Closing The Deal In ObamaWorld

Is Barack Obama about to lose the Democratic presidential nomination? Yes, he leads in the delegate count and the popular vote over Hillary Clinton. But there is this nagging suspicion that all is not well in ObamaWorld.

First, there is the Senator's former "spiritual advisor" Reverend Jeremiah Wright, who has become a thorn in his side ever since excerpts of the former pastor's sermons started showing up on the networks. After weeks of silence, Wright emerged with guns blazing, chatting with Bill Moyers on PBS, and in speeches before the NAACP and the National Press Club. He defended his post-9/11/01 "God damn America" sermon, criticized the media's portrayal of him as an attack on the black church, and continued to support Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan, among other things.

Today, Obama severed ties with Wright, deploring the comments he made over the weekend. Wright already had an answer to that one, saying it was just something the Senator had to do to get elected.

Second, Obama is in danger of being seen as a self-absorbed yuppie (or whatever the term is these days), indifferent to the needs of mainstream voters. He was exposed as such during the Pennsylvania primary campaign, making comments such as the one about how small town America was using guns and religion to convey their bitterness at the way things were going. Or making references to an Iowa audience about an organic supermarket chain.

The reason Obama hasn't "closed the deal" might be that he doesn't relate very well to average people who don't drive hybrid cars or drink Chablis. Having his name linked to one of those "rabble-rousing" African-American preachers, reminding folks of Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton (both of whom have run for president, by the way), doesn't help in the eyes of these voters, either.

Denouncing a man who had such a huge influence on his life may not have been the easiest thing in the world for Barack Obama. But it was necessary if he wanted to maintain a little breathing room over Clinton and avoid a convention fight. Now all he has to do is to be a little more human to the folks who fly coach.