The heat on Barack Obama is growing, to the point where he has announced that tomorrow he will deliver a "major address on race in religion" in Philadelphia tomorrow morning. Obama says, "I am going to be talking not just about Reverend Wright, but the larger issue of race in this campaign."

I'm sure that Obama will indeed surround his mentions of Wright with as much general talk about "the larger issue of race" in the campaign as possible. His interview earlier today with Gwen Ifill of the Lehrer Newshour may provide a preview:

MS. IFILL: You have also cast this as a generational distinction of the sort of things that Reverend Wright said being the baggage of a fiercely intelligent African-American man of his generation and Geraldine Ferraro’s as well. When does one person’s baggage become another person’s memory/history?

SEN. OBAMA: Well, you know, look, there’s a continuum. But I think that, you know, when you look at somebody like a Reverend Wright who grew up in the ’50s or ’60s, his experience of race in this country is very different than mine in the same way that Geraldine’s experience being an intelligent, ambitious woman, you know, is very different than a young woman who’s coming up today and potentially has a different set of opportunities.

Now, we benefit from that past. We benefit from the difficult battles that were taken place. But 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.

Of course, the person who has been "perpetuating the anger and the bitterness" is Rev. Wright. Obama tries to distribute the blame more evenly:

And so, to the extent that, you know, the conversation over the last couple of days has been dominated by some stupid statements that were made by Reverend Wright, but also caricatures of Reverend Wright and Trinity United Church of Christ – which, by the way, is part of a denomination that is overwhelmingly white – you know, I think that that has distracted us from the possibilities of moving beyond some of these arguments.

But this doesn't really work; Wright hasn't been "caricatured," video of him giving racist and anti-American sermons has surfaced.

Still, Obama is skillful, and many people will find his approach to racial issues appealing. But those who have actually seen the video of Rev. Wright may still have questions.

PAUL adds: Obama says he's "not sure that we benefit from continuing to perpetuate the anger and the bitterness" that Reverend Wright articulates. But Obama benefited from his association with Wright, including Wright's anger and bitterness. It gave him authenticity with blacks in Chicago -- the ones he hoped would elect him to Congress (Obama ran unsuccessfully in a predominantly black district). It's only now that he no longer benefits from the association with Wright that Obama seeks to distance himself from it.

Posted by John at 6:05 PM  |    |