The first literary take on the Obama-Wright incident that hit me was that it was an update of Shakespeare’s Prince Hal and Falstaff relationship, except that while Prince Hal realized he had to cut Falstaff loose if he was to take the top political job of king, Obama did not immediately realize he had to do the same to Wright. But then I had a brainstorm. It was a replay of Philip Roth’s short story, “Defender of the Faith.” Roth’s story shows how ethnic solidarity between two men — in this case, a Jewish army sergeant and a private — is cynically cultivated and nourished by the latter, who softens up the tough sergeant with sentimental appeals to shared Jewish concerns and qualities of heart. Only after repeated betrayals of his trust does the sergeant — slowly, reluctantly, and then ruthlessly — refuse to go on being a patsy for the manipulative and vicious Private Grossbart.
