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Is Jeremiah Wright Working for John McCain?: A Non-Poetry Post

Originally Published: April 30, 2008

I'm on a poetry listserve where some members object to posts having to do with politics. Many of us think that trying to separate poetry from politics is like trying to separate the yolk from the egg white with a fork without breaking the yolk. But eventually we reached a truce where those who wanted to post political messages would put the letters POL in the subject line so others could delete those messages unread.
POL
Certain members of my household (not Maisie) were jokily contemplating a Jeremiah Wright write-in vote, until this weekend. Now I just think Wright's a jerk.
I'm not mad at him for what he says. What's not pretty good politics is mere dumbass conspiracy stuff, who cares? Wright gets criticized as an extremist and for crazy paranoid theories, but nobody criticizes the Bush administration for being riddled with people who believe in the Rapture.
And I'm not mad at him for how he says it. Style's insignificant. Actions are significant.
Wright's a jerk for his very public airing of his opinions, including his opinions of Obama, right at this time. He seems to me like a father trying to undermine his son. I don't care whether the father is ideologically right or wrong; if your son is trying to do something he believes in, even if you don't believe in it, you don't ruin it for him. You don't intentionally cast your shadow into his spotlight.
Wright has a lot to answer for if McCain wins the election.

Daisy Fried is the author of five books of poetry: My Destination (forthcoming 2026); The Year the City...

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