Passport Hubbub, Endorsement Offer Needed Relief for Obama
Barack Obama picks up the endorsement of Bill Richardson, right, at Portland's Memorial Coliseum in Oregon Friday. (AP Photo)
Good Friday was a very good Friday for Barack Obama, as news of passport breaches in the State Department and a much-sought endorsement from New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson shifted the focus away from the racial controversies that have dogged him for more than a week.
Obama tried to put to rest discussions of race on the campaign trail Tuesday, when he gave a speech addressing his relationship with the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, whose anti-U.S. sermons dominated campaign coverage for days.
The Wright controversy proved difficult to shake, however. Obama’s speech did not immediately stop the media replay of Wright’s most heated sermons, and polls indicated the Illinois senator was losing ground because of the focus on the issue.
But as reports of high-profile passport breaches developed between Thursday evening and Friday afternoon, the presidential candidates were handed a common target: the State Department. And the endorsement from Richardson, the nation’s only Hispanic governor, also helped Obama move on.
“This is a real good thing for the Obama campaign, GOP strategist Andrea Tantaros said of the endorsement from Richardson, who called Obama a “once-in-a-lifetime leader.”
“They change the subject … it also sends a message to other superdelegates that Obama still has strength, still has power to move ahead,” Tantaros said. “This is bad news for the Clinton campaign. It’s just another crack in her political dam.”
Democratic strategist Julia Piscatelli said the endorsement from Richardson, who was the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations under Bill Clinton, helps Obama with his foreign policy credentials.
And political analyst Keli Goff said the endorsement helps deflect reports that Obama is not popular among Hispanics, as well as shift focus away from Wright.
Speaking Friday at a town hall meeting in Salem, Ore., Obama referred to the Wright controversy as a “bunch of turbulence” for his campaign.
The passport flap — in which the files of Hillary Clinton, John McCain and Obama were improperly accessed — brings a new set of turbulence, and could offer at least a temporary sense of relief to Obama’s campaign, which until recently was basking in the glow of front-runner status.
Clinton is still trailing in delegates, and Politico reported Friday that un-named campaign aides were giving her no more than a 10 percent chance of winning the nomination.
A photo was also posted on The New York Times’ Web site Thursday night showing Bill Clinton and Wright shaking hands at a White House prayer breakfast 10 years ago.
The Times site said the Wright photo was provided by Obama’s campaign, and in a statement Friday morning the Clinton campaign accused Obama of straining to shift the tide.
“It’s no secret that the Obama campaign is in political hot water given the news stories of the last few weeks and is desperate to change the subject,” the memo said. It accused Obama of peddling the Wright-Clinton photo and blasted the campaign for suggesting they were involved with his passport breach.
Obama’s campaign released a statement Thursday suggesting political motives were behind the breach, but on Friday it was clear the violations were not limited to Obama himself.
But if Obama is consciously trying to steer the political discourse away from the race topic, it’s an effort he proved only partially committed to Friday, when he responded to more questions about Wright at a press conference in Portland, Ore.
Obama said again that he was not aware of the most offensive Wright statements until they were broadcast on the Internet and TV, and especially was not aware of Wright’s claims that the government was responsible for HIV.
Obama called that “completely out of line and off the wall.”
FOX News’ Bonney Kapp contributed to this report.
As adults we can listen to someone (like a pastor) speak over and over, and discard some of the things they say if we disagree. But my major problem with the Obamas judgement call is not with them listening(though of course it is a problem), its allowing their 2 young daughters to listen to the hate speak against America at a place like church. For them to allow their daughters to hear that all the time tells me that they must empathize with him to some degree, at least. Then… when combining that with all the other circumstances (like Michelle’s proud comment, and the typical white person comment) it would be pretty hard not to look at this situation from that perspective now.
Well, well, well…
Wright’s 9/11 speech in his entirety was quoting Ambassador Peck, a Reagan administration official. Of course, it got redacted down to just the most sensational parts in the 25 second clip Hannity and the Fox nuts are playing. The full segment is 3:05.
The full clip paints an entirely different picture than the highlights.
http://essence.typepad.com/news/2008…-to-rev-j.html
I hope we keep up the discussion on Obama’s dark side. I think he is trying to divert the conversation from the real issue. The issue is that he chose to sit on a church listening an American hater for 20 years.
All this political stuff makes me sleepy.
A very short relief. People aren’t going to forget what happened this past couple of weeks. It will be an on going thing. If he thinks it is done and over with- he better get out of the race now- it is only going to get worse!!
obama is the one!
I know you think your promoting your own agenda, Bill Richardson. Instead, your cooking your own goose again. Obama is not going to win the primary and you won’t get to be VP in trade for your endorsement. Boy, oh boy, the good old boys are uniting against the girl. And they say there is no gender bias in this race. Come on guys, you know who is best for our country. Vote Hillary for a better America at home and abroad. Seriously, Richardson your endorsement will be seen for what it is, an effort to get Obama out of the hot seat and to promote yourself. Guess what, it won’t help, Hillary is on a roll and the Latino’s don’t think that much of you it doesn’t seem. Another empty endorsement like Kerry’s.
Richardson - you are a damn disgrace.
desperate Hillary….say anything to get elected…Go Obama….Put thousand cracks in her stinking political dam
Look at the fair and balanced Fox and their headlines. Instead of just noting the Richardson endorsed Obama, we must all take note that it is just to quiet the storm of Pastor Wright. I think the editor of this website should enter the No Spin Zone and keep the headlines fair. Heaven forbid readers are able to read a story about Obama that doesn’t include the Revered Wright.