Legal Commentary

The media buzz on the 2008 campaign is now focused on the provocative pulpit comments of the pastor of Senator Obama's church, Reverend Jeremiah Wright.  Reverend Wright's provocative sermons and the reaction thereto are probably worthy of many posts, but here I want to question Senator Obama's written response on Friday that appeared at The Huffington Post.  Specifically, I wonder why the response is so defensive and lacks a fuller religious explanation that, in my view, could and should help make Reverend Wright a far more understandable figure.

As I watch (and re-watch) the media clips of  Reverend Wright's provocative comments, I see a religious man who seems deeply troubled by the failure of America to be more committed to the teachings of Jesus ? teachings that all modern American presidents and most Americans claim to be committed to.  Not surprisingly, a secular media portrays Reverend Wright's comments principally as anti-American, but these comments might also be framed principally as pro-Jesus.

Enter Obama's response, which largely accepts the anti-American frame and "at the outset" stresses that the Senator "vehemently disagree[s] and strongly condemn[s]" Reverend Wright's provocative comments.  I suppose I understand the political need for Obama to now distance himself from these comments, but I think Obama could have and should have provided a lot more religious/biblical context for Reverend Wright's viewpoints.  Tellingly, Obama's eight-paragraph response uses the word "justice" twice, but mentions "Jesus" only once.  I think a much more  accurate (and effective?) response would have discussed Jesus and religious/biblical ideas a lot more.

Because I was raised Jewish, married someone raised Catholic, and have never belonged to an organized church, perhaps I do not appreciate possible pitfalls of "playing the Jesus card" in this context.  But, as I see the secular media and others so consumed with attacking a (Black) man of the cloth, I cannot help but wonder if Senator Obama is really as talented as he once seemed at changing the discourse of modern American politics.