“I do not feel a sense of honest anger or violation at his remarks, in part because I don’t think his views carry deep implications for our country,” Peggy Noonan wrote today in the Wall Street Journal about the Rev. Jeremiah Wright. She noted that Barack Obama might lose some support based on the extreme comments by his former pastor. But, she wrote, “it doesn’t get my blood up. It doesn’t hurt my heart. It doesn’t make me feel I need to defend my country. Because I don’t see it as attacked, only criticized in a way that is not persuasive.”
Here are the top 10 “surprising facts” about Barack Obama, as delivered by the Democratic presidential hopeful Thursday on CBS’ “Late Show With David Letterman”:
10. “My first act as president will be to stop the fighting between Lauren and Heidi on ‘The Hills.’”
9. “In the Illinois primary, I accidentally voted for Kucinich.”
8. “When I tell my kids to clean their room, I finish with, ‘I’m Barack Obama and I approved this message.’”
7. “Throughout high school, I was consistently voted “Barackiest.’”
6. “Earlier today I bowled a 39.”
5. “I have canceled all my appearances the day the ‘Sex and the City’ movie opens.”
4. “It’s the birthplace of Fred Astaire. (Sorry, that’s a surprising fact about Omaha.)”
3. “We are tirelessly working to get the endorsement of Kentucky Derby favorite Colonel John.”
2. “This has nothing to do with the Top 10, but what the heck is up with Paula Abdul?”
1. “I have not slept since October.”
Elizabeth Edwards has had it with the “shallow†media coverage of the presidential race, which she had the rare opportunity to observe as an insider during her husband’s run. “Watching the campaign unfold, I saw how the press gravitated toward a narrative template for the campaign, searching out characters as if for a novel,†she wrote in the New York Times.
She concluded: “If voters want a vibrant, vigorous press, apparently we will have to demand it. Not by screaming out our windows as in the movie ‘Network’ but by talking calmly, repeatedly, constantly in the ears of those in whom we have entrusted this enormous responsibility. Do your job, so we can — as voters — do ours.â€
Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., increasingly looks like a 2010 gubernatorial candidate as he makes appearances around the state on a 105-county tour. But for now he’s focused on helping Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., win the White House, he recently said in Leavenworth. “After the fall I will see whether or not to get involved in the governor’s race,†Brownback said. He also continued his criticism of the Air Force tanker contract: “There are two things you shouldn’t be dependent on other countries for, your food and defense.â€
Beyond the obviously historic elements of the 2008 presidential race — first nominee who is either a woman or African-American — have been others, noted Bob Schieffer in a commentary on CBS’ “Face the Nationâ€:
“Who’d have thought we would ever see one of Richard Nixon’s daughters supporting a Democrat — but there was Julie Nixon Eisenhower’s name listed as a contributor to the Obama campaign.
“Who’d have thought the first African-American who had a real chance to be president would be defending himself against charges that he was a condescending elitist?
“Who would have believed that a politician would call in the cameras to record her drinking whiskey? But there was Hillary Clinton knocking one back for the TV boys.â€
“I do not feel a sense of honest anger or violation at his remarks, in part because I don’t think his views carry deep implications for our country,” Peggy Noonan wrote today in the Wall Street Journal about the Rev. Jeremiah Wright. She noted that Barack Obama might lose some support based on the extreme comments by his former pastor. But, she wrote, “it doesn’t get my blood up. It doesn’t hurt my heart. It doesn’t make me feel I need to defend my country. Because I don’t see it as attacked, only criticized in a way that is not persuasive.”
