McCain's view on Wright. . .
. . .as an issue in the campaign going forward is pretty much in line with my previous post on the matter. And, the simple fact of the matter is that there is only one group of people who find the Wright issue out of bounds, and we already know who they're voting for.
Ben Smith and Jonathan Martin at Politico both have him "shifting" his position on the matter, as does Byron York at NRO. While I don't think that's a necessarily unfair characterization, I can't say it's entirely accurate, either. It seems to me that what McCain is doing is simply recognizing a reality that neither he, nor anyone else, has any power to change. The undeniable fact is that a great number of people find Obama's relationship with Jeremiah Wright troubling, and you don't have to subscribe to the notion that he holds views similar to those of his minister to be troubled by it. His complete silence on the matter up until confronted by it is troubling by itself.
If Barack Obama and his campaign feel that this issue is an illegitimate one, why on earth did they go to the trouble of giving a major speech on it in order to limit the fallout? The fact is, the Obama campaign was perfectly happy to discuss the issue so long as he was basking in the glowing coverage of the speech. But, now that it's turns out that it didn't solve the problem, they don't want to discuss it anymore.
What it all boils down to is that the only people who get to decide whether or not any given subject is a legitimate one in the course of a presidential campaign are the voters. If the Obama campaign wants to quibble over whether or not his pastor problems are legitimate, he needs to take it up with voters. McCain has made his feelings known, and its up to the electorate to decide whether or not they agree with him. It's not up to McCain to thwart the will of people who want an open, honest discussion about Obama's relationship to Wright. And, if Obama didn't want the people to discuss it, he shouldn't have engaged them in the discussion on that fateful day in Philadelphia.
Ben Smith and Jonathan Martin at Politico both have him "shifting" his position on the matter, as does Byron York at NRO. While I don't think that's a necessarily unfair characterization, I can't say it's entirely accurate, either. It seems to me that what McCain is doing is simply recognizing a reality that neither he, nor anyone else, has any power to change. The undeniable fact is that a great number of people find Obama's relationship with Jeremiah Wright troubling, and you don't have to subscribe to the notion that he holds views similar to those of his minister to be troubled by it. His complete silence on the matter up until confronted by it is troubling by itself.
If Barack Obama and his campaign feel that this issue is an illegitimate one, why on earth did they go to the trouble of giving a major speech on it in order to limit the fallout? The fact is, the Obama campaign was perfectly happy to discuss the issue so long as he was basking in the glowing coverage of the speech. But, now that it's turns out that it didn't solve the problem, they don't want to discuss it anymore.
What it all boils down to is that the only people who get to decide whether or not any given subject is a legitimate one in the course of a presidential campaign are the voters. If the Obama campaign wants to quibble over whether or not his pastor problems are legitimate, he needs to take it up with voters. McCain has made his feelings known, and its up to the electorate to decide whether or not they agree with him. It's not up to McCain to thwart the will of people who want an open, honest discussion about Obama's relationship to Wright. And, if Obama didn't want the people to discuss it, he shouldn't have engaged them in the discussion on that fateful day in Philadelphia.
posted by MsFalconersCabanaBoy @ 5:53 PM
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