by John M. Curtis
(310) 204-8700

Copyright May 2, 2008
All Rights Reserved.

hen Rev. Jeremiah Wright Jr. announced he would appear at the National Press Club and on Public Broadcasting April 28, suspicious minds wondered whether Hillary Rodham Clinton's (D-N.Y.) campaign was behind the event. It turns out that Hillary supporter and Howard University religion professor Barbara Reynolds arranged Wright's media appearance. No one could imagine that Sen. Barack Obama (D-Il.) encouraged Wright to speak out to defend his honor, after the 66-year-old retired pastor of Chicago's Trinity United Church of Christ created so much damage to Barack's campaign. Only one week before the May 6 North Carolina and Indiana primaries, Wright told the National Association of Colored People convention in Detroit that the media trashed his good name. Wright's recent media appearances seemed curiously timed to sabotage Barack on May 6.

      Reynolds, who's an ordained minister and member of the National Press Club, teaches ministry classes at Howard University and formerly served on the editorial board of USA Today newspaper. She doesn't hide her enthusiastic support of Hillary. On her own blog found at www.reynoldsnews.com, she expressed undying gratitude for the Clintons. “My vote for Hillary in the Maryland primary was my way of saying thank you” to Hillary and Bill for a successful presidency. In the same post, she criticized Obama for his “Audacity of Hope” campaign theme. “Hope by definition is not based on facts,” wrote Reynolds. “It is an emotional expectation. Things hoped for may or may not come. But help based on experience trumps hope every time,” Reynolds wrote in her blog, the precise talking points used by Hillary's campaign to make their “experience” case against Obama.

      Reynolds' involvement in booking Wright to speak at the National Press Club at a critical time before the North Carolina and Indiana primaries was not accidental. No amount of denials can short-circuit the uncanny timing, bringing Obama's nemesis back on the national stage. “The fact is I don't support the Clintons, and right now I'm not even crazy about Barack . . . “ said Reynolds, denying any political motive for bringing Wright to the National Press Club. It was saturation exposure of Wright's “God damn America” and “US of KKK” sermons that damaged Obama before the March 4 Texas and Ohio primaries. Strategic GOP crossover voting also didn't help Obama, following conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh's “Operation Chaos,” an attempt by Republicans to vote for Hillary. It was also no accident that Hillary appeared today on Fox News' “The O'Reilly Factor” with Bill O'Reilly.

      O'Reilly's interview was predictably non-confrontational, discussing subjects like Rev. Wright and controversial comments by Barck's wife, Michelle. Going on “The O'Reilly Factor” played right into Rush's “Operation Chaos,” joining the GOP effort to hurt Obama's chances. With GOP presumptive nominee Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) generating a lack of enthusiasm among conservatives, strategists believe they can mobilize the base and have a better chance running against Hillary. A recent AP-Ipsos poll said otherwise, giving Hillary the edge over McCain in the general election, 50%-41%. Limbaugh's “Operation Chaos” could backfire should Hillary become the Democratic nominee and win in November. Arranging Wright's media appearances and appearing on “The O'Reilly Factor” demonstrated Hillary's shrewdness in the campaign's homestretch.

      What impeaches Reynolds' credibility are conflicting statements on her Website professing her love of the Clintons and dislike of Obama. She openly criticizes Barack for failing to come to grips with his relationship with Wright. “It is a sad testimony that to protect his credentials as a unifier above the fray, the senator is fueling the media characterization that Rev. Dr. Wright is some retiring old uncle in the church basement,” wrote Reynolds, making an emphatic point about Barack's unwillingness to denounce his ex-pastor. Her attack on Barack's “The Audacity of Hope” mirrors the Clinton campaign's central attack on Obama that he lacks substance, makes empty speeches and gives false hopes to naïve voters. Denying that she supports the Clintons can't hide her published antagonism toward Barack. All the denials in the world don't change what she published on her Website.

      Reynolds' denials about her involvement in bringing Rev. Wright back into the limelight can't hide her support of Hillary and disdain for Barack. Bringing Wright to the National Press Club tweaked Barack's Achilles Heel, his 20-year association with his controversial pastor. It's no accident that GOP operatives, though denounced publicly by McCain, run snippets of Wrights' most incendiary sermons in Indiana and North Carolina. Clinton and GOP strategist know that of all Barack's shortcomings the Wright controversy carried the most weight. Whether or not there's direct evidence of Reynolds' involvement in the Clinton campaign can't hide the obvious: That putting Wright in front of the cameras hurt Obama. Whether or not his April 29 press conference denouncing Wright reverses the damage is anyone's guess. One thing's for sure: Giving Wright a microphone was a dirty trick.

About the Author

John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He's editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.

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