Reverend Wright's Book to be Released in October, Bad Timing for Obama

John McCain and the GOP were playing along nicely for a short time, but lately have been ramping up their efforts to make Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama look like an inexperienced, unqualified candidate for the White House. And now thanks to a well-timed publication by a former friend and spiritual advisor, Obama will have another major issue and distraction to deal with just weeks before the presidential election.

In October, Jeremiah Wright, former pastor at Obama's Trinity United Church in Chicago, will release a new book and begin a nationwide tour to promote it. New York Magazine said in its latest issue that this is "an occassion that might well place the topic of Obama's blackness (along with his patriotism and his candor about what he heard in the pews in all those years at Trinity Church) squarely at the center of the national debate."

Wright, if you recall, got Obama in some major hot water during the primaries when videos of some of his controversial sermons at Trinity United were released on the internet. Those clips were played repeatedly on all of the national news networks, and Obama's beliefs were called into question. Ultimately, after months of embarrassment from Wright, Obama was forced to distance himself from Wright, a man he once described as a "father figure" and who was also the former spiritual advisor on his campaign.

During a spring address to the NAACP, Wright had mentioned the forthcoming book, and that it would come out by the end of the year. Few thought he would be planning a release date that would maximize the risk and potential harm to Obama, a former close friend and congregant. The wrath of the shunned pastor was severely underestimated by most.

According to the latest polls, Obama and McCain are in a very tight race, with Obama leading 42% to McCain's 39%. What's that mean? Obama's in a precarious position, and it's his race to lose at this point. A book release that puts the spotlight back on Reverend Wright and the issues that plagued Obama in the primaries, such as his religious beliefs, ideas on race, and patriotism, is the last thing he needs right now as is more likely to hurt than help his campaign, especially when he'll be busy fending off attacks from the GOP.