Obama's identity issues
Barack Obama survived his appearance on Meet the Press this morning. The interview was designed to show that Obama could handle questions about his relationship with Rev Wright, his extreme former preacher, from the toughest interviewer on American TV and to that extent it worked. The interview did not, though, shut Wright down as an issue; there are simply too many unanswered questions about what Obama knew about Wright’s views and when for that to happen.
The last few weeks have been so rough for Obama as they have questioned his whole political identity. Obama has presented himself as a unifying figure—his 2004 Democratic convention speech, which catapulted him to national prominence, was based on a rejection of the idea that there is a Democrat and Republican American—who can, as he likes to put it, move the country beyond relitigating the 1960s. But Obama has found himself repeatedly playing defence on precisely these kinds of issue in recent weeks whether it be Wright, his friendship with an unrepentant member of the radical leftist group the Weathermen, or his comments about small-town Americans clinging to their faith and guns.
Tuesday will give us an idea of the electoral damage that this has inflicted on Obama. If Obama misses his fourth opportunity to knock Hillary Clinton out the race and is subjected to another gruelling few weeks like this then his general election chances could start to be really damaged. Obama is still the overwhelming favourite to win the Democratic nomination but there is a real danger that he ends up limping over the finish line.