I cracked up tonight watching CNN (the only cable news network to cover the speech live). Rick Sanchez brought Durbin and some Clinton super delegate with the last name Schultz. I really wanted to know how the campaigns were going to react to the speech. Turns out that both representatives came across as evasive weasels - sorry.
Durbin was asked first to comment and he moves right into the canned statement the campaign has been giving about Wright for a month now. Sanchez interrupted to ask him about tonight's speech, and it turns out that... Durbin didn't hear it, other than a few "edited" items.
My next question would have been "then why did you agree to come on here and speak about it Senator?" But Sanchez was way too nice. So Durbin basically came on to say nothing and got away with it. I'm sorry, I like the man, but Durbin really disappointed me tonight.
So did Rep. Schultz seize the moment to tear into Durbin for his evasiveness? No, actually she jumped right in to say that she didn't hear the speech either. She went on to talk about "the questions" which will face Obama "throughout the campaign."
So, either they lied or CNN was incredibly incompetent in screening them ahead of time.
What's happening is that nobody knows how Wright's speech is going to be received. If nothing else, he pulled the biggest mind-f--k on mainstream politicos tonight because nobody wants to criticize or praise the speech until they know how it plays out.
Even the Republican operative early on said the speech would hurt Obama, but mostly because it keeps Wright in the news. Oh, and Wright's pedagogic outlook might "shock" some teachers.
Let me know when somebody important actually says something of substance about the speech. Personally, I think the "Wright factor" may have just died as a campaign issue.
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