Clinton Backer "Organized" Wright's Press Club Event

New York Daily News columnist Errol Louis writes:

The Rev. Jeremiah Wright couldn't have done more damage to Barack Obama's campaign if he had tried. And you have to wonder if that's just what one friend of Wright wanted.

Shortly before he rose to deliver his rambling, angry, sarcastic remarks at the National Press Club Monday, Wright sat next to, and chatted with, Barbara Reynolds.

A former editorial board member at USA Today, she runs something called Reynolds News Services and teaches ministry at the Howard University School of Divinity. (She is an ordained minister).

It also turns out that Reynolds - introduced Monday as a member of the National Press Club "who organized" the event - is an enthusiastic Hillary Clinton supporter. ...

I don't know if Reynolds' eagerness to help Wright stage a disastrous news conference with the national media was a way of trying to help Clinton - my queries to Reynolds by phone and e-mail weren't returned yesterday - but it's safe to say she didn't see any conflict between promoting Wright and supporting Clinton.

Read Louis's full column here.

UPDATE: From Politico's Michael Calderone:

National Press Club president Sylvia Smith responded today to a Daily News article reporting that club member Barbara Reynolds, a Hillary Clinton supporter, organized yesterday's breakfast talk with Dr. Jeremiah Wright Jr.

Smith said by phone this morning that she still doesn't know if Reynolds supports Clinton, and doesn't care either way.

"Reverend Wright is newsworthy, period," Smith said.

But Wright wasn't as newsworthy two years ago when Reynolds first pitched Barack Obama's controversial pastor as a potential speaker for the press club, according to Smith.

At that time, the speaker's committee--of which Reynolds is now a part of, but wasn't at the time--didn't move forward with selecting Wright.

"He wasn't newsworthy then in the broader context," Smith said.

Comments

[Marrob]

It's the Clinton's fault. This whole Rev. Wright deal is Hillary's fault!!! You people are a piece of work.

[LarksTongue]

Here we go again: Letting Republicans, Clinton, the main stream media, and our own human nature define the battlefield. Over 200 replies and it isn't even noon yet. Whether or not this story has legs, what possible difference will it make to the white working class voters of Indiana? Which is, in case everyone forgot, the current battle.

Where is the discussion on corporate tax breaks, out-sourcing, dangerous imports, sagging wages and inflation? Why aren't Lou Dobbs and Chris Matthews on location in Indiana right now? I've bought most of the 'working man' stuff I've heard from both of these guys and where are they now? Sitting on their fat asses parroting the same crap as everyone else, that's where.

After 8 years of Clinton and 8 years of Bush, 1 in 10 Americans are expected to be on food stamps by next year for cryin' out loud! Many of them will be poor whites. But between Republicans telling them to pick themselves up by their imported bootstraps and Democrats too progressive to do anything but troll threads like this... where the hell are they supposed to go?

Besides, even if this thread leads somewhere, it simply isn't shocking enough to do any damage in the few days left. Take a deep breath everybody. Pivot.

[mnnice]

I wish barack would go find some people who have the truth about the clintons only problem is most of them are dead.What kind of people are these who are suporting these despicable people.They cant be democrats. Unbelievable

[NCYvonne]

Clinton's problem with the Superdelegates . . . in 1992.

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E0CE1DA133FF933A25757C0A964958260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all

Please read this article. It is so appropriate for what's happening today . . . how people said Clinton was unelectable and didn't want to support him, etc. Now, the Clintons are using the same arguments against Obama that were used against him.

[Windsor]

Reading the article it is apparent that Bill was considered a weak choice for many voters and superdelegates.

I would argue the reason Obama hasn't wrapped it up is that HRC has been a strong competitor.

Someone needs to remind Bill of this. Maybe another radio personality before the Indiana primary can ask him why many superdelegates and voters had so many doubts about his 1992 campaign even though he had little to no competition as it winded down? If his campaign was so flawed how was it that he won 2 terms? That'll drive him crazy....maybe get him swearing again.

The Clinton's years were good for America but don not forget that they were very fortunate to catch a wave of HIGH TECH growth and irrational STOCK MARKET gains along with a monetary policy that emphasized LOWERING INTEREST RATES that drove equity and money into the market and lead to ECONOMIC EXPANSION. This had little to do with Bill Clinton - unless of course you consider NAFTA's positive influence on Wall Street - but then you'd also have to admit the lagging effect that knocked Main Street down another peg or two on the Economic Ladder!

[CTmom13]

Obama supporters this will make yuou feel good....Su­persw/Clin­ton supporters, don't tell me he has a old white voter problem

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AeBpPjIlaEw&eurl=http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/4/29/12241/0475/54/505397

[FlowerGirl]

Hallelujah! Sister!! That is a bit of a trick. Now what does it tell us?

[glorysong]

Is there is any way this could be passed around to other news Medias.

[stepintothelight]

It will not. The media took Obama as a joke and with not much seriousness. Now that he has made idiots out of them they will turn up the heat. You all are fools if you think these people will not pull out all stops to keep the common man from having any influence. White men run this country and they are loving their ignorant slave society!!!

[profmsf]

There is a saying in Africa that "when elephants fight, the grass gets trampled." It is obvious now that the ever angry Reverend Wright decided a long time ago that he would rather be an elephant than someone who might stop elephants from fighting in the first place. Ditto Hillary (Fight! Fight! Fight!) and McCain ("There will be more wars.") I am not a monotheist of any type but I believe Jesus advised turning the other cheek and said something like "Blessed be the peacemakers." Obama is offering Americans a clear alternative to more trampling of the grass. Unfortunatley, as a cigarette advertiser (see "Tareyton") observed long ago, many Americans "would rather fight than switch." Either way, we will get the government we deserve.

[TheKnownTruth]

Wright...

The gift that keeps on giving. Hatched from the same brood/generations as HRC.

It would only seem (W)right that they would have the same jealousy based agenda....

"It's ME that count and I'll say anything to convince you....that I'm (W)right"...LOL

[punditpolice]

Now it is starting to make sense. Clinton is playing dirty- oh wait, that's the only way she plays.

[BEHM777]

Freedom of expression is a right guaranteed in the Constitution. Barack Obama knows constitutional law, so while he may privately wish that Reverend Wright was quiet because of how irrationally some people will react to what Reverend Wright may say, he knows that Reverend Wright has a right to say it. I happen to believe that the only people really upset about a man expressing his right to express himself are individuals that need to mature quite a bit. Mature and intelligent people will realize that this election is not, never was, and never will be about Jeremiah Wright.

[victoriajubilee]

EMAIL KEITH OLBERMANN WITH THE STORY. EMAIL ADDRESS : letters@ms­nbc.com--a­ttention keith olbermann.

[EvoMan]

Perhaps Reverend Wright is a closet Hillary supporter. After all, he's a smart man, so he knows the kind of damage he's potentially doing.

[FogBelter]

Anyone who thinks Obama and Reverend Wright are close, and that Wright is some sort of advisor to Obama have to be cured of it now.

An Obama supporter wouldn't be doing the damage that Wright is ... that is perfectly clear.

[FogBelter]

Hillary needs Reverend Wright more than she needs Bill right now ... I wouldn't be surprised if she was behind his anti-Obama World Tour.

She probably scored him his book deal as well.

[byrdlegs]

Hillary and Bill may have promised the good Rev. Wright a slice of that $109 million?
Like all good men of the cloth, as long as people are sending and donating money, the never will shut up. You go Jerry....

[patmancando]

It always amazes me that Obaminations can find a reason to blame Clinton for all of Sen. Obama's problems. Is it possible that Obama has gotten himself into this mess?
Did Clinton also arraign Rev. Wright's sermons in Texas on Sunday, his appearance on Bill Moyers and his appearance at the Detroit NAACP? Give me a break. I think it is more probable that the Rev. Wright felt used by the ambitious Obama; the Rev.'s connections to power in the Chicago political arena certainly helped this unknown Obama to establish himself in the state of Illinois.

[moodpost]

Why is Rev. Wright's appearance at the National Press Club being framed as bad for Obama? What did he say that was bad for Obama? I saw it, and I just don't get all the hand ringing. I think the attempts to throw the reverend under the bus are all wrong. Reverend Wright is a plus for the Obama campaign. There ar a lot of genuine Christian people who have no problem at all with anything Rev. Wright has ever said.

[ApolloniaCreed]

The problem is Rev. Wright is a smart man... Smart enough to know, in this world of sound-bites, NAACP and the Press Club appearance would not be a good for Senator Obama.

I am not one who thinks Rev. Wright is a crazy man... I would say in some respects I would say he is brilliant. He was amazing in the Bill Moyer's interview. He always know what he is doing... Perhaps something happened between the Bill Moyers interview and the other appearances that we don't know about.

[BJBirdie]

You can agree with every word Rev. Wright said, but if you truly, honestly believe that Wright has been GOOD for the Obama campaign, you're - how do I put this? - wrong.

The only way it works to his advantage is if Obama has his "Sista Souljah moment" and distances himself entirely.

[moodpost]

I disagree My point is about framing though. Great political movements tend to frame truths about themselves in positive ways. To date, Democrats refuse to do that. Democrats need to accept that their nominee has been to church with Reverend Jeremiah Wright, and nothing is going to change that. It is the truth, and it is not a bad thing and we should not accept it being framed as a bad thing. It's just a simple fact. If it embarrasses you or if you think it might or think it should embarrass you, then you've been manipulated. The idea of denouncing Jeremiah Wright is absurd. Whose vote is worth that? Everyone will give Obama credit for addressing it already, and if the campaign frames the man correctly, if the campaign takes some of its own sound bytes of the reverend, I believe he could be used as a positive in a very real way. I'm not saying that it doesn't cost votes somewhere, I'm saying that it could gain more in other demographics. I like Jeremiah Wright. I would like to meet him. It's just a matter of what information about J. Wright that you expose to the public.

[MrsJones]

I agree, to some extent. The main problems I see with the NPC event (from what I've seen and read) are that he addressed the crowd more like he was speaking to his church rather than the press, who are looking for any reason to tear him apart or link something he says to Obama and that the press continues to spin his comments.

I think the comments about him (Wright) speaking as a minister and Obama speaking as a politician are correct. Anyone with sense knows that the two have different audiences, purposes and methods. Wright is able to address issues anyway he chooses in his church (until now). Obama, as a politician ( a Black politician), has to walk a very thin line in order to be successful.

To think that Jeremiah Wright is doing this because he simply wants the spotlight or because he has something against Obama is a little foolish. He didn't call the NPC, the NAACP or Bill Moyers. They contacted him. He cancelled several engagements initially. Perhaps he thought it would blow over, but as we have seen people don't want to use common sense or sound judgement...

For those who say Wright should just go somewhere and be quiet, I ask what would you do if your name and life's work were being dragged through the mud on an international stage? I doubt you would just fade into the background.

[PennP]

It was that bad. He basically dissed Obama, stating that Obama was saying what he said because that's what politicians do, for electability. He cast doubt over the sincerity of Obama's assurances, and basically threw him "under the bus." The positive thing is that, by making those remarks, he's justified Obama returning the favor wholesale. I hope he does, because this isn't going away. It is on the strength of Obama's promise as a true agent of reconciliation and change that he has come this far, and Wright's statements have tainted that promise. If he doesn't do something decisive, it's over.

[jupitor]

What was wrong was Mrs. Renold (Clinton supporter) knew full well to keep Rev. Wright in view of the media would surelly cause caos for Obama, and probllly bury him! It didn't matter what he said. They simply had to keep him on the boob tube in front of voters face to remind the voters of those short snipeds Of God Dam America to put him six feet under. This was caculated, and thought out very good, in my opinion. but than no one listens to me any way.