Schedule Puts Obama in Miami During July ‘07 Wright Sermon
December 2000: Barack Obama's former pastor Rev. Jeremiah Wright speaks at funeral service at Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago. (AP Photo/Chicago Sun-Times)
Barack Obama issued a firm denial Monday to a report that he was in church in Chicago last July when his controversial pastor delivered an anti-white sermon.
Doubts were cast on the story Monday as records showed the Democratic presidential contender was in Miami that day.
On the “fact check” portion of Obama’s campaign Web site, the campaign states: “Fact: Obama Did Not Attend Services on July 22.”
Click here to see the denial on Obama’s Web site.
Reports circulated over the weekend that Obama had attended the fiery sermon that day by the Rev. Jeremiah Wright Jr. But a copy of Obama’s schedule viewed by FOX News as well as video of Obama speaking appear to place him in Miami that day at a convention of the National Council of La Raza.
A National Council of La Raza official recalls Obama arriving on time that day for a 1:30 p.m. event that was part of the group’s annual national convention.
It is not clear whether he might have been able to attend church in Chicago before or after flying to Miami for his appearance. The National Council of La Raza official told FOXNews.com he was not involved in any travel plans for Obama to arrive at the convention.
Click here to see a video of Obama speaking that day in Miami.
Speaking with reporters Monday, Obama declined to field new questions about Wright. In what is campaign is billing as a major speech on race, Obama said he would in part discuss how some issues are being perceived inside and outside the black church community.
Obama again said he condemned the controversial statements by Wright that had come to light, but he believed the media frenzy has taken a wrong turn on its coverage.
“I think the caricature that is being painted of him is not accurate,” Obama said.
Obama in the last few days has denied being present for any of Wright’s inflammatory speeches at Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago, where Wright retired last month as senior pastor.
Obama’s purported attendance at the sermon was first reported by NewsMax.com freelance reporter Jim Davis; it was noted again Sunday by NewsMax.com writer Ronald Kessler.
Davis reported last Aug. 7 that Obama and his Secret Service detail had been among the parishioners attending the July 22 sermon in which Wright spoke of the “United States of white America” and blamed the Iraq war on “Bush administration bull—-.”
NewsMax issued a clarification Monday to its story, adding that Davis stands by his reporting that Obama attended a service in July fitting the description he first reported, but he no longer was sure it was on July 22.
Click here to read the original report by Jim Davis.
Click here to read the report Sunday by Ronald Kessler.
The report was advanced Monday by columnist Bill Kristol, a FOX News contributor, in his weekly column in The New York Times. Kristol cited Kessler’s report as evidence that Obama is not being fully candid about his relationship with Wright. The New York Times later published a correction to Kristol’s piece.
Click here to read Kristol’s column in The New York Times.
Wright’s comments in the July 22 sermon were mild in comparison to other sermons he delivered, sermons Obama has said he did not attend.
In one sermon Wright repeatedly said, “God damn America”; in another he blasted former President Bill Clinton, saying he “did” blacks “just like he did Monica Lewinsky.”
Following mounting pressure last week, Obama denounced Wright’s words, and Wright stepped down from Obama’s African American Religious Leadership Committee.
Obama told FOX News Friday that he condemned the text of Wright’s controversial sermons, in which he condemned the United States as institutionally racist and blamed the government for HIV and the Sept. 11 attacks. Video clips of the sermons were played in heavy rotation on national television late last week.
“Once I saw them I had to be very clear about the fact that these are not statements that I am comfortable with,” Obama said. “I reject them completely — they are not ones that reflect my values or my ideals or Michelle’s.”
Obama called Wright’s remarks “inflammatory and appalling” in a written statement Friday.
Hillary Clinton’s campaign has yet to comment on the matter. Clinton faced heavy criticism over a racial issue of her own last week after top campaign adviser Geraldine Ferraro said the only reason Obama had gotten so far in the presidential campaign was because he was black. Ferraro resigned from the campaign’s finance committee shortly after her remarks.
I am not altogether convinced that the newspersons who falsely claimed that Barack Obama was present while the minister of his church was making inflammatory statements, were merely making honest mistakes. I feel as if this might indeed be part of yet another concerted personal attack on Barack Obama by persons who favor the candidacy of Hillary Clinton. The campaign run by Clinton supporters already has included some things of which I cannot approve, and this is surely one of the worst things yet.
Is it not sufficient that Clinton left her name on the ballot, disregarding the wishes of the Democratic National Committee, in contrast to John Edwards and Barack Obama, who took their names off the ballot in Florida, in deference to the decision of their political party? Is it not sufficient that Clinton now claims a right to all the votes she received in that state’s party-unsanctioned early primary? If this is not cheating, then what is? Has she no respect for her political party’s rules? If not, then why should we think she would respect the rules in our U.S. Constitution, were she to hold the highest office in our land?
In addition to those tactics suitable only to a child’s playground, first there came a lying attack upon Barack Obama, smearing him with the false accusation of not really being a Christian, and trying to associate him in the public mind with Muslim terrorists. When the falsity of that whispering attack was made sufficiently public, now there came a new attack that insisted he be held responsible for things the minister of his church thinks or says, even in his absence. How ironic!
When the smoke clears, I think it will be remembered that Clinton apparently cared nothing for the well-being of her party, and that some of her supporters cared nothing for fairness. At the beginning of these campaigns, it appeared that the Democrats could not lose in the coming general presidential election, due to the widespread public dissatisfaction with the Bush administration. Because of the childish behavior in the Clinton campaign, it no longer looks as if the Democrats cannot lose in the general election. That is food for thought, is it not?
I really don’t think that a person could attend a church for 20 years and NEVER be present on a day when their pastor delivered a controversial message. It seems rather odd that Obama was never there when white American hated was coming from his pastor’s mouth in the whole 20 years he has attended. Obama has not been in the public eye very long so there would have been no reason for the pastor to refrain from hateful remarks when Obama was in the congregation! Obama will never convience me that neither he nor his wife never heard any of those remarks!!! What does he take the American people for? We are not stupid enough to believe him.
This story is over by the end of the week. Who cares if Obama heard this crazy nut? Show me a policy that reflects Pastor Wright, and then you have an issue. Until then, it’s all guilt by association, innuendo, and character assasination. I realize that FOX and others want to keep this story front page for as long as it can, but it’s over unless some other shoe drops.
Frankly, it’s not a surprise that people would try and paint Obama as a radical who wants to undermine our country. But none of these statements in controversy were made by Obama.
after hearing about some of the sermons I can see why obama thinks it is so important to bring the country together
I have been in the ministry for nearly 20 years. I have served in the capacity of pastor, youth minister and I have been a full time evangelist. In my experience people make decisions to attend a church for 20 years because they can associate with and are accepted by the people and they agree with the vision and sermons of the pastor. I cannot believe we are expected to accept that Obama was not there on one day and has never heard these kind of statements over the last 20 years. NO WAY!
Has anyone bothered to tie the racist bantering of this pastor to the comments made by Michelle Obama on Feb. 18? She said in Milwaukee: “Let me tell you, for the first time in my adult life, I am really proud of my country.” The Obamas explained that she meant to say she is proud of U.S. politics for the first time and has always been proud of her country. We all know that there is always an element of truth in our careless comments. This presidential campaign has been full of careless comments by all of the candidates. Did we really believe any of them when they said, “I meant to say…”? When choosing a church one of the primary reasons for doing so should be, “Does this church (especially the pastor) teach what I believe to be the truth?” It doesn’t matter where Barak Obama was on the date of the racist remarks. Being a member of this church implies that he has embraced the teachings of the church (and the pastor). How many of these kinds of remarks did the Obamas say “Amen” to before they became contenders for the presidency?
Whether Obama was physically at the church service is insignificant. The significant part is that he has been a member and follower of Jeremiah Wright and that church for 20 years and I’m sure has heard more than this one anti-white, America hating sermon from Wright. If this is the kind of teachings that Obama listened to and supported in church, then, that’s the kind of format he is going to use if he is elected president of the United States.
One cannot go to a church like the one he attends and not be influenced in his way of thinking and dealing with people…..whites, jews, hispanic and others……
I first thought this man might be a good thing for the country until reading about the church he attended and their views on the of the USA and the world, which are probably his true views.
As for Jeremiah Wright, I don’t believe God is going to welcome a person like that into his Kingdom…..whether he is red, yellow, black or white…….
You know, they must really think the average American is an idiot. It doesn’t matter if he was there or not. Obama is/was fully aware of this preachers white/america hating rhetoric and has embraced it for at least 17 years. And not only that, but he embraced this man so much that he choose him to marry him to Michelle. Obama unknowingly committed political suicide by associating himself to these kinds of people. It doesn’t matter how many Al Sharpton’s etc. he gets to try and justify/gloss over the facts. It’s there, it’s done, and he has to live with it.
Regards,
your average tax paying registered Texas voter
The straw that broke the camels’ back…For full disclosure: I tend to vote Republican for president and split the ticket for congress and locally I vote for those I know or trust regardless of party affiliation, but this cycle without a good candidate option on that side I was looking to Obama as an option for this old socially moderate, fiscal conservative white guy but this stuff has sealed it for me.
Guilt through association? Yes because if I had gone to a single Neo Nazi party or Klann meeting or associated even a few times with Mr. Duke without labling him as my mentor, I would be labled a racist forever… even if I did so out of curiosity not sharing in the philosophy…Barak went to this church for 20 years…20 years! He can not believe us to be that stupid that he wasn’t aware of the racially motivated diatribes being spewed by the Reverend or to the philosophical leanings of the church.
Call me a racist if you want but at least I was doing my research and considered voting for a black candidate. That is something that the 90% of the blacks in the Demorcat party can’t say they did this time around.
This is a silly distraction from the republicans. Hannity we get your poit. Im a white man and I will never vote for Hillary. I will like many of my family members will vorte for Borack. Barack over and over has rejected and denounced this man. In fact his no longer the pastor. We Americnas should talk about the real issue hurting middle and poor Americans. Barack came a working class family. He understand how hard it can be to struggle and to achive the American dream. His mother is a white women . He was raised my his white grand parents. He is the American dream.