Taking the spin out of a story
Whether it’s right that Barack Obama should have to answer for the comments of his pastor or not, he has recently been forced to do so. The siren calls of the right wing media have finally been echoed by the mainstream and the result has been a feeding frenzy. One might assume this was because somebody is out to destroy any chance he has of becoming President, despite being the clear choice of Democrats, but whilst the glee the Clinton camp is nauseating, a smear such as this from McCain or a ’swift boat’ surrogate group was inevitable at some point.
Unlike Clinton’s response to Ferraro, Barack Obama has consistently acted decisively with those affiliated with his campaign who do not follow his determination to avoid attacking the character of his opponents (and there are two: Clinton and McCain). However this brings with it a problem - when the mud is being thrown the usual response would throw some back. If the words and actions of your spiritual adviser is to be measured as if they were your own, one might for instance highlight the fact that Hillary Clinton’s pastor has just been sentenced for 3 years for pedophilia and lying under oath, or that McCain’s pastor advocates a war on Islam to advance an apocalypse. But Barack is running a different campaign, one which centers on the important issues, which seeks to lift politics from out of the gutter and enthuse a new generation for a common cause. So when the mud gets thrown, and the media refuse to explain your position fairly, the only thing left is to turn to YouTube.