again, should sen. obama be the dem. nominee, the "rev. wright" situation doesn't go away (and please, spare me the "but you have to hear it in context." nonsense), it only gets worse. fair or not, sen. obama will be permanently connected with the anti-american statements made by rev. wright. to deny that, is to deny reality.

if (a really big if) rev. wright were the only negative sen. obama had, it might be survivable. he isn't. rezko's trial will either still be ongoing, or just recently concluded, and who knows what else will come popping out?

The thunderous applause and even the white announcer makes him look good to me.  It goes with the "he's well respected across all genders and races.  You just don't understand because you've only heard clips" idea.

''Had the reverend not retired and had he not acknowledged that what he had said had deeply offended people and were inappropriate and mischaracterized what I believe is the greatness of this country, for all its flaws, then I wouldn't have felt comfortable staying there at the church,'' Obama said.

Obama spokesman Bill Burton said the senator's remarks did not imply that Wright has expressed misgivings about his statements. ''Sen. Obama was clearly saying that were Rev. Wright not retiring, he would need to be assured that Wright understood why what he had said had deeply offended people and mischaracterized the greatness of this country,'' Burton said

As for the "Kos defense," that is hysterical.  "But, but, but . . . a blogger made me do it -- made me break the law!"  But perhaps you do not know that it also is illegal to claim to be backing a party and ask for its ballot if that is not true and only gaming the system.

>>>Unlike the big Florida victory on January 29th, the news of Clinton 's  New Hampshire win was not blacked out from coast to coast the next day.  Her detractors quickly rushed to fortify their positions, concerned that momentum from her dramatic comeback (losing Iowa) would soon turn into an electoral tsunami.  In the two weeks leading up to the South Carolina primary, Obama surrogates argued initially that New England 's white voters had betrayed their publicly declared support of the black candidate in the secrecy of the ballot booth.  Hence the reason why pre-election polls got the count so wrong.  The tactic smacked of sour grapes, but when Clinton made a speech tying Martin Luther King's efforts to President Johnson's signing of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, highlighting the role of Johnson, the Obama camp pounced.  An adviser immediately sent out a four-page memorandum(http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/01/12/obama-camps-memo-on-clin_n_81205.html)  urging surrogates to slam her of disrespecting Dr. King.

If you tracked the coverage of the ensuing feud, you would never know that it was this document that sparked the episode.  Before the memo surfaced on the internet, Obama insisted to reporters that neither he nor anyone on his staff had accused Senator Clinton of any impropriety in her speech about Johnson.  He said he was "baffled" by her suggestion that they were somehow involved.  Meanwhile, South Carolina Congressman Jim Clyburn claimed Bill Clinton's incendiary reaction to the racism charge had compelled him to renege on an earlier promise not to endorse a candidate before his state's primary.  A few days later, Clyburn retracted his endorsement of Obama, but the damage was done as African American voters converged on Election Day to back the senator from Illinois .  Now that the Clintons were being barbecued in the press for "playing the race card", Obama would no longer have to worry about the African American vote.<<<

Senator Obama's reward for being able to do this speech?  Being the media's darling and receiving plenty of coverage for the next week (or longer!).  

Speeches are remarkable in being able to sway or even change a person's opinion to help improve their lives, but actions can demonstrate to the masses how one is willing to perform the tasks that are necessary to improve lives.  If Senator Obama had more actions than just words, I would wholeheartedly support his march towards the presidency.  However, there are professional concerns I have had with the senator.  One in particular:

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-galesburg_obama_webfeb01,0,7138122,print.story

Another creditable article with many different sources can be reviewed here:

http://www.thecityedition.com/Pages/Archive/Winter08/PDFfiles/2008Election.pdf

In Obama's speech he stated that he cannot 'disown' his pastor for the comments as he cannot disown his grandmother for making comments as well; I don't essentially agree.  Obama's grandmother represents his ancestral family, and his former pastor represents his spiritual family.  Obama's grandmother helped to provide the fundamentals of life and relationships, and Rev. Wright had the opportunity to do this as well; aiding in the development of Senator Obama's walk with Christ.  There is a phrase that says as a man thinketh in his heart, so is he-- and after 20 years of personally knowing and sharing in the fellowship with his pastor, Senator Obama could have left years ago.  Oprah chose not to remain with the pastor and congregation; she realized that his message was a bit too controversial.

Essentially, Reverend Wright helped in providing Obama with contacts within and outside the congregation, and with large audiences prior to and after formally declaring his candidacy for president.  Rev. Wright knew that the comments he had made may harm the campaign as well.  However prior to the reverend retiring from his pulpit and from Obama's campaign, the pastor's message and the masses that followed him throughout the country aided in promoting Senator Obama. Thus Reverend Wright fulfilled his objective, and Senator Obama, through the 'race controversy', now shines as the candidate willing to address the issues and unite the nation in the process...