To the people who have thrown up their hands and said, "well, now there's NO way Obama can win..." I just want to ask, why the heck not?

Yes, there are a lot of people who saw the video clips, heard the explanations, listened to the speech and still came away skeptical.

Yes, there are the folks who wanted to believe he's a Muslim, were ticked about the flag lapel pin, and now have actual video to pass around the "interwebs" to their friends and family.

Yes, the Republican attack machine is already mashing up videos to smear Obama in the GE (and Rove is salivating like a velociraptor sensing prey).

But this will only remain a campaign defining issue if we let it be one!

Here's the thing - we've been pistol-whipped in election after election by the Republicans, and we're clearly afraid of anything that can be distorted and Swift boated back at our heads.  No wonder, too - we're the party that understands complexity and context.  We're not afraid of tough issues.  We're the constituencies who read entire speeches  and demand well-sourced blogs.  We don't boil all issues down into catchy phrases and "ten word answers" (oh, I miss the West Wing).  We’re so accustomed to listening to the other side and finding value in what they say, that we let them argue us into a corner! 

So when someone like the Reverend Wright comes along with video clips that need to be explained in a larger context and with an understanding of a world and worldview outside our own experience, we give up.  We look at it and imagine what Rove and Fox will do with it, and what the idiots who elected Bush will say about it, and after seeing Gore turned into a braggart and Kerry’s own war record used against him we just give up.

But, if I’ve learned anything from Senator Obama’s historic campaign, it’s that the garbage will happen only if we let it happen.

We do have the ability and the power to change the message!  If you think a news outlet is misrepresenting the story, TELL THEM – and the post the email link to TPM and we’ll tell them, too!  If you think a talking head (elected or otherwise) is way off base, TELL THEM – and then post the email link to TPM and we’ll tell them, too!  And don’t give FOX a pass on this, either – TELL THEM why they’re off base!  They’re not just easily dismissed as FAUX news – they influence a lot of people, and if they’re spreading lies then they need to be called on it. 

Last, don’t be afraid to engage prejudice in person.  The folks who already had their undies in a twist over the Muslim thing and the flag pin thing probably weren’t going to vote for Obama, anyway – likely they just don’t feel comfortable voting for an African American but are using “patriotism” as their cover.  Whatever.  But when confronted by individuals who start with “…I don’t know…I just think that if it’s his pastor…” don’t let it drop!  Ask them if they’ve ever had a problem with Bush taking advice from religious leaders like Jerry Falwell and then point out that Falwell said some awful things right after 9/11.  Point out the Tuskegee experiments and how it’s understandable if some folks worried that AIDS started the same way.  Point out that all we’re seeing are small clips of the videos and not the whole sermon.  Point out that Wright is NOT running for office, and Obama has consistently denounced Wright’s statements.  Point out, that Senator Obama has challenged us to rise above all of this and focus on the issues that create and foster racist feelings and maybe we should be directing our energies there.

If we learn nothing else from this campaign, it should be that we are not victims of the Mainstream Media or the Conservative Right.  We can speak up, change the story, and demand accuracy and context in reporting – but only if we tell them where they’re wrong!  Like the good people who have been working tirelessly for both Obama and Clinton, we can organize, spread the word and get out the vote just as well as any stinkin' Christian Coalition.  But, just talking to ourselves on these blogs isn’t enough!  If we still believe that Senator Obama is still the best choice for the party and the best choice for the White House, then this one incident shouldn’t change a thing.