Think the Jeremiah Wright controversy is behind Barack Obama and that he’s weathered the storm? Don’t be so naive. Bill Kristol lays out the threat of Wright-themed attack ads from McCain and his allies in this morning’s New York Times:

McCain’s comeback should begin just after Labor Day, on Sept. 4, with a strong acceptance speech at the Republican convention….
More fundamental will be the question of the discrepancy between the image of Obama the uniter and the reality of Obama the liberal. That hasn’t been much of a problem for Obama in the Democratic contest, since Clinton hasn’t attacked from the right or even the center.
But Republicans will. Last week, over drinks, one Republican strategist not affiliated with the McCain campaign mused about how an independent advertising effort against Obama might work. “Barack Obama: He’s not who you think he is” would be the theme. The supporting evidence would come from his left-wing voting record in Illinois and Washington, spiced up with fun video clips of Reverend Wright.

This is not a Kristol daydream. This is the current thinking of a real live GOP strategist. Obama better figure out how he’s going to respond to the second Wright wave this fall. It’s bound to be more relentless than the first, since Hillary Clinton didn’t do too much to exploit it.

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