Continued: Blog House: Have Obama's odds been Wright-sized?

If you thought that once the Rev. Jeremiah Wright traded his pulpit for a podium he'd be less of a threat to Barack Obama's presidential aspirations, in the words of Wright, "you got another thing coming."

In a series of interviews and appearances, the reverend reiterated some of his most controversial claims -- that the government created the HIV virus to kill African-Americans, that the United States brought on the attacks of 9/11, that the military was no better than terrorists. But his latest rants brought a new charge: that Obama has distanced himself from Wright only because, as a politician, he had to -- the implication being that Obama agreed with his former pastor and "spiritual adviser."

That prompted a reaction from the candidate. And, unlike in his March speech in Philadelphia, when he used the Wright episode to address race relations, he came right out and repudiated Wright himself. "His comments were not only divisive ... but I believe that they end up giving comfort to those who prey on hate."

Conservative bloggers weren't buying it. Michelle Malkin (1) wrote:

"Try as he might, he simply cannot disown the un-disownable preacher of hate. That press conference yesterday renders the Philadelphia speech from March null and void. And anyone who fell for the Philadelphia speech (unfortunately, there were several on the right side of the aisle) should feel especially embarrassed today. Try not to be fooled again."

Erick at Red State (2) agreed, blogging that, rather than putting the issue to rest, Obama's statement raised more questions.

"When, Barack, when did Reverend Wright no longer act like the guy you knew? When? Was it after or before you named him as your spiritual advisor? At some point in the twenty years of your relationship he apparently changed. Do you really expect us to believe you didn't see the change."

Some liberal bloggers were looking to November and expressing fears that Obama may be damaged beyond repair. As Todd Beeton at MyDD (3) put it:

"There are a couple problems that this press conference aren't likely to assuage. First is Obama's statement that he guesses he didn't know Wright as well as he thought he did. 'The person that I saw yesterday was not the person that I had come to know over 20 years.' That's a big problem for someone running on judgment. Secondly ... Obama pointed to Wright's off-message press tour as proof that ... his campaign was not managing or coordinating with Wright, I suppose to distance himself from Wright [to] prove to people that he is indeed Obama's former pastor. What [th]is does for me is call into question his fitness to run a general."

Andrew Sullivan (4), a fan before Obama's news conference, was even more of one after.

"He has more sincerity and integrity than the vast majority of politicians, more honesty, and more resilience in a very tough spot. And today, we found that he can fight back, and take a stand, without calculation and in what is clearly a great amount of personal difficulty and political pain. It's what anyone should want in a president."

Conservative Ross Douthat (5) had a surprising and unique response, feeling sympathy for Obama.

"Obama has compared his pastor to a crazy uncle, but I suspect -- based on how he's talked about his minister, how he's written about him, and how people tend to think about their spiritual mentors -- that if he were being completely honest, he'd describe Wright as closer to a father-figure instead. And now, as if being abandoned by his biological dad wasn't bad enough, he's lugging a quintessential Bad Father through his Presidential campaign -- a pure creep straight out of an Augusten Burroughs memoir, who's happy to sabotage a younger, finer man who might just be the first black President of the United States in the hopes of feeding his own ego and becoming ... what? The next Al Sharpton? The next Willie Horton? How vile and pathetic."

Obama has Wright; Al Franken has Allen Chanzis. Chanzis is Franken's accountant and, according to the Senate candidate, is responsible for Franken's having to pay more than $70,000 in back taxes and penalties in 17 states.

Pat Shortridge at Truth vs. the Machine (6) said Franken has to answer some questions.

"How did Team Franken decide on $70,000 and 17 states? Does the $70,000 include penalties and interest? Who told him he had no tax liability in the first place? Who signed off on the termination process for Al Franken, Inc. in California? How come the stories out of the Franken Campaign kept changing? Does this settle all outstanding legal and financial issues for Al Franken, Inc?"

James Joyner at Outside the Beltway (7) doesn't believe this is a case of attempted tax evasion.

"I'm no great fan of Franken but this explanation strikes me as quite plausible. People who make that kind of money hire accountants and sign where they're told and write out whatever checks are necessary. Due dilligence tends to involve a quick scan to make sure nothing's obviously out of whack. Further, it's completely ridiculous that a resident of Minnesota would owe state taxes simply because he gave a speech elsewhere. The accounting burden alone for such a policy is a nightmare."

MNO at the Cucking Stool (8) sees more than a little hypocrisy in the GOP's holier-than-thou reaction to Franken's situation.

"[T]his is the Minnesota Republican Party we're talking about. You know, the one that is under investigation by the FEC for years of financial mismanagement. The same organization who retaliated against their own Finance Director who wrote a letter to the party's Executive Committee complaining about the party's accounting practices, including questions about whether employee retirement money was misappropriated and whether the party was -- gasp! -- guilty of tax evasion. The same organization that continues to file -- over and over and over again -- statements that it hasn't been able to sort through their own finances enough to figure out where all the money went."

tobrien@startribune.com

SEE FOR YOURSELF WHERE TO FIND THE BLOGS

1 Michelle Malkin • michellemalkin.com

2 Red State • redstate.com

3 MyDD • mydd.com

4 Andrew Sullivan • andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com

5 Ross Douthat • rossdouthat.theatlantic.com

6 Truth vs. the Machine • truthvmachine.com

7 Outside the Beltway • outsidethebeltway.com

8 The Cucking Stool • thecuckingstool.blogspot.com

Editor's note: Blog excerpts are not edited for style or spelling.