Say Hello to My Little Friend

In the final scene of the 1983 Brian DePalma film "Scarface," Al Pacino's character "Tony Montana" utters one of the most famous lines in movie history: "Say Hello to My Little Friend." The line was in response to the Bolivian commandos who were storming his house and the impending use of his M-16 grenade launcher he was about to blast through the door in one valiant last stand to save his life.

As the election enters its' final week, the apparent symbolism of Tony Montana's brave last act contrasts nicely with the predicament Senator John McCain appears to find himself against Barack Obama. Trailing in nearly all polls, McCain appears to be down to his last stand against Senator Obama. Having run the "Joe the Plumber" theme into the ground the last 10 days, continual attacks on Obama's William Ayers ties and hope for a resurgence in key battleground states, McCain seems to be down to the wire without much left in the tank and little movement in the polls.

Here's Jeremiah....

However, just when it appears McCain has run out of new themes to use against his democratic rival, there is a big one still lurking on the fringes that just might save his campaign--Reverend Jeremiah Wright. Yes, the same Reverend Wright who splashed onto the national scene last spring during the Democratic Primary campaign against Hillary Clinton. You remember Wright. He was the reverend at a Southside Chicago church. The same church Barack Obama was a member for 20 years. Reverend Wright came under fire for his fiery anti-U.S., anti-white and anti-establishment rhetoric from the pulpit (See my previous post from March.) Obama initially ignored the association when pressed by the media but eventually distanced himself from the ongoing controversy and finally resigned his membership in the church when the uproar would not die.

It was a speech delivered with usual applomb that Obama delivered saying he "could no more distance himself from Reverend Wright than he could his white grandmother." The speech was important and seemed to put the issue behind him as he held on against a furious comeback by Hillary Clinton to win the Democratic nomination. However, Clinton was gaining momentum in the key states needed to win the nomination at the height of the Reverend Wright controversy. She beat Obama decisively in West Virginia and in Pennsylvania. Both of these states have large white voting blocks that were sensitive to the Wright issue. These are the same voters Obama said "were bitter" and "cling to their guns and religion" in a fundraising speech in San Francisco earlier in the campaign.

Now, six months later, John McCain finds himself in a similar situation. Trailing in virtually all polls, McCain is faced with the decision whether to unleash the Wright issue on the American public in hopes of casting doubt on Obama and pulling past him in the final days. So far, McCain has taken the high road and kept the Wright issue at bay in deference to his core beliefs against negative campaigning. However, in the final days needing a come-from-behind victory, he may not have a choice if he wants to win the Presidency.

In the third and final debate, Senator McCain himself quoted Senator Clinton in saying the issue of William Ayers goes to Senator Obama's character and judgment and should be addressed. However, he has not considered the Wright issue in a similar vain presumably because of the religious ties. However, it is just as significant to Senator Obama's character and judgment as the Ayers issue. Yes, it is politically more risky and the left-leaning main stream media will jump all over McCain for using it, but it is the only issue left that has any potential to cast further doubt on Obama as voters head to the polls next Tuesday.

John McCain is a man of honor and a war hero. He has been a stalwart in the U.S. Senate for 21 years and served four more in the U.S. House of Representatives. He has a stellar career serving our country through some very tumultuous times and a great case to be our next President that is being obscured by an unforeseen economic crisis (he was leading Obama prior to the financial collapse.) He should feel no guilt by raising another legitimate issue against his opponent who has used every other issue against him.

The election outcome hangs in the balance of McCain's decision.