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The Jeremiah Wright scandal is being called Sen. Barack Obama’s ‘Gennifer Flowers,’ and rightly so. This incident could have quite easily ended the lead, and possibly even the campaign, for Senator Obama. After it was hotly discussed from Morning Joe to The Late Show, the fact of the matter is that Obama only lost a few points in the polls. He not only survived, he endured.
The only thing the Wright ‘scandal’ has done to date is to create greater difficulties for those who criticize Sen. Obama as ‘untested and inexperienced.’ Jeremiah Wright was certainly a daunting test for Sen. Obama, and he passed.
Noticing this, both pundit and politician alike have begun calling for Sen. Hillary Clinton to step out of the race and concede. For Americans, the answer to this should be an unequivocal “No.” This country, after all, has written into its foundation that any American may make a run for the presidency, provided that they were born within its borders and are 35 years of age or older. Sen. Clinton was born in the state of Illinois, which by all accounts may be found in the place/country/region of the United States. That, of course, puts that to rest.
Does it really, though? Many Republicans might disagree. Sen. Clinton is known for many things, and one of those things is her extremely polarizing presence. A great number of people are much divided on the issue of Hillary Clinton – they either support her completely or they despise her absolutely. Her victory in New York was a wonderful example of this. People in the northern portion of New York state enjoyed her rhetoric and saw her as a senator who would listen to their issues. People in the southern portions of the state saw her as the first lady who failed in heath care reform and a criminal in the Whitewater scandal. They were sporting bumper stickers that called her a carpetbagger.
It’s widely believed that the Republicans want to run their nominee against Sen. Clinton because, while she may have a strong base, those that dislike her do so with a staunch passion. The dislike is so strong that the fear is that it may sway those voters to the elephant’s side of the tent. In that case, it may be prudent for the Republicans if she stayed in the race.
The Democrats, of course, will more likely than not – and do, from what I’ve seen – have a different opinion. The Hillary Clinton-Barack Obama struggle is forcing a crack right down the middle of the Democratic Party. Even if she should win the Pennsylvania Primary, which is to be held on April 22, there’s little chance that she could catch up to Sen. Obama’s number of delegates. Many Democrats, including Chairman of the Democratic National Committee Howard Dean, are starting to worry that the longer the party is divided, the more likely they are to lose votes to Sen. John McCain.
Noticing the paradox between what is the right of every American and what is considered to be tactically sound and for the good of the party – and those who believe that also tend to believe it’s for the good of the country as well – makes it hard to know which side to take. Republicans and Democrats make up 60 percent of Americans, so falling in with either is certainly not un-American.
Is it then un-American to press someone to make a decision concerning their own constitutional right? Is it instead un-American to follow the letter of the law, no matter the real-world applications and consequences on the majority of the country?
Megan Neff is a second-year English and journalism double-major.
