn’t realize how divided we really are.  Chanting “change” over and over pleases the educated class, but it doesn’t heal the painful wounds felt by so many minorities.

Obama has approached the problem by spreading his arms, saying he’ll figure things out, and asking everyone to come along with him into the land of milk and honey.  I think he knows better, but judging from reactions to figures like Wright, I don’t think the American public does.   We’re waiting for a savior with a divine mission when we should be asking for politician with a plan, and by putting our hope in the man with the biggest rhetoric, we make light of the issues at hand.  These problems are too big to be handled in one election or by one man.  They must be grinded out of society issue by issue–law by law.  Until we respect how profound those wounds actually are, we will never be able to make any progress overcoming them.  

It’s why instead of billing him as a unifier, perhaps Obama’s highbrow supporters should focus on his ability to reform healthcare.  At least he’s got a chance at that.