[THS] Obama Says He's Outraged by Former Pastor's Comments

[Peter Webster]

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/042908R.shtml

Obama Says He's Outraged by Former Pastor's Comments
    By Mike Glover
    The Associated Press

    Tuesday 29 April 2008

    Winston-Salem, North Carolina - Barack Obama angrily denounced his
former pastor for "divisive and destructive" remarks on race, seeking to
divorce himself from the incendiary speaker and a fury that threatens to
engulf his front-running Democratic presidential campaign.

    Obama is trying to tamp down the uproar over the Rev. Jeremiah Wright
at a tough time in his campaign. 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 over
the spectacle that we saw yesterday," Obama told reporters at a news
conference Tuesday.

    His strong words come just six weeks after Obama delivered a sweeping
speech on race in which he sharply condemned Wright's remarks but did
not leave the church or repudiate the minister himself, who he said was like
a family member. After weeks of staying out of the public eye while critics
lambasted his sermons, the former pastor of Trinity United Church of Christ
in Chicago made three public appearances in four days to defend himself.

    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."

    Although Obama leads in pledged delegates, no Democrat can win the
nomination without the support of the superdelegates, the elected officials
and party leaders who can vote their preference. The Wright furor forces
those Democrats to wonder about Obama's electability in November.

    Facing that reality, Obama sought to distance himself further from
Wright.

    "I have been a member of Trinity United Church of Christ since 1992,
and have known Reverend Wright for 20 years," Obama said. "The person I
saw yesterday was not the person that I met 20 years ago."

    The Illinois senator said of Wright's statements Monday: "All it was was a
bunch of rants that aren't grounded in truth."

    "Obviously, whatever relationship I had with Reverend Wright has
changed," Obama said. "I don't think he showed much concern for me,
more importantly I don't think he showed much concern for what we're
trying to do in this campaign."

    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.

    "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.

    "He has done great damage, I do not see that relationship being the
same," said Obama.

    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."

    While Obama said he remains a member of the church "obviously this
has put a strain on that relationship.

    "There wasn't anything constructive out of yesterday," said Obama. "All it
was was a bunch of rants that aren't grounded in truth."

    At one point, Obama said he understood the pressures Wright faced but
wouldn't excuse his comments.

    "I think he felt vilified and attacked and I understand him wanting to
defend himself," Obama said. "That may account for the change but the
insensitivity and the outrageousness of the statements shocked me and
surprised me."

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