Rev Wright
Setting aside questions of association with Obama, the saddest part of the Rev Wright affair is how many Obama fans have seen the need to try and explain that Wright's views are justified. Now that the candidate himself has said that those views are objectionable, I wonder how many people will rethink those arguments.
The problem with Wright isn't that he's controversial or that he went so far as to condemn America (even as he suggests that he only meant the current gov't and not the whole nation). The problem is that he tears open racial wounds. He lives in the past, and not just a place where segregation is still alive and well. He's at a place where slavery is/was just around the corner.
This country has made great strides towards racial equality. All official barriers have been broken and the corporate world is falling over itself to hire and promote priorities. Opportunities are out there for everyone if they're willing to grab them.
Wright and his brethren are the biggest obstacles to further progress. Let's hope that somehow this whole turn of events will discredit them. I've got the audacity for just that hope.