CQ TODAY ONLINE NEWS
April 29, 2008 – 4:28 p.m.
Obama Says He’s Outraged by Former Pastor’s Comments
By Mike Glover, Associated Press
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (AP) -- Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama said Tuesday he was outraged by the latest divisive comments from his former pastor and rejected the notion that he secretly agrees with him.
Obama is seeking to tamp down the growing fury over Rev. Jeremiah Wright and his incendiary remarks that threaten to undermine his campaign at a tough time. The Illinois senator is coming off a loss in Pennsylvania to rival Hillary Rodham Clinton and trying to win over white working-class voters in Indiana and North Carolina in next Tuesday’s primaries.
“I am outraged by the comments that were made and saddened by the spectacle that we saw yesterday,” Obama told reporters at a news conference.
After weeks of staying out of the public eye while critics lambasted his sermons, Wright made three public appearances in four days to defend himself. The former pastor of Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago has been combative, providing colorful commentary and feeding the story Obama had hoped was dying down.
On Monday, Wright criticized the U.S. government as imperialist and stood by his suggestion that the United States invented the HIV virus as a means of genocide against minorities. “Based on this Tuskegee experiment and based on what has happened to Africans in this country, I believe our government is capable of doing anything,” he said.
And perhaps even worse for Obama, Wright suggested that the church congregant secretly concurs.
“If Senator Obama did not say what he said, he would never get elected,” Wright said. “Politicians say what they say and do what they do based on electability, based on sound bites, based on polls.”
Obama stated flatly that he doesn’t share the views of the man who officiated at his wedding, baptized his two daughters and been his pastor for 20 years. The title of Obama’s second book, “The Audacity of Hope,” came from a Wright sermon.
“What became clear to me is that he was presenting a world view that contradicts who I am and what I stand for,” Obama said. “And what I think particularly angered me was his suggestion somehow that my previous denunciation of his remarks were somehow political posturing. Anybody who knows me and anybody who knows what I’m about knows that I am about trying to bridge gaps and I see the commonality in all people.”
In a highly publicized speech last month, Obama sharply condemned Wright’s remarks. But he did not leave the church or repudiate the minister himself, who he said was like a family member.
On Tuesday, Obama sought to distance himself further from Wright.
“I have been a member of Trinity United Church of Christ since 1992, and have known Reverand Wright for 20 years,” Obama said. “The person I saw yesterday was not the person that I met 20 years ago.”
Obama said he heard that Wright had given “a performance” and when he watched news accounts, he realized that it more than just a case of the former pastor defending himself.
Obama Says He’s Outraged by Former Pastor’s Comments
“His comments were not only divisive and destructive, I believe they end up giving comfort to those who prey on hate,” Obama said. “I’ll be honest with you, I hadn’t seen it” when reacting initially on Monday, he said.
Wright had asserted that criticism of his fiery sermons was an attack on the black church. Obama rejected that notion.
Obama said his earlier mild reaction came because he gave him the benefit of the doubt, but that evaporated when he saw Wright’s speech. Wright’s comments may well have severed the relationship.
“He has done great damage, I do not see that relationship being the same,” said Obama.
“What became clear to me was that he was presenting a world view that contradicts what I am and what I stand for,” Obama said.
Wright recently retired from the church. He became an issue in Obama’s presidential bid when videos circulated of Wright condemning the U.S. government for allegedly racist and genocidal acts. In the videos, some several years old, Wright called on God to “damn America.” He also said the government created the AIDS virus to destroy “people of color.”
Obama said he didn’t vet his pastor before deciding to seek the presidency. He said he was particularly distressed that the furor has been a distraction to the purpose of a campaign.
“I gave him the benefit of the doubt in my speech in Philadelphia explaining that he’s done enormous good. ... But when he states and then amplifies such ridiculous propositions as the U.S. government somehow being involved in AIDS. ... There are no excuses. They offended me. They rightly offend all Americans and they should be denounced.”
Comments
It is not totally unbelievable to me that Sen. Obama did not have a thorough read on what type of sermons this guy was giving. Obviously, he shared the beliefs expressed in those sermons for 20 years. There is simply no denying that this "association" was one of shared beliefs. I don't begrudge either for their right to believe whatever they want, but do begrudge the repeated dishonesty about the relationship.
..........a matter of convenience.......do anything for the votes? where was the outrage after the 911 sermons? they were worse than the recent speeches. obama is a fraud, exposed who lost yet another group of voters because instead of apologizing for sitting in that church he claims he's outraged.
who among us missed the fact that it took media pressre and a drop in the polls for obama to disown the Pastor? IS THAT WHAT YOU WANT IN A PRESIDENT? somone who needs to be pushed before they can decide? he was clueless about right and wrong until now?
Who can deny that Obama denounced the Reverand as a political move, but don't all politicians have to walk a fine line of perfection to attract votes? I don't really see how anyone who has heard Obama speak can really believe he feels the same as the Reverend. Unfortunately he also must have known how the Reverend felt too, and this may well be his political demise. If anyone should be called on saying things just for the vote, it should be Hillary Clinton. I have often heard her speeches, and before I hear who her audience is, I can tell who it is by what she is saying. This whole campaign thing is just too long, someone has to trip eventually, and I think that is why Hillary is staying so long, she hopes it is not her!
20 years? How could it have taken 20 years for Obama to figure out Wright. This is what the republicans will keep hitting him with during the general campaign. What kind of judgement takes 20 years to form? What kind of man would rather throw his grandmother, who took care of him, under the bus before a fringe Minister. For 20 years he listened to this man and when and only when it impinged upon his career did he speak out. He didn't even speak out the day it happened. Only when he realized the voters were running away did he speak out. Sorry if you profess to be a man of words then you realize how words can hurt, and if it takes you 20 years to figure that out, you're not presidential material. Now maybe the country will realize why experience is important.
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