Byron York on Senator Obama’s Farrakhan Comments

Minister Louis Farrakhan backed Obama for President at the recent Nation of Islam convention in Chicago. Byron York of the National Review thinks Obama fell into a trap at this week’s debate when Tim Russert pressed the Senator on whether he accepts Farrakhan’s support. I think York is on to something:

What if, the blogger Andrew Sullivan asked, it had been a question to John McCain about David Duke? And what if McCain had answered, “You know, I have been very clear in my denunciation of Dr. Duke’s racist comments. I think that they are unacceptable and reprehensible. I did not solicit this support. He expressed pride in a white man who seems to be bringing the country together. I obviously can’t censor him, but it is not support that I sought. And we’re not doing anything, I assure you, formally or informally, with Dr. Duke.”
And what if then, after the debate, McCain’s top campaign aide explained by saying, “The point is this: David Duke said kind things about [McCain]. From what I read, he didn’t say it was an endorsement, and I think Sen. McCain made clear what his position on Duke’s racist statements was.”

Here’s the seven-minute video of the comments in question: