If you believe all the racket and clamor, it would seem that this occasion calls for Barack Obama to do something major, something grandiose, something that leaves no doubt at all that his feelings of rejection toward the statements of Reverend Wright are deep and vast and absolute. Maybe he should go so far as to invite Wright to a media event, and then hit him repeatedly with a large stick of some kind! It is possible, however, that even this might not be enough to satisfy some people, and, indeed, the violent acts, while leaving no doubt as to the ferocity of Obama's repudiation, may go too far, and offend others. Instead, Obama will go before the kliegs tomorrow and deliver a "major speech about race" that will likely actually be a "major speech about some crazy stuff a guy said during a sermon at a black church."

There's a good chance that his "major speech about race" will be sufficient, like the time Mitt Romney gave his "major speech about religion" that everyone loved and which solved all of his problems. But there's also a chance that his speech will fail and spell doom for his candidacy, like the time Mitt Romney gave his "major speech about religion" that everyone thought was phony and made the media remember how awesome John McCain was. If Obama fails to address the matter, it could be bad. But if he does address the matter, the results could be equally ungood, only maybe doubleplus so.

In the end, what will it matter? At some point, there will be other figures, and other remarks, that candidates will need to repudiate. If Obama survives, he may have to repudiate Tony Rezko by allowing Fox News to burn his house to the ground on national television. Someone might remember that John McCain has warmly embraced religious bigots of his own, and force McCain to subject them to the same tortures he faced as a soldier in order to ensure a perfect karmic balance. And if Clinton gets the nomination, well... let's just say I have it on good authority that she might be connected to a major political figure who was once put through an impeachment trial. Yeah. You may think we're not going to hear all about that sooner or later. But I'd think again if I were you. There's nothing the political media loves so much as the damnation game. In fact, that's probably the root of their beef with Reverend Wright in the first place: when he "damned America," he was muscling in on their turf.

—Obama's Race Speech: Damned If He Does, Damned If He Doesn't