THE REVEREND WHO?:

The Obama/Wright/Kilpatrick Collision (Steve Mitchell, 8/12/08, Real Clear Politics)

Although [Detroit Mayor Kwame] Kilpatrick has distanced himself from Obama and Obama has distanced himself from Kilpatrick, they are both inextricably linked to Rev. Jeremiah Wright. And, that is Obama's problem.

The night before Wright imploded in front of the Washington press corps, he was the featured speaker at an NAACP dinner in Detroit where Mayor Kilpatrick gave him a rousing introduction, an introduction shown on local TV news shows. Undoubtedly, some 527 committee or the Michigan Republican Party has that introduction on DVD.

Rev. Wright has already proven to be an albatross around Obama's neck. Obama's support plummeted among white North Carolina General Election voters after TV ads linking him with Rev. Wright were aired during the North Carolina Democratic primary. That plunge in support did not go unnoticed by McCain supporters.

It is very likely that similar ads will be run in key battleground states starting in mid-October. In Michigan, you can bet that the much hated Kilpatrick will be included in the Obama/Wright ads, making them look like the Three Musketeers, "one for all and all for one."

The problem with running a Beltway smart/Kansas stupid campaign, as the Unicorn Rider has, is that you think an issue has been aired once everyone at the cocktail parties you go to has seen it on YouTube. But when the good Reverend crops up in ads this Fall it will be the first most people have heard about Senator Obama's black nationalist church affiliation.

Posted by Orrin Judd at August 11, 2008 10:28 AM