Now that the video of Wright's hate-mongering sermons have become public, Obama wants us to believe that not only was he not sitting in a pew for any of the sermons in question, but Wright's tone and language were never even a part of any conversation he had with his wife or any other member of the congregation.

"In effect," I said, "Obama now would have us believe that all he did was slow down in front of the church on Sunday mornings and let the girls out while he went off to play paintball."

After watching Obama's speech:

"Talk show hosts and conservative commentators built entire careers unmasking bogus claims of racism while dismissing legitimate discussions of racial injustice and inequality as mere political correctness or reverse racism."

"the implication that my candidacy is somehow an exercise in affirmative action; that it's based solely on the desire of wide-eyed liberals to purchase racial reconciliation on the cheap."

We can accept a politics that breeds division, and conflict, and cynicism ... We can play Reverend Wright's sermons on every channel, every day and talk about them from now until the election, and make the only question in this campaign whether or not the American people think that I somehow believe or sympathize with his most offensive words � or we can speculate on whether white men will all flock to John McCain in the general election regardless of his policies.