McCain, GOP split on Wright ad

The Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr. was supposed to be a problem for Democrats, but Sen. John McCain has now made it his own dilemma by clashing with Republicans who say Sen. Barack Obama’s former pastor is fair game.

The spat between the presumptive Republican presidential nominee and a state Republican Party branch has also called into question the senator’s status as the de facto leader of his party.

Mr. McCain has grown increasingly infuriated by the North Carolina Republican Party’s decision to run a television ad next week in advance of the state’s May 6 primary calling Mr. Obama “too extreme” because of his connection to Mr. Wright. The ad includes a clip of one of Mr. Wright’s sermons in which he calls on God to condemn America.

Yesterday, after his campaign spent two days trying to persuade the state party’s chairman to cancel the ad, Mr. McCain’s anger boiled over.

“The Republican Party of the state of North Carolina is dead wrong,” he said on CBS’ “The Early Show.” “I’ll do everything in my power to make sure not only they stop it, but that kind of leadership is rejected.”

He railed about the decision again on NBC’s “Today” program. “They’re not listening to me because they’re out of touch with reality and the Republican Party,” he said. “This kind of campaigning is unacceptable. I have said that. It will harm the Republicans’ cause.”

Video:Rev. Wright says sermon controversies are unfair

Photos:This week on the campaign trail

For the past two days, the McCain campaign and Republican National Committee Chairman Mike Duncan sought to convince the state party that it should not run the ad, which links Mr. Wright to two North Carolina Democratic gubernatorial candidates who have endorsed Mr. Obama.

“We are going to run the ad. There has never been a question in my mind,” said Linda Daves, chairman of the North Carolina Republican Party.

“When I’m working on his campaign — I’m going to work very hard for him — we will work for his campaign the way he wants,” she said. But she said she is running the ad because of the state’s gubernatorial race, and doesn’t need approval from Mr. McCain.

McCain adviser Charlie Black had said earlier this week he thought the ad was going to be pulled, and was not amused at the dust-up.

“It’s curious to me how Senator Obama and Pastor Wright are essential to fight the Democratic candidate for governor of North Carolina. I’ve been in politics for 35 years,” he said, his voice rising, “and I’ve never seen such a scenario that a negative attack on a Democratic presidential candidate was going to help beat the Democratic gubernatorial candidate.”

Still, Mr. Black said the publicity about it has made clear Mr. McCain’s position: “Nobody’s going to mistake it for an ad that we endorse.”

But some conservatives were angered at Mr. McCain’s demand.

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