Writing About Wright the Wrong Way

Back before I became I joined the MSM borg, one the most frequently-asked questions I got in interviews and panels and whatnot was, "Why should anyone trust what they read on a blog?" Everyone who asked it seemed to think this was a great stumper, you know, like what they were really saying was, "blogs maybe the sexy new thing but you're all LIES, I tell you, LIES! Bwhahahahaha!"

But MSM isn't even sexy:

The error is in trusting the source without checking.

The truth is that Obama did not attend church on July 22. [The day of an inflamatory sermon by Jeremiah Wright.]

He was on his way to campaign in Miami.

[snip]

Now, a simple Google search suggests that Obama spent most of the day in Miami. But a simple e-mail or telephone call to Obama's campaign might have cleared things up.

Seriously: At first, I thought the Rev. Wright story might sour people on Obama. When it first [re-]broke last week, all an Obama adviser could offer as spin was, "It will give the senator a chance to talk about the role of religion in his life." At the time, it seemed very optimistic to think that Obama's smooth eloquence could complete -- and win -- against Wright's fiery rhetoric. Now, after the assist they got from John McCain (who may have been thinking about how the MSM interpreted his own, much less intimate relationship with Rev. Hagee), the mangled coverage of Wright could raise enough doubts about the Reverend's role in Obama's beliefs* that Obama will not be too bruised by the media dust-up -- and maybe even can use it as an opportunity to talk about his faith.

*Which is, er, not black and white to begin with...

UPDATE: I should have been more clear: I'm thinking primary here. I am not allowing myself to think too much beyond the next few weeks, given, you know, the last few weeks. Further thoughts in the comments.