The whole reject and denounce thing is now descending into parody which is of course ironic because the original Obama line was uttered as a joke anyway. I understand that the situation with Wright is explosive. I also think it would interminably cruel for Obama to football tack an aging old pastor who has been somewhat of a mentor to him.

Here's what I think Obama should do:

Talk about it. Address it head on. In a substantial way.
First off, he should say that he has emotional ties to Wright as somewhat of a father figure. He should tell how they met and why Obama was attracted to him. He should then say "My personal integrity demands that no matter how much it costs me politically, I will not throw a man who is like family to me under the bus."

THEN and ONLY THEN should he proceed to refute, line by line, in an agressive manner, everything that Wright said. Saying he disagrees is not enough. He has to say WHY he disagrees. He has to show that he understands the issue. Any combination of these two approaches is something that I think people will respect.

I also think he should engage in regional racial town halls where he takes the issue directly to the working class white community but that's a more controversial proposal. He has done this sort of thing with African AMericans, but not with whites. He alone is in the unique position where he can address both sides. Take the emerging racial themese and morph them into something positive. He's done it before, he can do it again.