Obama Seeks to Stop Wright Coverage ‘Loop’
Tuesday: Barack Obama delivers a speech in Philadelphia on race, politics and unifying the country. (AP Photo)
As Barack Obama wrapped up his ambitious speech on race, politics and the historical origin of his longtime pastor’s heated sermons Tuesday, advisers questioned whether he had achieved a simple and practical objective: halting the “loop.”
The “loop” is the barrage of anti-American invective from Rev. Jeremiah Wright Jr. that has saturated national television for the past week.
Obama has vigorously disavowed Wright’s inflammatory remarks, but in Tuesday’s speech refused to disavow the pastor himself or the 20-year relationship he’s had with him. Some political observers say the Illinois senator still has some more mending to do.
“I think it goes on,” National Public Radio national correspondent Juan Williams said of the controversy.
Williams, a FOX News analyst, questioned why Obama allowed himself to remain publicly associated with Wright. He said Obama did not address the “judgment and character” issues that he’s running on.
“I think he had to take responsibility … and that’s what he didn’t do,” Williams said.
But CitizenJane.com Editor Patricia Murphy said it’s too late for Obama to try to divorce himself completely from Wright.
“There’s no way he didn’t know the nature of that church. He knows what goes on there, both good and bad. If he were to denounce this church and leave this church right now, it would look like nothing more than political gamesmanship, and for somebody who is selling himself as an honest broker and trying to paint Hillary Clinton as someone cold and calculating, that will be totally unproductive,” Murphy said. “The horse has left the barn on that.”
GOP strategist Fred McClure praised the speech but said it’s no antidote for Obama’s pastor problems.
“The winds are going to keep swirling around Senator Obama as this campaign goes forward, even though he, I think, very strongly denounced the words of Reverend Wright,” he said.
For a solid week, Wright’s comments have been in heavy rotation, with sermon highlights showing Wright blaming the United States for HIV and the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks, rejecting the Clintons as anathema to the welfare of American blacks and portraying the country as institutionally racist.
Obama’s association with Wright, who officiated his wedding, baptized his children and served as his spiritual adviser, was developing as a potentially damaging credibility problem for his campaign of hope and change. The direct political effects of the relationship remain unclear, but some telling clues showed Obama had a pastor problem.
A Rasmussen survey taken from March 14-16 of 1,200 likely voters showed 56 percent of those interviewed were less likely to vote for Obama because of Wright’s comments.
Other national polls continue to show Obama and Hillary Clinton flirting with the lead in their ongoing fight to become the Democratic presidential candidate.
Seeking the quell the outcry, Obama condemned Wright’s statements on Friday, Saturday and again on Tuesday. But he walked a fine line, using his address to explain and give context to his pastor’s commentary.
“As imperfect as he may be, he has been like family to me. … 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,” Obama told an audience at the Constitution Center in Philadelphia.
He later added: “To simply wish it away, to condemn it without understanding its roots, only serves to widen the chasm of misunderstanding that exists between the races.”
Crisis management consultant Mike Paul told FOX News that Obama needs to go a step further.
“Any time you are dealing with a crisis, you have to go to the root of the problem. The root here is the pastor. As those comments continue, the crisis will continue. Unfortunately, the rhetoric of the speech will not solve that,” he said.
Paul suggested Obama sit down with Wright and try to “melt his heart” and change his way of thinking. He said Obama needs to offer the public a “solution” to the controversy Wright has caused.
“That’s something that Barack Obama should be able to do as a potential president,” Paul said. “You’ve got to have a changed man come out.”
But Rev. Jesse Jackson told FOX News he thought the speech was effective.
“I thought he bared his soul today,” Jackson said, urging the candidates to return to the issues. “This campaign is ultimately about candidates, not surrogates and not about supporters.”
Obama is making a clear attempt to move back to issues, announcing what the campaign billed as back-to-back “major speeches” over the next two days on Iraq and the economy. He plans to speak on Wednesday in North Carolina and Thursday in West Virginia.
For her part, Clinton has not drawn attention to Wright’s sermons. On Tuesday, she said she didn’t hear Obama’s speech.
“I did not get a chance to see or read Senator Obama’s speech, but I’m very glad that he gave it,” she said in Philadelphia.
“It’s an important topic. Issues of race and gender in America have been complicated throughout our history,” Clinton said. “But we should remember that this is an historic moment for the Democratic Party and for our country. We will be nominating the first African-American or woman for the presidency of the United States, and that is something that all Americans can and should celebrate.”
Democratic strategist Tanya Acker, an Obama supporter, said she had no idea whether the speech would put the controversy to rest, but she downplayed the fact that Obama never explicitly disavowed Wright.
“What he tried to do is explain that some of those statements … he was really addressing a bitterness in the African-American community,” she said. “That may make other people feel uncomfortable, but it is truly there.”
FOX News’ Aaron Bruns and Major Garrett contributed to this report.
OMG PEOPLE!!!!!!!! Stop throwing the racism cards towards the white people. The subject of the matter is a Pastor and his Follower. The pastor being a racist towards white people and a government that allows him to say these things. I am sick and tired of blacks getting away with racism. That Mr. Wright and I say Mr. Wright because he has no right to be a Pastor, a Reverend or whatever he calls himself. His degrees and his time in service really don’t mean squat to me if he chooses to use his freedoms to support and advertise racism.
The Follower is as bad as the Pastor. People are saying “who do you surround yourself with?” “You don’t agree with everything that they are saying”. That is the biggest cop out if I have ever heard one. So these people are saying they want their Commander and Chief to take religious advice from a racist Pastor who said we brought 9/11 on ourselves.
In a country that was founded on Christain beliefs, why would you want a President that attends a racist church.
Uh - did anyone at Fox News actually WATCH or READ the speech Sen. Obama made? It was one of the most complex, brilliantly honest, nuanced speeches ever given in modern American times? To try to reduce what he said to the Talking Points is, at this point, absurd. The man just engaged America is a serious, elevated discussion about race and you insist on playing in the sandbox. This was an historic speech that will be discussed and studied for generations to come. If the speech has one deficiency it’s that it is impossible to reduce it to typical 6 second sound bites. It needs to be heard or read in its entirely. It deserves to be heard and read in its entirely. We face very grown-up problems in America and the world today. Isn’t it time we had a leader who spoke to us like grown-ups?
Obama TV interview Friday March 14, 2008. Your first response.
“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.” Obama said.
Obama Speech Tuesday March 19, 2008. Your second response.
“Did I ever hear him make remarks that could be considered controversial while I sat in the church? Yes,” Obama said.
Tell us Barack which one of your quotes should we believe.
I can’t believe the nerve of Obama to stand behind Rev. Wright…are you people blind? Did you not listen to the man’s sermons? He’s racist, he hates white people and he thinks the USA invented AIDS to keep black people down…are you kidding me? I can’t believe people are still behind Obama after hearing this. You go to church to hear guidance of how to live life according to God…and Obama has been going to this church for a long time…what kind of guidance is he getting here? And to Rev. Wright, what God is telling him to preach these sermons?? This makes me terrified to live in America if he is elected president. His wife is even more racist than him. She needs to step off her soapbox sit down and shutup. I’m highly disappointed in my generation of young people. I’m 22 years old and have been working and living on my own since I was 17. I know what it’s like to live in the real world and most of the people my age I talk to are voting for Obama b/c he delivers good speeches, would be the first black president, and promises change…look at the facts people, research a little. Just b/c someone can deliver a speech doesn’t mean a darn thing…and you would vote for someone just b/c the race of his skin? Pathetic…get off your soapboxes.
We have a president that started a pre-emptive war that has resulted in thousand’s of Iraqi and American lives lost, has supported state torture, and has recently veto’ed (or threatened to) an anti-torture bill.
As a christian, I do beleive that God will damn America.
FOXNEWS!FAIR AND BALANCED?U SHOULD CHECK D DICTIONARY FOR THE REAL MEANING OF THOSE WORDS. U GUYS ARE SELF-RIGHTEOUS HYPOCRITES.U ARE D EPITOME OF RACISM.U CLAIM TO BE THE SELF APPOINTED CONSCIENCE OF THE COUNTRY,BUY BULLYING PEOPLE AND DEGRADING PEOPLE WHO AV DIFF VIEWS.I AN A VERY CONSERVATIVE PERSON. THE SHAMEFUL PART OF THIS IS ALMOST IF NOT EVERY ANCHOR ON D FOX CHANNEL TEND TO DO THIS ON THE BASIS OF CHRISTAINITY,WHICH IS EXCELLENT BUT UR MANNER OF APPROACH IS APPAULLING.U NEED TO READ D STORY OF THE PROSTITUTE IN THE BIBLE AND SEE HOW JESUS RESPONDED TO THE SITUATION.CONCERNIN OBAMA,U GUYS JUS DONT LIKE HIM BECOS HE HIS BLACK,SIMPLE. NO MATTER WHAT HE SAYS OR DIDNT SAY. I DIDNT HEAR SO MUCH OUTRAGE WHEN SO CALL CONSERVATIVE RADIO TALK SHOW HOST SUPPORTING MCCAIN MADE SOME APPAULN REMARKS ABT OBAMA ON D CAMPAIGN TRAIL.DAT WAS NOT ON HIS SHOW,DAT WAS DIRECTLY ON D CAMPAGN GROUND.U SAY UR NOT BAISED.GIVE URSELVES A BREAK!
I understand that FOX finds the Pastor Wright news. However, I’m extremely concerned that FOX has now embarked on persoanl agenda to slam Obama into the ground over this issue. IAs a matter of fact, I think FOX is approaching being “over the top” with regard to this news event. If FOX wants to serve the public as a news organization that provides its viewers with information to make informed desciions about our candiates, then clearly they should be fair and balanced. Where is the fair and balanced coverage of the pastor’s and their opinion’s and sermons that serve on John McCain’s campaign spiritual committee. Sean, where is your expose on John Hagee and his hate rhetoric. As a catholic and an American, I’m equally ofended at his hate mongering speech. But oh, wait, Fox doesn’t want to show that hatred in the pulpit is both a white and black issue because that would harm Fox’s candidate.
It’s a shame that a “television” news prgram can show such a one sided story.
How typical of Fox! But hey, it sells, and that what Fox wants.
Comment by Michelle
March 19th, 2008 at 10:39 am
“It doesn’t matter what his pastor said or says. All that matters is what Senator Obama says and does. It is typical of the media to focus on the “glitter” and not on the issues. Every American has a right to his or her own views and has the ability and freedom to place blame wherever they so choose. Who cares? It only matters what both Obama and Clinton think and do. Obama has been straight forward, direct, and to the point. Focus on the main issues at hand which is policy and change. Quit doing the dirty work of the opposite parties just to get a distraction and headline!”
It absolutely does matter that his pastor said what he said, not specifically WHAT he said, just as the liberal media thought it was so damn important that Bush spoke at Bob Jones U. You see Michelle, what matters is that this unproven, unknown, very junior senator with zero experience has just shown the whole country (whether or not the liberal media has tried to cover this up), that not only is he a huge prevaricator but also lacks the judgment to run this country. I’ll give him this, though. He sure can read someone else’s speech over a teleprompter!
If Rev. Wright’s more controversial statements had an indelible impact on Obama, it would reveal itself in Obama’s words, deeds and attitudes.
It does not.
Don’t we all have friends, family members or mentors who differ with us on issues? I am a very controversial person in many ways and have at times shocked family and friends with my frankness. By the grace of GOD the people who love me, love me unconditionally. Isn’t that what Christianity has taught us?
It seems to me that Rev. Wright has some very valid points. We ( White America) have said it’s ok to sit anywhere you want on the bus. It’s even ok to take the bus for a spin around town, but don’t be audacious enough to think you will ever run the company.
I think some who are participating in the character assassination of Barack Obama should take a long, hard inward look at the motives driving their actions.
I’m a senior white female and a registered republican. I will vote in 2008 for Barack Obama. This country is at a crossroads, we either take a step backwards or we follow the lead of our young generation and take a bold step forward.
Since the whole USA and blessed freedom the world over are at stake, the substance in the “loop” needs now to SHIFT to what clearly applies to Sen. Obama who seeks to “change” these United States in immoral ways on the most fundamental issues. The vast “moderate to liberal” media will not cooperate, but thank God for unafraid conservative news sources like FOX.
The reason Sen. Obama is unfit for the presidency is found in St. Paul in Romans 8:9 which teaches “if anyone does not have the spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ”. And from St. Paul in Romans 3:8, we know we are not to do evil (Wright’s dividing humanity) that good may come from it (Wright’s good works in Chicago). So, Rev. Wright and Sen. Obama are not excused by God because of good works.
Sen. Obama does not belong to Christ because he works long and hard to keep Roe going, thus constantly dissing God’s Rights over His Precious Personal Property – HIS newly created human life. Obama thus disses the Declaration of Independence, as well, which acknowledges everyone’s God-endowed right to life. Obama claims his hands are tied by the Constitution but that is false or else pro-life legislators who seek to truly “limit the evil” would long ago be legally stopped.
Those like Obama & Clinton claiming they believe in God while ongoing self-branding actions contrary to Christ’s spirit prove they do not belong to Christ, cannot be trusted to produce good judgments later on, for example, on Iraq. Rev. Wright did not teach Obama well about Jesus as evident in how Barack Obama treats Jesus’ Personal Property.
I have no problem with race and have worked hard over decades to reduce that problem. However, we simply cannot ignore pslam 127 in picking a president: “Except the LORD build the house, they labor in vain that build it: except the LORD keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain.”
Replace ‘city’ with United States of America to see why we cannot afford to support Senator Obama as that would be to work against God. I do not believe the vast mjority of blacks want to work against God. We do need a shift in the “loop” from Rev. Wright to the candidates.
Bill Folger