Too Much, Too Late

Like a man who suddenly realizes that he has stepped into quicksand, Democratic Presidential hopeful Barack Obama was doing the fancy dance on Friday and Saturday, repeatedly denouncing and repudiating the man whom he has consistently described as his close friend, spiritual advisor and mentor, and Pastor.

But clearly this is a case of too much too late.

As indicated by the Shakespearean phrase, 'Methinks thou doest protest too much,' Obama's repeated attempts over the past 2 days to distance himself from his Pastor and spiritual guide of 20 years appears highly disingenuous and indicative of a man who has been caught in his own web of deceit.

If the Senator thought that the statements of the Reverend Jeremiah Wright were 'repugnant,' 'inflammatory,' and 'appalling,' then why did he not say so when the statements were first spoken?

The Reverend Wright has a long history of making anti-American and inflammatory statements. For Obama to suddenly claim, only now, that Wright's statements are to be repudiated and condemned smacks of political opportunism at its worst.

Obama has been caught with his pants down, and now he hopes no one noticed anything underneath as he quickly, with a magician's touch, claims nothing happened.

The fact is, however, that millions of Americans have seen the goods, and they ain't pretty.

For Obama to denounce and repudiate the views, beliefs, and statements of his spiritual advisor and Pastor after 20 years of attending his church and sitting under his tutelage is one of the most ridiculous displays of deception that we have ever witnessed in politics.

During the 20 years that Obama sat under the almighty wisdom of the Reverend Wright, he has been treated to a regular diet of anti-Americanism (Wright once stated from the pulpit 'God damn America'), fixing blame for AIDS and the 9/11 attack on the U.S. Government, anti-Semitism (he claims the U.S. is evil for supporting Israel over the Palestinians), and perhaps the most damning statement of all, insisting that those who attacked us on 9/11 acted appropriately and justifiably in retaliation against American foreign policy.

Never once did Barack Obama repudiate any of these statements...until the mess hit the fan last week with widespread news reports concerning Wright's 'controversial' views.

It was then and only then that the candidate decided it would be best to publicly denounce the man he has always described in glowing terms.

To put it in the modern vernacular, 'This AIN'T gonna cut it.' And Americans are already seeing right through it.

In one single 24-hour period, according to the Rasmussen poll which monitors these things on a daily basis, Barack Obama's support has fallen 5 percentage points. Hillary Clinton's support has risen by 4 percentage points. And John McCain has now surpassed both Obama and Hillary in head-to-head matchups, beating Obama by 5 points and Hillary by 4 points.

Although it is still way too early to tell, perhaps voters are seeing that the halo they have placed around Obama is crooked and has holes. The one thing the candidate had going for him was his supposed lack of any semblance of disingenuousness, dishonesty, or 'dirty politics.'

One thing is for sure whether the voters get it or not, Obama can no longer claim clean hands.