Perhaps that is simply me projecting.

This image of being a blank screen is true of many politicians and I believe it is a testament to Barack Obama’s talent that he has managed to become the screen on which so many people choose to project. It is also true that at a certain point that unless a leader fills the screen, the projections of so many swallow him up; he becomes defined by others in effect becoming nothing at all.

The American people – that is all of the American people both liberal and conservative — are hungry for new leadership and a new vision. And here lies the difficulty Obama has with the Reverend Jeremiah Wright and why his relationship with Wright will haunt him throughout the general election. The vision Americans crave is the one of American strength and goodness not one of American evil and despotism. The hope Americans project onto Obama is that he will lead the nation not to a new place, but restore her to a former (and I would argue rightful) place of respect and dignity in the world, that the principles upon which this nation was built will once again be our national pride. This is, of course, in stark contrast to what Americans have heard streaming from the pulpit of Reverend Jeremiah Wright and it is confusing for some as to how the man upon whom they have projected such hope to restore American pride could listen to such rhetoric and sit in silence.

The response of the faithful is that Wright’s words have been taken out of context. When viewed in context they are not so bad, they are prophetic; they are in fact true.

It must come as a shock then when during a television appearance, Barack Obama commented that if the Reverend Wright had not retired and had not acknowledged that some of the things he said offended people, he would not have felt comfortable staying at the church. No doubt Obama did not have the advantage of viewing the speeches in “context.” His supporters respond that he is a politician and will say what he has to in order to be elected. His proclamation, although dishonest, is savvy politics. Alas it reflects a deep cynicism on the part of Obama supporters that they would defend their candidate by proclaiming him a liar.

Also in the prologue of his book is a short story of the cynicism he encountered during his first run for political office. “Why would you want to get messed up in a dirty business like politics?” he is asked. Obama’s response is that there is a different kind of politics and he is a different kind of politician. If Obama’s supporters are correct then he is a politician in the same mold as all politicians and his lies are no different from Hillary’s lies, which are no different from McCain’s lies.

If on the other hand their projections of him are self-serving then perhaps others are correct to question the tenacity of a man that pledges to stand up to big oil, stand up to pharmaceutical companies, stand up to terrorists and yet when the pastor of his church repeatedly expressed opinions he felt in conflict with he did not walk out; he did not stand up.

There are advantages to being a blank screen, but at a certain point a politician must begin to be the author of his own story. The controversy over his years at Trinity United suggests to me that I am not the only one that senses reluctance on the part of Obama to do so. I am not the only one uncomfortable with the idea of a blank screen as president. Where I was once enthusiastic, I am now hesitant. Where I was once hopeful, I am now convinced that he may in fact be as empty as his critics accuse him of being. As he defines himself further, we will see if he is as slick as Willy or possessing of as much Teflon as Ronny. My fear is that at the end of the day he will still be a blank screen.

Cue music.

Roll credits.

Fade to black.

Joseph C. Phillips is the author of “He Talk Like A White Boy” available wherever books are sold.