FOX News Poll: More Than Half of Americans Believe Obama Doesn’t Share Views of Pastor Wright
Barack Obama, who is trying to move on from discussion about his former pastor, speaks about Iraq and the economy Thursday at the University of Charleston in West Virginia. (AP Photo)
By Dana Blanton
Fifty-seven percent of Americans do not believe Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama shares the controversial views of his former spiritual mentor Jeremiah Wright, while about one in four (24 percent) believes he does share the Rev. Wright’s views. And a sizable minority has doubts about Obama because of his pastor’s comments, according to a new FOX News poll.
Republicans (36 percent) are more likely than independents (20 percent) and Democrats (17 percent) to think Obama shares Wright’s controversial and unpatriotic views. Whites (25 percent) are more likely than blacks (15 percent) to think so.
Over a third of voters (35 percent) and a quarter of Democrats (26 percent) and independents (27 percent) say Obama’s relationship with Rev. Wright has caused them to have doubts about him. Here the racial breakdown is stark: 40 percent of whites and 2 percent of blacks have doubts.
“One of the hallmarks of Obama’s campaign has been his ability to attract independent voters. This doubt brought on by the Wright controversy has to be troubling for Obama,” said Ernest Paicopolos, principal of Opinion Dynamics Corp.
Click here to see the poll results and read the full story.
It’s unclear how much damage, if any, the situation will do to Obama’s standing in his head-to-head race with Hillary Clinton, as Democrats so far are still almost evenly divided in their preference: 40 percent say they want Clinton to be the nominee and 38 percent want Obama. In February, the vote preference was tied at 44 percent each.
All in all, Americans think your choice in friends says a lot about you: Almost 7 of 10 say they think the people you choose to be your friends reflect on you and your values. And 39 percent say your friends reflect on you “a lot.”
Rev. Wright was Obama’s pastor and spiritual adviser for many years, and performed Obama’s wedding ceremony in 1992.
Most Americans — 72 percent — are familiar with the comments made by Obama’s former pastor.
Obama gave a speech on race in America in which he addressed Rev. Wright’s comments on March 18. Opinion Dynamics Corp. conducted the national telephone poll of 900 registered voters for FOX News from March 18 to March 19 in the evenings. The poll has a 3-point error margin.
You’ve got to be kidding…….
Of course he believe in the ” Black Liberation Theology ” that is taught in his church by his mentor , spiritual guide , uncle, & pastor….
You guys need to see what your buying before he really changes America !!!!
Don’t be blind… look it up!!!
I can’t believe anyone would allow their child to soak up this hatred !!
As a white person, I will repeat one comment I hear over and over in the white community directed toward blacks - “they just want something for nothing”. I EVEN hear this directed toward little black kids when they participate in our programs. Little kids - under 12 usually 7, 8, 9…. Think about it. And these are good people saying it. Have you ever in your life met a little kid that didn’t want something for nothing? We have a long long way to go.
Fox, would like to see you improve your polling, maybe I can help, call me.
P.S. Barack is a symptom of a deeper problem in the United States…reverse discrimination. I have lived in mixed race neighborhoods for 30 out of 38 years. White and black people are discriminated against in many ways, both one against the other and within each race. It is true that there are white racist people, it is also true there are black racist people. What we are going to do about it here/now is the next step for America.
Barack is connected in many ways to radical black racists. Would we elect someone with ties to the KKK as president? That wouldn’t be representative of America. DEMOCRACY represents the majority of Americans…or maybe America’s best days are behind her.
Dad didn’t say show me your friend I’ll show you yourself, he said show me your friends and I’ll show you yourself. If you younger people would like a list of Barack’s friends, so you don’t have to put down your joy stick and do some real research on who you’re voting for, give me a call.
1-800-vote-respons-ability
Fox… you must realize that you’re losing all credibility by hammering on about the Wright issue. Why not stick to the real issues that are plaguing our nation? Just because you scream untruths at the top of your lungs doesn’t mean they’re correct. Although my politics and loyalties lie elsewhere doesn’t mean I don’t respect the fact that you are quite a good news source for other things. Where are your concerns for the people that support Obama, but still look to you to keep those of us who still watch Fox for some of your sensible reporting? Please… Please… please try and care about the rest of your viewers who love your coverage of other issues. I’m a black American female living in the UK and sometimes the only person I can relate to is B. O’reilly after a day in the office listening to how screwed up and backward my country is. Your insidious coverage of Obama , coupled with your your (obvious) grudging respect for him as a threat to your (blatant) right wing agenda is turning you into a joke. Both in the US and outside. The world is watching. What’ll you do if he wins? Stop the madness!
Good to see so many Obama haters had little difficulty with their guilt by association argument. I can hardly wait to hear how they wriggle out of the obvious associations that can be made with the security breech on three separate occassions over a period of three months in the State Department over Senator Obama’s passport files when each unauthorized access is immediately flagged up the food chain but Obama was only informed today. Oh yeah. You clowns watch Fox. They haven’t reported that yet.
Obama is a liar and I agree with matty that he is evil and so is his mentor the so called Rev Wright. I can’t beleive the American people can’t see the democrats have nothing to offer. I think Obama should go for a ride in Ted Kennedy’s car and take his wife with………
Just like Barack Obama’s support of Rev. Wright shows poor judgment on his part, those politicians continuing to support Barack Obama when they know he cannot win the general elections shows their judgment is questionable.
Only solution any Democrat has these days. RAISE TAXES on the working middle class!!
The News media and the American people should spend as much time worrying about Senators Obama, Clinton, and McCane’s views on the issues as much as they do on this trash about Jeremiah Wright and other such crap. For god sakes, you people sound as though your all next in line to be Pope. You bunch of phony hypocrites.
Fox News, you advertise Fox as being fair and impartial yet you have ignorant, obnoxious condescending garbage like Hannity who can’t even defend him self when confronted with questions. He resorts to jokes and uses the excuse of a lack of time to evade questions. Well at least Comes and O’Rally offer some class to your station.
Sen. Obama has shown how he will defend our country if it is attacked by other countries; the same way he responded when it was attacked for twenty years by his own friends and family. He has shown how he plans to counter divisiveness in America; the same way he responded to blatant promotion of divisiveness for twenty years, by his own friends and family. The best indicator of how someone will act in the future is their past behavior.