Why the Pastor Matters

Obama is doing the best he can to distance himself from inflammatory remarks by his pastor. Each day he repudiates them in more strident terms, and has now removed the man from his campaign. But it is not enough.

Suggesting that we deserved to be attacked on 9/11, or asking that "god damn america" are certainly deserving of repudiation. The problem is, this man remains Obama's spiritual advisor. Now some people might consider a misguided spiritual advisor to be just another acquantance, like the boor who spews sexist jokes at the weekly poker game. But a lot of people don't. To a huge number of americans, a spiritual advisor is someone who has a profound and somewhat mysterious influence on their lives. And this man has already had a profound influence on Obama. From NYT: "Mr. Obama credits a sermon of Mr. Wright’s, 'The Audacity of Hope,' with drawing him to Christianity, and he used those words as the title of his second book". Obama claims the pastor is not a political advisor, but for many people that will not be good enough, and many of these are people who would otherwise vote for him.

I think Obama needs to seriously consider a new pastor. (Bonus political points if he chooses, or even just consults with Billy Graham.)