It does not speak well of his campaign's crisis management skills that Barack Obama has taken five days to wheel out his heavy artillery and give a speech today on Jeremiah Wright, Jr. and "the larger issue of race in this campaign" at a venue called the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia. 

I'm not sure that we benefit from continuing to perpetuate the anger and the bitterness that I think, at this point, serves to divide rather than bring us together. And that's part of what this campaign has been about, is to say, let's acknowledge a difficult history, but let's move forward in a practical way to get things done.

...you have also cast this as a generational distinction, the sorts of things that Reverend Wright said being the baggage of fiercely intelligent African-American men of his generation

Healing old wounds

Wright's anger came from pain and a pain that he will, with the help of my fellow Americans, heal. Out this regrettable controversy, drummed up by opponents anxious to caricature a man in pain, can come healing, if only good Americans align themselves with hope.

Guilt

Jeremiah Wright suffered as a black man. We owe him a generosity of spirit

The appeal to America's generosity

When it comes to forgiveness, Americans are soft touches. Jesse Jackson's speech at the DNC after the Hymietown comments ("God is not finished with me, yet")

The "Bonehead move" excuse

He could hold Wright up as someone who "made a bonehead" move

Remember, this excuse bought Obama some time with the Rezko scandal, his other looming trouble.  He could even say that America is right to be upset about some of the things Pastor Wright said, and can aver that he seeks to help members of that generation to get over their pain. That would be an example of he can unite Americans.

The Community ties appeal

He stayed out of loyalty to friends; he was close to his fellow parishioners, who acted as an extended family, and who he felt enriched his life and the lives of his family. America will like that line. Every community has members who may be controversial

The family analogy

As Wright was like an uncle to him, TUCC is like a family, and you don't leave an extended family.

Let the healing process work

Just as the church has turned a new page with a new Pastor replacing Wright, so should we. We all must move forward and work together to heal the wounds of a bitter history.

I think it would have been naive for me to think that I could run and end up with quasi-frontrunner status in a presidential election, as potentially the first African-American president, and that issues of race wouldn't come up any more than Senator Clinton could expect that gender issues might not come up.

...lays bare a very grim truth: That even middle-class black American culture is more angry and alienated than most whites understand, and that our country is simply not yet at the point where even an ostensibly post-racial black candidate can escape that dynamic entirely. (Indeed not only was Wright perfectly acceptable to Obama and his Chicago circle, but it seems likely that it would have been difficult for Obama to separate himself from the preacher had he wanted to, lest he be accused of not being an "authentic" member of the south side black community.)

• Let's get beyond this so American can fulfill the grand dream promised by our founding fathers come true-a promise that our great Presidents Abraham Lincoln and John Kennedy worked towards and paid with their lives

• We can fulfill a promise that Martin Luther King --  along with many white of goodwill --worked to fulfill. That spirit still lives, still beats in the better part of our hearts, the more noble of our emotions, our better angels.

• We need to release this energy and build upon the greatness that our forefathers have given us. Just as mistakes were made by other leaders but did not prevent their own good works, so we should accept his request for forgiveness and give him another chance. America loves second chance stories.

The overwhelmingly positive press coverage enjoyed by Obama is coming back to haunt him and his party. He was never adequately vetted by the media on Wright, even though American Thinker and a few other outlets have been warning about him for a year now. Lulled into a false sense of security, Obama failed to realize the explosive nature of the recordings when they were aired by Brian Ross on Good Morning America five long days ago.

Hey, Barack---it's either one or the other: either you were lying when you talked about your deep, soul-changing involvement in Trinity United Church of Christ, or else you're lying when you say you never had any idea (until last week) about the crazy and offensive and sickening contents of the pastor's diatribes from the pulpit.