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Adding Up The Race-Religion Math
Fiery oratory, different impact: The controversies surrounding Revs. John Hagee, left, and Jeremiah Wright could offer clues about how an Obama-McCain general election contest might play out. by James D. Besser Several polls this week indicated that Barack Obama’s controversial Chicago pastor is hurting his presidential campaign — a reality that prompted the candidate’s roll-of-the-dice speech on race in America on Tuesday. But there is no evidence Sen. John McCain’s relationship with another controversial cleric is having a similar impact — either in the polls or in the media.
“Wright is a scary black guy arguing that America is bad,” said a prominent Jewish 
Several political scientists and campaign professionals suggested Wright will be a big problem for Obama, including with Jewish voters, because of the two-decade link between the two, while Hagee will be a blip, at best, for McCain — and maybe even a net positive as the presumptive GOP nominee tries to mend fences with a big and skeptical Evangelical electorate. A Rasmussen poll released this week showed that 56 percent of voters said Wright’s comments would make them less likely to vote for Obama, with blacks much less likely to react negatively. The Wright controversy, which flared anew last week after video clips surfaced showing the fiery South Side pastor blasting America as racist and thundering “God damn America,” produced furious damage control efforts by the Obama campaign that ended with the candidate’s extraordinary speech on Tuesday in Philadelphia, a state with a critical upcoming primary. While focusing on his call for America to transcend the persistent issue of race, the Democratic contender agreed that Wright used “incendiary language to express views that have the potential not only to widen the racial divide, but views that denigrate both the greatness and the goodness of our nation, that rightly offend black and white alike.” (Watch the full speech here) He conceded that he knew Wright to be “an occasionally fierce critic” and that he heard him “make remarks that could be considered controversial while I was in church,” contradicting a statement he made in an interview with the Chicago Sun-Times last week. But he also said the pastor’s comments “expressed a profoundly distorted view of this country — a view that sees white racism as endemic, and that elevates what is wrong with America above all that we know is right with America; a view that sees the conflicts in the Middle East as rooted primarily in the actions of stalwart allies like Israel, instead of emanating from the perverse and hateful ideologies of radical Islam.” Obama went on to say that Wright’s inflammatory remarks aren’t the whole story. “The man I met more than 20 years ago is a man who helped introduce me to my Christian faith, a man who spoke to me about our obligations to love one another,” he said. He cited the uniqueness of an emotional black church experience forged in slavery and segregation, and said, “This helps explain, perhaps, my relationship with Reverend Wright. As imperfect as he may be, he has been like family to me.” The line Obama tried to walk in the speech — condemning the words but not the man — and his admission that he knew Wright was preaching a radical gospel and did not leave the church troubled some Jewish leaders. “I have mixed feelings,” said Abraham Foxman, the national director of the Anti-Defamation League. In a January Jewish Week story, Foxman termed Wright a “black racist” and called on Obama to “confront his minister.” After Tuesday’s speech Foxman praised Obama for an “element of sensitivity to the Jewish community,” including his “specific reference to Israel as our ally, his condemnation of radical Islam.” But he was also disappointed by Obama’s tightrope walk on Wright. “Had the speech been given in the absence of the Wright issue, it would have been magnificent,” Foxman said. “There was a great deal of sincerity and eloquence in his exposition about the scars of racism in our country and his calls for the American people to rise above the racism that still exists. But the efforts to excuse and rationalize, even to have us understand the bigotry of his pastor, is very troubling.” A prominent Washington rabbi, while saying Wright’s comments “make me shake my head in disgust,” said it would be wrong to make political judgments about Obama because of his pastor. The relationship between a pastor and congregants is “very deep and it should be beyond politics,” said Rabbi Shmuel Herzfeld, spiritual leader of Ohev Sholom—The National Synagogue, an Orthodox shul. Rabbi Herzfeld is also Washington representative for Amcha—the Coalition for Jewish Concerns. “I can imagine how someone can worship in [Wright’s] synagogue and reject his politics. I don’t think all the people in my congregation would want to be held responsible for my opinions.” He said “Obama’s responsibility was to say that he rejects the pastor’s comments, which he has done. I don’t think he’s responsible for the fact he has prayed there.” Many analysts gave Obama high marks for a daring and eloquent call for the nation to move beyond its longstanding racial divisions. “What was most impressive is that Obama, sensing the scope of the problem, decided to meet it head on,” said Gilbert Kahn, a Kean University political scientist. “That points to a certain approach to problem solving. And it points to a political realism; there was a realization that you have to cut your losses quickly, and not let things fester.” Kahn called the speech an “extremely measured and intelligent presentation. He threw in some schmaltz, but he talked about issues in a way that will connect to people.” But Kahn, echoing other analysts, said Obama’s eloquence won’t neutralize the negative impact of the Wright affair, especially with some white swing voters already nervous about the prospect of the first serious African-American presidential contender. “The politics of this issue is no longer in his hands,” Kahn said. “He has addressed it. But every time his opponents — in the primaries or the general election — mention the words ‘race’ or ‘Wright,’ it brings this stuff up all over again.” So will GOP-supporting independent political organizations, which Kahn said will spare no expense in reminding voters of Wright’s harsh invective. Disparity Of Impact Several political observers noted the disparity between the way the Wright controversy has played out — and the impact of Pastor John Hagee’s endorsement of Sen. John McCain. Wright’s charges of Israeli “apartheid” and his support for divestment against the Jewish state have gotten broad play in the Jewish community; Hagee’s controversial statements that seem to blame the Jews for their own persecution over the centuries and his apocalyptic views of Israel’s role in a fiery biblical “end time” have had almost no impact. “Some in our community practice a brutal form of double standard,” said Ira Forman, director of the National Jewish Democratic Council (NJDC). “McCain actively seeks the endorsement of a man who denigrates another religion and they barely raise an eyebrow; Obama repudiates the remarks of his pastor and he is scorned.” In the Jewish context, the difference is based, in part, on the fact Wright is a harsh critic of Israeli policies in Gaza and the West Bank, while Hagee, founder of Christians United for Israel (CUFI), supports Israeli advocates of a “not one inch” approach. Also, Hagee was immunized against criticism by his keynote address to AIPAC, the pro-Israel lobby, last year. But the difference also has to do with the relationship between the ministers and the candidates, said University of Akron political scientist John Green, an expert in the intersection of religion and politics. “Rev. Wright is Sen. Obama’s pastor, about whom he has said many positive things,” Green said. “There isn’t the same kind of personal relationship between John McCain and John Hagee. If anything, McCain has spent the past eight years being on the outs with Evangelical leaders.” The looming presence of Wright — despite Tuesday’s dramatic speech — also undercuts Obama’s claim to be the first candidate who can genuinely transcend the issue of race, he said. And there’s the powerful impact of racial symbolism. “Wright does seem scary to many white Americans because there is still a lot of racial tension in America,” Green said. “Even among white Americans who are committed to racial reconciliation, a black nationalist like Wright presents a problem; it makes them uncomfortable; it raises things from our past about which we are not proud.” Hagee and his fellow apocalyptic Christians “do frighten some Americans because they fear their impact on American policy,” Green said. “But that’s seen as something off in the future. If you don’t hold apocalyptic views, it doesn’t seem as threatening as the incendiary issue of race.” While the Hagee endorsement has been little more than a blip in the McCain campaign, “Wright is having an impact” as Obama struggles to keep his lead in the race for the Democratic nomination and position himself for a strong general election run, Green said. “The best evidence of that is how the Obama campaign is responding,” he said. “They see in their own tracking polls and among their supporters that this is something that really needs to be addressed. I think he can do that in the context of the primaries. But it could have serious implications for the general election.” |
  
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