Obama Complains That Pastor Was ‘Boiled Down’ to Sound Clips
GREENSBORO, N.C. — Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama on Wednesday sought to quell concerns over anti-American remarks by his former pastor, saying people are paying too much attention to a small number of “stupid” comments.
Obama gave a sweeping speech on race last week in which he condemned incendiary remarks by the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, but the words of the former pastor at Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago continue to dog the candidate. Reflecting the campaign’s concern about the fallout, Obama used a question about religion at a town hall forum as an opportunity to address the issue.
“This is somebody that was preaching three sermons at least a week for 30 years and it got boiled down … into a half-minute sound clip and just played it over and over and over again, partly because it spoke to some of the racial divisions we have in this country,” Obama told an audience in this central North Carolina city.
“There are misunderstandings on both sides,” the Illinois senator said. “We cannot solve the problems of America if every time somebody somewhere does something stupid, that everybody gets up in arms and forgets about the war in Iraq and we forget about the economy.”
On Tuesday, Obama’s rival for the Democratic nomination, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, weighed in directly, saying: “I think that given all we have heard and seen, he would not have been my pastor.”
The controversy began earlier this month when videos of Wright’s sermons surfaced, including one in which the pastor shouts “God damn America” for its treatment of minorities.
Wright has said the U.S. government invented AIDS to destroy “people of color” and also has suggested that U.S. policies in the Middle East and elsewhere were partly responsible for the 2001 terrorist attacks on New York and the Pentagon.
In the speech last week, Obama sharply condemned Wright’s remarks and the preacher’s refusal to acknowledge progress in race relations. But he refused to repudiate his longtime spiritual mentor, saying he could no more disown Wright than he could disown his white grandmother.
Wright has canceled some planned public appearances this week. Obama said Wednesday he has spoken with the pastor.
“I have talked to him. I have not asked him to do anything,” the Illinois senator told reporters.
Even if he said it one time he must have said it because he knew that his church would like it.
People are not talking about it to distract from anything. They are talking about it because they are angry and feel betrayed by him.
What is wrong with the guy. You can’t justify Rev. Wrights comments eventhough it was all boiled down to soundbyte clips, the man said this trash and now he’s going to have to deal with all the grief that comes with it. It’s a mistake for Obama to justify this rhetoric.
Obama, you nor your Pastor are folling anyone with an IQ over that of a Chimpanzee!!! Wright’s life is all about hate the White, Jews and anything American. YOU subscribe to the same point of view and, with the help of Pelosi, will destroy this nation.
One can live a life of relative rectitude and do a few deeds that negates off of the rest.
Loeb and Leopold seemed to be good kids for most of their hours on earth until they decided to spend a few hours at kidnapping and murder. A small fraction of their life on earth was spent doing criminal deeds.
The same can be said regarding the outrageous outbursts from K. Wright.
Attempting to justify the unjustifiable on the basis of proportionality evades the issue.
It doesn’t matter what Obama claims now. He knew what his pastor was like and what he was saying in his church.He claims that what was said were sound clip’s but we know better. This guys hates white just like the clan does there is no other way to say it.
It is a shame that the only way you can try to hurt a man is by trying to use another man’s word that are only sound bites of the whole message. Because only wish that people would step out of their fear that other play on and hear the who speech from the Rev Wright and I promise you will see how we are tricked in to believing what others want us to believe because we do not take the time to hear things or see things for ourselves.
America banks on it and we bye into the fear tactics that keeps us in a mental state of modern day slavery. That as a people, white, yellow, red, brown, and black we will be unable to grow together as one. I love you all that stand for Freedom, Justice and Equity for all people with the SOUND BITES!
it is a funny thing thing Ileft a comment this morning but I see that there is no comments showing i guess fox news is just another media outlet that sucks up to obama and his hate filled wife check out her speech at s.c.u. read between the lines of what she was saying ,yhere is no difference between michelle and uncle jeremiah
I AM A WHITE WOMAN IN MY 50′S.I HAVE BEEN WONDERING FOR YEARS WHY THERE IS STILL PREJUDICE IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.AND AFTER LISTENING TO A PASTOR.(A MAN OF GOD) PREACHING HATE AND CONSPIRACY ABOUT OUR GOVERMENT AND THE PEOPLE IN AMERICA,THERES NO WONDER.I DO NOT FEEL THAT ONE RACE OF PEOPLE IS ANYMORE MISTREATED THAN ANY OTHER,AND FOR A (MAN OF GOD ) TO BE TEACHING HATE TOTALLY IS NOT GOD.NOR IS IT GODLY.AND WHO KNOWS HOW MANY OTHER PREACHERS OUT THERE IS TEACHING THE SAME THING.AND KEEPING THAT OLD CAN OF WORMS OPEN.JUST A THOUGHT!
Does anyone actually believe Obama when he said that Wright gave 3 sermons a day for 30 years? That was his first lie - I’ve never heard of any pastor giving 3 sermons a day.
Next, he said that this was looped into 30 seconds. How many churches sell dvds of their sermons? The press was only able to get a few? Who knows how many were out there or if all the sermons were for sale.
What matters is that Barack Obama has not answered any questions and continues to deflect everything back on the American people - trying to lecture us on race relations. So, Obama, why did you sit in the pews for 20 years, you know this church has ties to the Black Panthers and Farrakhan and you want to run for president and your closest mentor spews anti-American and hate speech. No way.
Considering the number of “misstatements” Sen Clinton has made over the years, who would want to be her pastor. Thou shalt not lie.