Obama Takes Morris' Advice

It appears that Barack Obama may have caught a part of H&C last night, because he is following the advice that Dick Morris gave him last night. Last night, Morris suggested that Obama needs to not only denounce Wright again but to denounce his views and turn himself against his former pastor. Today, that is EXACTLY what Barack Obama is doing.

Here we go. Barack press conference is on:

“I’m outraged by the comments that were made and saddened by the spectacle. The person that I saw yesterday was not the person I met 20 years ago. His comments were not only divisive and destructive, but they end up giving comfort to those who prey on hate. I believe they do not accurately portray the perspective of the black church. They certainly don’t portray mine. If he considers this political posturing, then he doesn’t know me very well. And I don’t know him well either.”

Now, I suspect that Morris' advice is spot on and thus this is likely his best political move in a long time. This will go a long way to limiting whatever political damage Wright will cause him. The only thing left is to figure out just how much damage there is and whether or not this will stop any further damage. While this presser is quite wise, there will continue to remain doubts and concerns. For instance, he said this...

The person I saw was not the person that I’d come to know over 20 years…Shocked me, surprised me.”

That seems unlikely. I don't think that Reverend Wright went through a transformation but rather Obama just noticed who he really is. That will likely leave some serious lingering doubts. Still, the past is the past. Obama can't now go back and remove himself from the church many years ago. He is doing all that he can now which is putting as much distance as he can between himself and Wright. He probably should have done it before but again the past is the past.

Morris is likely right. By challenging Wright directly he puts himself against his vicious views. That is the right place to be politically and shows the kind of political strength necessary to allay some of the fears that many of his potential voters have of him.

There is no doubt that his sudden change of heart will be met with plenty of skepticism and much of it may be warranted, however this is all that he can do now. He has finally done what I have been calling for him to do for weeks...get out front of this story. Don't let the critics fool you, this was a very wise political move by Obama and long over due.