There are reasons not to talk about Ayers, Wright, Khalidi, etc. — not to talk about Obama and radicalism. But there are reasons for doing so, too. And I ask this: If not now, when? (If not us, who?!) After November 4, it will be too late. Isn’t now the time to talk about it, discuss it, air it? Let Obama address it? What are campaigns for?
And where’s the media’s love of “vetting” (a word we heard a lot in early Palin days)?
It could be that Obama’s past radicalism, or tolerance of radicalism, has nothing to do with his present self. It could be that he has come a long way. I am ever mindful that about half of NR’s founding editors and writers were ex-Communists. But the thing is, they were really ex: and they were leading anti-Communists. To change one’s mind can be glorious. But where is Obama now?
I have a feeling that, once Obama is elected — if he is elected — the media will have a new candor about him. For now it’s, “Isn’t Sarah Palin stupid and racist?” (To be a conservative is to be called stupid and racist, even if you’re a combination of Albert Einstein and Frederick Douglass.)
At a minimum, Obama should face up to his past activities and associations. He should offer some explanation — and who’s better at talking than he? And who’s better at talking about himself, and his life, and his thought, and his feelings, than he? How many self-examining books is he up to now? Ten?
The media will not make him address radicalism — I’m sorry to be so crude about it, but it’s true. It will be up to the McCain campaign, I suppose. And if not now . . .
Finally, don’t you think that Obama should be made to talk — very, very straight — about Born Alive? Or is that, too, out of bounds?
Strange world.