Richard Cohen's Obama Test

In what can only be described as torturous logic, Washington Post columnist Richard Cohen calls on Sen. Barack Obama to disavow Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan. Obama's offense, as Cohen sees it, is that Obama is a member of Chicago's Trinity United Church whose minister and Obama's spiritual adviser, Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright, Jr. bestowed on Farrakhan, through the church magazine Trumpet Newsmagazine, the Trumpeter Award for "truly epitomized greatness." Never mind that there is nothing in Obama's record and background that suggests he shares Farrakhan's views, including the anti-Semitism Cohen so predictably harps on. Never mind that there is no evidence that Obama had prior knowledge or approved of Rev. Wright's actions. The question is, when did it become fashionable to evaluate political candidates based on the actions of their ministers or spiritual advisers?