Jeremiah Wright, Obama's pastor for 20 years, has been cast east of Obama's campaign Eden after several embarrassingly hateful videos have surfaced. This cuts Obama's official ties to Wright, but it doesn't explain Obama's long term connection to a man who is credited with the title of Obama's book Audacity of Hope and blamed America for everyting from 9/11 to AIDS. The same pastor who married Obama and until recently, served on Obama's campaign.
“What I value most about Pastor Wright is not his day-to-day political advice,” Obama said. “He’s much more of a sounding board for me to make sure that I am speaking as truthfully about what I believe as possible and that I’m not losing myself in some of the hype and hoopla and stress that’s involved in national politics.”
That's some moral compass you have there, Obama.
Meanwhile, Obama has moved into full blown damage control mode, issuing a statement on HuffPo, and is reportedly appearing on Hannity and Colmes as well as Anderson Cooper tonight. Here's a segment of his Post at HuffPo. (Emphasis by Hot Air)
Let me say at the outset that I vehemently disagree and strongly condemn the statements that have been the subject of this controversy. I categorically denounce any statement that disparages our great country or serves to divide us from our allies. I also believe that words that degrade individuals have no place in our public dialogue, whether it’s on the campaign stump or in the pulpit. In sum, I reject outright the statements by Rev. Wright that are at issue…
Rev. Wright preached the gospel of Jesus, a gospel on which I base my life. In other words, he has never been my political advisor; he’s been my pastor. And the sermons I heard him preach always related to our obligation to love God and one another, to work on behalf of the poor, and to seek justice at every turn.
The statements that Rev. Wright made that are the cause of this controversy were not statements I personally heard him preach while I sat in the pews of Trinity or heard him utter in private conversation. When these statements first came to my attention, it was at the beginning of my presidential campaign. I made it clear at the time that I strongly condemned his comments. But because Rev. Wright was on the verge of retirement, and because of my strong links to the Trinity faith community, where I married my wife and where my daughters were baptized, I did not think it appropriate to leave the church.
LGF counters saying that Obama's claim that he didn't know about Wright's radical beliefs are a bit of a stretch. (again, emphasis not mine)
Obama is, quite simply, lying when he says he never heard Wright say these kinds of things. From the New York Times:
In Monday’s interview, Mr. Wright expressed disappointment but no surprise that Mr. Obama might try to play down their connection.
“When his enemies find out that in 1984 I went to Tripoli” to visit Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi, Mr. Wright recalled, “with Farrakhan, a lot of his Jewish support will dry up quicker than a snowball in hell.” Mr. Wright added that his trip implied no endorsement of either Louis Farrakhan’s views or Qaddafi’s.
Mr. Wright said that in the phone conversation in which Mr. Obama disinvited him from a role in the announcement, Mr. Obama cited an article in Rolling Stone, “The Radical Roots of Barack Obama.”
According to the pastor, Mr. Obama then told him, “You can get kind of rough in the sermons, so what we’ve decided is that it’s best for you not to be out there in public.”
Kinda rough?
Obama's most celebrated supporter, Oprah, goes to the same church by the way.
Upadate/Correction: Oprah stopped attending TUCC years ago.
Other voices: STACLU, Sister Toljah, Hot Air is all over it.
