- Daily Photo: Obama Jokes Around at G-20
- Blackwater gets replaced in Iraq
- Daily Photo: U.S. Marines Look Out for Taliban in Afghanistan
- Hillary Clinton the Tomboy and Her "Ah-Ha" Moment
- Obama Administration Sudan Envoy Headed to Region
- Daily Photo: Potential Flashpoint in Iraq
- Clinton Says New Afghanistan-Pakistan Plan Depends on Diplomacy
- Exclusive: Three Israeli Airstrikes Against Sudan
- Additional 4,000 Troops to Be Ordered to Afghanistan
- Daily Photo: Navy Submarine Trains in the Arctic
- Alarm Over North Korea Missile Prep
- Anti-Terror Stimulus? US Offers Rewards for Top Terrorists
- Daily Photo: Pakistani Women in Refugee Camp
- Condoleezza Rice Appears on "The Tonight Show"
- Diplomat and Aid Group Sound the Alarm on Darfur Camp Situation
- auto industry rescue
- Ballotwatch
- Biden, Joe
- Bush, George W.
- Clinton, Bill
- Clinton, Hillary
- Dodd, Chris
- Edwards, John
- Giuliani, Rudy
- Gravel, Mike
- Huckabee, Mike
- Hunter, Duncan
- Inauguration
- Iraq
- Kucinich, Dennis
- McCain, John
- Obama, Barack
- Palin, Sarah
- Paul, Ron
- Romney, Mitt
- Tancredo, Tom
- Thompson, Fred
- Veepstakes
- Vote 2008: Democrats
- Vote 2008: Republicans
- Washington
- White House
« Previous | Main | Next »
Obama Condemns Wright's Defense
Email
ShareApril 29, 2008 2:34 PM
ABC News' Ed O'Keefe Reports: Sen. Barack Obama strongly condemned recent comments made by his former pastor, Rev. Jeremiah Wright, in a high-stakes gamble by his campaign to control a spreading political firestorm.
Reacting to what he called the "spectacle" of his former pastor at the National Press Club, Obama, D-Ill., denounced Wright saying, "What Rev. Wright said yesterday directly contradicts everything I have ever done or said in my life."
"Whatever relationship I had with Rev Wright has changed as a result of this," Obama said.
WATCH OBAMA'S PRESS CONFERENCE BY CLICKING HERE
Speaking the National Press Club in Washington on Monday, Rev. Wright called the recent criticism surrounding his sermons "an attack on the black church".
"This is not about Obama, McCain, Hillary, Bill or Chelsea, this is about the black church," Wright said, speaking before an enthusiastic audience of black church leaders at the onset of a two-day symposium.
Throughout his speech and a subsequent question and answer session, Wright defiantly argued that many of his critics had not heard his whole sermons and that the media had twisted his words.
Wright vigorously defended himself against accusations he is unpatriotic but in Washington, he went on to compare U.S. troops to the Roman legions that killed Christ, to praise Nation of Islam Leader Louis Farakhan, and to suggest that the AIDS epidemic was a racist plot.
WATCH THE WORLD NEWS VIDEO REPORT ON WRIGHT'S CONTROVERSIAL COMMENTS BY CLICKING HERE
The Reverend also said he was quoting a previous U.S. Ambassador to Iraq when he said African Americans should sing "God damn America" not "God Bless America" in his first sermon following the 9/11 attacks.
"You cannot do terrorism on other people and not expect it to come back on you," Wright said on Monday. "Those are Biblical principles, not Jeremiah Wright 'bombastic' principles."
Obama came out forcefully on Tuesday, insisting he was "disappointed" by Wright, and rejecting his one-time pastor's assertion that the controversy was an attack on the black church.
The candidate went considerably further than he has in the past in distancing himself from Wright, accusing him of "insensitivity and outrageousness" in his Monday appearance at the National Press Club in Washington.
"The person I saw yesterday was not the person I met 20 years ago," Obama said.
Wright has been Obama's pastor since the Illinois Democrat joined the church. He performed Obama's marriage ceremony and baptized the candidate's two daughters.
At a speech last month in Philadelphia, Obama made clear that while he disagreed with some of the sentiments Wright espoused in sermons, he would not "disown" a man he considered to be "like family to me."
"He strengthened my faith, officiated my wedding, and baptized my children," Obama said in that speech. "I can no more disown him than I can disown the black community. I can no more disown him than I can my white grandmother -- a woman who helped raise me, a woman who sacrificed again and again for me, a woman who loves me as much as she loves anything in this world, but a woman who once confessed her fear of black men who passed by her on the street, and who on more than one occasion has uttered racial or ethnic stereotypes that made me cringe."
Obama did not say if would stop attending Trinity United Church of Christ on the South Side of Chicago. A new pastor, the Rev. Otis Moss, recently took over for Wright, after Wright's retirement from the pulpit.
The reaction was much stronger than what Obama offered the previous day and reflects a decision by the Obama campaign to try to directly confront the comments by Wright, after weeks where Obama tried to perform a more delicate dance where he distanced himself from the message but not the messenger.
"I have said before and I will repeat again that some of the comments that Reverend Wright has made offend me and I understand why they've offended the American people," Obama told reporters hastily gathered for an impromptu press conference on the tarmac in Wilmington, N.C.
"He does not speak for me. He does not speak for the campaign and so he may make statements in the future that don't reflect my values or concerns," Obama continued, later adding with a smile, "I think certainly what the last three days indicate is that we're not coordinating with him."
Clearly the Obama camp deemed that effort not enough and the decision to speak out again seems designed to quell concerns among Democrats -- including superdelegates -- about some of Wright's more inflammatory remarks.
But it also raises additional questions for Obama -- including why he maintained a 20-year spiritual relationship with Wright, and why he chose not to denounce Wright when the story first spread six weeks ago.
ABC News' Rick Klein, Sunlen Miller, Jake Tapper, Nitya Venkataraman, and David Wright contributed to this report.
April 29, 2008 in Bush, George W., Kucinich, Dennis, Tancredo, Tom | Permalink | User Comments (881)
You can follow this conversation by subscribing to the comment feed for this post.
Oh please – you sat in his church for 20 years ….he conducted your wedding ceremony…..baptized your daughters….you prayed with him the day you announced your Presidential campaign (although you knew enough about him to disinvite him from the announcement)
We thought you were running on your ability to bring people together – yet you condoned Rev Wright’s divisive anti-Semitic remarks for 20 years
We thought you were running on change– yet you did NOTHING to change Reverend Wright’s warped views of our country
We thought you were running on judgment – yet you brought your daughters to this lunatic’s church
Hillary or NOBODY in 08!
Posted by: ch | Apr 29, 2008 2:37:23 PM
He say this is a new wright, yet at the very least he saw all those snippets and so he new what wright was like. i mean come ON.....he knew. obama lies. obama has been with that church for 20 years.
also obama says in his book wright was his spiritual advisor.
LIES LIES LIES!!!!
Posted by: al | Apr 29, 2008 2:37:31 PM
Obama has now proven himself to be just another politician. I was wondering when he'd choose the fame of the presidency over his "uncle".
I don't think the Wright issue is behind him or ever will be. Now for sure, Wright won't keep his mouth shut and we may be learning more about Obama in the next few days.
Posted by: Belle | Apr 29, 2008 2:38:34 PM
Did obama just lose the black support? Mainly the other black people that support Wright?
Obama is a hypocrit anyways. He lost my vote whne he threw his grandma under the bus with Wright and now is selling that speech to his supporters as something historic like, it united the black nation.
He's a weakling that's worst than the typical politician.
Obama is a Liar, Hillary 08!
Posted by: Tor | Apr 29, 2008 2:39:52 PM
Did obama just lose the black support? Mainly the other black people that support Wright?
Obama is a hypocrit anyways. He lost my vote whne he threw his grandma under the bus with Wright and now is selling that speech to his supporters as something historic like, it united the black nation.
He's a weakling that's worst than the typical politician.
Obama is a Liar, Hillary 08!
Posted by: Tor | Apr 29, 2008 2:40:01 PM
Thank you Obama! I knew you were being linked to someone who is a raging egomaniac.
This is the tough Obama I want to see!
Posted by: angulo1999 | Apr 29, 2008 2:40:15 PM
Obama is just not a strong enough person to quill this kind of stuff. Now he is sating that he was only his pastor who married Obama and his wife and baptized his children but in his race speech - I may be wrong but didn't Obama say that Wright was like an "uncle". Obama is a typical politican and states that he runs a clean campaign but his ads in PA against HRC were pretty nasty
Posted by: Frank- South Hampton | Apr 29, 2008 2:40:40 PM
pastor wright tell us more about yo church member now!
Posted by: pw | Apr 29, 2008 2:41:33 PM
He is outraged now because it is affecting his polling #'s. He did not care that Americans have been outraged for weeks. He would not denouce the man before but now that it is hurting his #'s he is throwing him under the bus.
Question - Wright was never his Spiritual Advisor? Is that true? I thought Obama had said in the past he was or it was in his book...does anyone know?
Obamanaics -- come on lets get the spin going!!!
I am outraged by Wright & Obama both. He said in the pews for 20 years and never heard those sermons - yeah right !!!!
Posted by: Rose | Apr 29, 2008 2:41:49 PM
and the Oscar goes to Barack Obama..NOT!
What a pathetic dog and pony show.
Posted by: geevill | Apr 29, 2008 2:42:28 PM
ROTFLMAO! He's just another politically expedient politician!
Posted by: SR | Apr 29, 2008 2:44:01 PM
I saved the web page that shows wright as the official spiritual advisor of the obama campaign. OMG. wright is right, obama does what he does for politics. 20 year relationship and he didn't know? lol
Posted by: al | Apr 29, 2008 2:44:11 PM
Wow. I am truly shocked - I NEVER saw this coming. After he didn't denounce him when the first issues came out. I thought he never would.
Posted by: McEnglish | Apr 29, 2008 2:44:36 PM
He buried the issue professionally. That speak to his leadership skills. What judgement is better than taking us to an unjust war or giving summer holliday that will save you $28 the whole summer without changing the problem of gas prices or dependence. Let is get to the real debate.
Posted by: james | Apr 29, 2008 2:45:38 PM
does obammma really believe he should be anything after this growing spectaclehe & rev wright hatched up.
Posted by: pw | Apr 29, 2008 2:45:50 PM
Obama too little too late, you must to have finally figured out that Rev Wright is one of your biggest liabilities. This something a lot of people have been talking about for weeks but you brushed it aside as unimportant. You are just sinking in your own hole that you created.
Posted by: Persio | Apr 29, 2008 2:46:47 PM
Again! He gets smoked out and has to justify his 'boneheaded' associations. When are we going to learn? He is not ready to be our next president. Now I can see the real damage that Bush has done. We are just too 'desperate' to elect someone else but PLEASE put more thought before you cast a vote.
Posted by: josh | Apr 29, 2008 2:46:52 PM
I love how Obama tries to pretend it was 20 years ago when he last met Wright. Isn't this the same Wright that he prayed with last year before his announcement that he disinvited Wright to give?
Posted by: geevill | Apr 29, 2008 2:47:17 PM
my lord what a mess?
Posted by: pw | Apr 29, 2008 2:47:37 PM
Thank you Senator Obama for finally putting this man in his place. He massive ego isa causig him to derail your entire campaign and AMERICA really needs you.
I wonder how much money the Republicans paid him.
Rev. Wright does NOt speak for the black church. He speaks for himself.
Anyone who holds Barak Obama 'sacoountable for his Pastor's teaching and beliefs are just idoits anyway.
Posted by: C.J. | Apr 29, 2008 2:48:54 PM
Post a comment
