Rev. Wright - Not now, please!

I didn't get to see the Wright speech last night, but I did see his address to the National Press Club this morning. In my opinion, I think this will ultimately hurt Obama's campaign. While his comments had substance, validity, truthfulness, and gravity, I think his delivery has as much to do with the message as does the content. And in a media world (run ultimately by right-wing conservatism) where imagery trumps substance, those who are easily offended when the truth is dumped in their lap will find it repulsive when it's accompanied by a flippant "middle finger". I think part of the problem with Wright is that he never learned (or has rejected in his elder years) the "bi-lingual and bi-cultural" skill set that most minority people in (majority circles) have learned. You don't do the FAMU dance to indicate your enthusiasm, you don't do a combination Q-Psi-Phi/Military salute after dissing Chaney, and you don't talk about "Playing the Dozens" on a national platform called the NATIONAL PRESS CLUB. It will always be taken as intellectually inferior, and dismissed as buffoonery.

Wright should be smart enough to know these points:

1- Don't give your detractors fuel to continue the assault on their target(s) [Wright's character, the Black church, his relationship with Obama, whatever] - by "seasoning" your comments and delivery with incendiary remarks that add absolutely 0% value to the message. Case in point - his answer to the Farrakhan question was 'OK', but completely discredited by the ending remarks about "Farrakhan isn't my enemy, he didn't put me in chains.....or make me this color." True but irrelevant, unnecessary, and flippant.

2- If you really want Obama to win this thing, sit down and shut up. Wait your turn at the mic.

3- Obama is forever tethered to Wright - like it or not, directly or circumstantially. We all know that. So Wright has to prioritize the "big pictures". I say this in plural because there are several that are separate, although not mutually exclusive. They are: getting Obama into the White House as Commander-in-Chief; achieving a more equitable distribution of opportunity and participation in the multi-cultural American diaspora; having a substantive and productive conversation on race; and clearing your name. I might have missed some other "big pictures", but I think the point of prioritization is clear.

4- There is a time and place for everything. Why would you choose this time to go on the offensive for the "black church?" I use quotes here because Wright has made himself eponymous to it, and I beg to differ. Synonymous with Black Liberation Theology - yes; the Black Church - no. There is no doubt that Black Liberation Theology is a vital component of how we uplift our people. (White folks have Tony Robbins, we've got Malcolm X, King, Farrakhan, Wright, Iyanla, Les, the barber shop, and Big Momma). But, how does any of it help the broader, more important objective of achieving the ultimate measure of equality? That measure made tangible by electing a decent, competent, and dignified Black Man to the highest office of the land and the most powerful position in the free world. Surely that will do a lot more for elevating equality. Couldn't Wright wait until Nov 5th? Granted, whether Obama wins or not, the conversation on race needs to happen. But if he wins, the conversation will go forth with substantially more merit and gravitas. Certainly in a world of imagery, Obama's election would trump all.

In Wright's choice to go to the national stage at this time, he clearly does not hold these things in importance. Different does not mean difficient, but timing is everything.

So, in the end, what does Wright's media blitz do to the Obama campaign? I think all it does is:

1- Give Obama more distractions to have to sort through and explain away. In the meantime, valuable hours of press coverage and punditry will be spent chopping up this rhetoric instead of focusing on the main issues of our distressed nation. And the conservative media will definitely keep the "ball" out of Obama's hands with their nonsensical analyses. By doing so, he can't put political points on the scoreboard. In basketball, we call it "bleeding the clock."

2- Give fence-riders (the undecided) something easy to be "against" rather than something principled to be "for". The exit polls in Pennsylvania revealed that 19% of all voters said race was a factor. Four percent said it was THE most important factor. Of the 19%, those who voted in favor of Hillary were 3:1 over voting for Obama. To steal a passage from an OpEd piece in the Philadelphia Inquirer on Apr.27th....."When one-fifth of Democratic party voters admit taking race into account in the ballot booth, it shows the nation still has hurdles to overcome. If a candidate's race is as important to some voters as [their views on substantive issues], then something is being lost in the debate over how to move the country forward."

3- Tighten up an already tight race that will be determined by the margins. And that makes me nervous because the margins aren't usually friendly to the minorities in a majority-rule tradition.

Piling on the subjective matters of Black theology and the criticism of American foreign policy in a liberative religious context only serves to stall out the momentum of a movement whose time has come. In the truly prophetic words of Kenny Rogers "You got to know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em, know when to walk away, and know when to run. You NEVER count your money when sittin' at the table. There'll be time enough for countin' when the dealin's done."

Rev. Wright, please wait 'til the dealin's done.

Just my opinion....