Obama Attended Wright's Speech

Hat tip, Pirate's Cove.
Not exactly a shocker. As I said before, Obama's assertion that he had never heard Rev Wright say anything controversial despite Wright's connections to Obama's book, campaign, and church, seemed to be asking a bit much of anyone willing to question the situation sceptically at all.

(Newsmax) Contrary to Senator Barack Obama’s claim that he never heard his pastor Jeremiah A. Wright, Jr. preach hatred of America, Obama was in the pews last July 22 when the minister blamed the “white arrogance” of America’s Caucasian majority for the world’s suffering, especially the oppression of blacks. (snip)

If Obama’s claims are true that he was completely unaware that Wright’s trademark preaching style at the Trinity United Church of Christ has targeted “white” America and Israel, he would have been one of the few people in Chicago to be so uninformed. Wright’s reputation for spewing hate is well known.

In fact, Obama was present in the South Side Chicago church on July 22 last year when Jim Davis, a freelance correspondent for Newsmax, attended services along with Obama. [See: ”Obama’s Church: Cauldron of Division.”]

In his sermon that day, Wright tore into America, referring to the “United States of White America” and lacing his sermon with expletives as Obama listened. Hearing Wright’s attacks on his own country, Obama had the opportunity to walk out, but Davis said the senator sat in his pew and nodded in agreement.

Contrary to a previous post Oprah hasn't attended Wright's church in years.

Obama’s most famous celebrity backer, Oprah Winfrey began attending Wright’s church in 1984. Last year, Newsmax magazine reported that Winfrey abruptly stopped attending years ago, and suggested that she did so to distance herself from Wright’s inflammatory rhetoric. She soon found herself a target of Wright, who excoriated her for having broken with “traditional faith.”

It seems odd that Obama lacked Oprah's political savvy. Even Rev Wright has said publicly that his association would become a burden.

"If Barack gets past the primary, he might have to publicly distance himself from me," Wright was quoted by The New York Times. "I said it to Barack personally, and he said, ‘Yeah, that might have to happen.'"

Was Obama afraid of losing the black vote by cutting ties with Rev Wright? Was it part of his campaign strategy to win the primary before outgrowing his radical background? It appears so, but how readily will America forget with less than eight months until the first Tuesday in November?

Update: Hot Air tells us that the Obama campaign refutes the charge that Obama attended service on 7/22.

Newsmax responds,

Clarification: The Obama campaign has told members of the press that Senator Obama was not in church on the day cited, July 22, because he had a speech he gave in Miami at 1:30 PM. Our writer, Jim Davis, says he attended several services at Senator Obama's church during the month of July, including July 22. The church holds services three times every Sunday at 7:30 and 11 a.m. and 6 p.m. Central time. While both the early morning and evening service allowed Sen. Obama to attend the service and still give a speech in Miami.

Just One Minute has more.