OBAMA’S REVEREND WRIGHT PROBLEM IN NORTH CAROLINA

[Mayhill Fowler-Huffington Post]

Yesterday’s Huffington Post article by Mayhill Fowler caught my eye.

Ms. Fowler has been spending time in North Carolina, and gives some insight into the question of how badly Barack Obama’s association with the Reverend Jeremiah Wright has hurt his candidacy there—particularly now that Wright has broken his silence by refusing to apologize for his view that America is a terrorist nation that brought 9/11 on itself.

She reports:

“It doesn't look good. Last Wednesday at a Bill Clinton rally in Elon College, NC, Sandra, an older Democrat said, "His [Obama's] being black hasn't had much to do with it here. He hasn't had a problem until the Church business. It's a pivotal point in his campaign. It's really hurt him. You can't plead ignorance of something you heard for twenty years--not if you're a politically-minded person."

“Sandra's incredulity I found at every NC campaign event before Wright made his appearance with Bill Moyers on PBS Friday, before Wright's Detroit NAACP address and National Press Club appearance. At a Hillary Clinton rally Sunday on the Wilmington riverfront, for example, Pierce, a younger woman, an undecided voter, said she would hear Senator Obama on hMonday before making up her mind. But she went on to ask, "Why was he [Obama] around him [Wright] for so long?" The unanswerable question bothered not only her but also some of her husband's colleagues--all professors at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington.

“Richard Rooks and his neighbor Joan Lopez, both Democrats, both taking in the beautiful evening and the rally on the Cape Fear River, echoed Pierce's observation. "Reverend Wright will be the deciding factor for 'undecideds' in North Carolina," Richard said. Again it is worth noting that Rooks made this observation before Wright's appearance at the National Press Club Monday. Also, Rooks was unaware of Wright's remarks to the Detroit NAACP earlier Sunday.

“Eight days out from the primary, North Carolina no longer looks like such an easy win for Barack Obama because ten percent of voters are still undecided. Yes, Obama has the black vote (38% of NC Democrats, until this year) and most of the Democratic youth vote. With the surge of newly-registered voters (178,000+), however, there's no way of knowing what final percentage this double demographic will give Senator Obama. If Hillary Clinton has always had the lion's share of the white Democratic vote, the saving grace for Barack Obama is that most white folk in North Carolina are Republicans. Since the Democrats, whoever the nominee, have little chance of winning North Carolina in November, the Democratic presidential primary is a nine-day wonder here. The real political fighting is down-ballot; therefore, local strategies are influencing the national race rather than vice versa.”

Could Barack Obama be so wounded that he might lose North Carolina?

Stay tuned.