Obama Says Pastor Was in a ‘Time Warp,’ Suggests He Would Have Left Church
Barack Obama says his controversial former pastor was stuck in a “time warp” and suggests he would have left his Chicago church had Rev. Jeremiah Wright Jr. not retired.
While still defending what he called the “broader aspect” of his long-time pastor, Obama said in a pre-taped interview with ABC’s “The View,” which aired Friday, that Wright’s most offensive sermons drew from an outdated view of America and its prejudices.
“What they spoke to was, I think, a brilliant man who was still caught in a time warp back in the ’60s, early ’70s and the ’50s, where he grew up, and had a sense of where America was and didn’t have a good enough sense of how it had changed,” he said.
Obama disputed what he called an overstated notion that Wright was his “spiritual adviser” or “mentor.”
Hillary Clinton earlier this week for the first time spoke out on the controversy over Wright, whose anti-American and racially charged sermons threatened Obama’s campaign. The New York senator said she would have left the church if her pastor behaved like Obama’s.
Asked what he’d do if the reverend had stayed on, Obama told “The View”: “Had the reverend not retired, and had he not acknowledged that what he had said had deeply offended people and were inappropriate and mischaracterized what I believe is the greatness of this country, for all its flaws, then I wouldn’t have felt comfortable staying at the church.”
As he did in his speech on race more than a week ago, Obama continued to defend Wright’s character. He said he spoke with him recently, and “I told him I feel badly that he has been characterized just in this one way. People haven’t seen this broader aspect of him.”
Obama reiterated that he never personally heard Wright’s most controversial sermons.
“Now keep in mind he’s preaching three times every Sunday and for 30 years, and I’m not vetting my pastor and I didn’t have a research team during the course of these 20 years go pull every sermon that he’s given and see if there’s something offensive that he said,” Obama said, adding that “I don’t purchase all the DVDs.”
In his sermons over the years, Wright has railed against the United States and accused it of bringing on the Sept. 11 attacks by spreading terrorism. He also has said the government invented AIDS to destroy “people of color” and has shouted “God damn America” for its treatment of minorities.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
A great majority of young people (who grew up in homes were their parents held strong biased racial or religious opinions) do not display these kinds of behaviors. In today’s world, although they do not reject their parents, there seems to be greater interracial respect, camaraderie, socialization and friendship among the youth. Having said that, I strongly believe that Senator Obama having been blessed with multicultural exposure, having lived and seen the division among the nation, having listen to the old bitterness, biases and anger of our elders, just like the youth have experienced, is genuinely trying to bring people together by promoting hope and change. He said it many times “lets get rid of the old rhetoric” and I support that 100%.
It is not enough to say that Rev. Wright is in a “time warp”. Obama indicated that this man is responsible for his spiritual formation. In addition, he chose to expose his children to this man’s hatred and disrespect for this country. I do not believe for a moment that Obama rejected his philosophy. Even if he did, he is a hypocrite and is condescending toward this man and his congregation. I have been a life long democrat, but I will vote Republican if Obama is the Democratic nominee.
Obama has never, as far as I can tell and I follow the material very closely,
EVER commented on the issues of the hate content of the speech. As I viewed
it, it wasn’t racial, it was pure hate spewing and much of it aimed at Hillary,
which makes the pastor’s various content, context, and connatations more
than blatant sexism, it makes it hate based upon gender.
The female hate content in Wright’s sermons seems to totally
escape Obama and his supporters.
Why did Obama choose to make this issue about race rather than
about woman, and sexual harrassment and gender bias?
If someone were to speak about Obama’s wife in the same way that Rev Wright
spoke about Hillary, would do you think Obama would say?
But, somehow, it is okay for a male, black or white, reverend or politician
to look the other way when a male is vehemently trash talking a female.
I would not vote for any man who had an opportunity to take on the issue
of hate speech and gender bashing, but choose instead to play a reverse race
card.
Barry would leave? HE STAYED THERE OVER TWENTY YEARS! He only now talks about leaving when he’s busted. What a liar. A radical racist bigot who shouldn’t be a senator, much less president. Resign now before the investigation exposed you further.
Several of the comments on this page are insulting and many others are hypocritical. It is amazing that Obama has succeeded to unite America, despite some, such as several commenting on this page, who cannot recognize greatness, and even a couple who have expressed racist sentiments. It is amazing that one would decry statements made by Rev. Wright that are no more controversial than those made by Jeremiah the prophet, who warned the people of historical Israel either to change their ways or to be destroyed by God. Rev. Wright’s message was a wake-up call to all Americans to stop committing acts of war and violence. If Obama was inspired by Rev. Wright to change the country away from its George W. Bush war crimes, then we all owe Rev. Wright our gratitude. Carry on, Reverend. Encourage us to improve until this country is as great as its promise!
Obama is a fake, a fraud and anti-American hypocrite. America love it or leave it for Kenya!
It seems like more political posturing to me. What bothers me most is that Obama lied about his knowledge of Rev. Wright’s controversial sermons, but he admitted to this knowledge during the race speech; however, knowing Wright’s anti-American sentiments, Obama STILL gave him an official place on his campaign. I just don’t understand how he could put someone who is so hate-filled and racially divisive on his campaign, the theme of which is to “transcend what divides us as a country.” It makes Obama and his agenda for this country totally suspect. And now we add his latest comment that he would have left the church if Wright hadn’t retired. Who believes that? Obama is just making another statement to minimize the damage his relationship with Wright has done to his campaign. As far as I can tell, Obama and Wright seemed joined at the hip.
I wonder if Obama knew about his pastor’s anti-Israeli feelings and support of Hamas, which the State Dept. has deemed a terrorist organization. REV. WRIGHT PUBLISHED THE HAMAS TERROR MANIFESTO JULY 22, 2007 IN THE PASTOR’S PAGES OF THE CHURCH NEWSLETTER. I guess Obama missed that too. (FROM BLOG: California Conservative - Speaking Out For The Silent Majority (TM) published in Reuters - “WND reported in January that Malley, an Obama foreign policy adviser, has penned numerous opinion articles, many of them co-written with a former adviser to the late Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat, petitioning for dialogue with Hamas and blasting Israel for policies he says harm the Palestinian cause.”)
The fact that Obama has someone on his foreign policy team who wrote articles for Arafat blasting Israel, sends up all kinds of red flags to me.
I’m convinced that Obama is a political opportunist who will say and do anything to get himself elected. His arrogance and mean-spirited, personal negative attacks on Hillary Clinton have made him the KING OF POLITICS AS USUAL. So much for his vision of a united America! Oh, and would it be an America that supports Israel or Hamas?
Senator Obama also must have been in a “time warp” if it took him twenty years to discover the content of his pastor’s mind and beliefs as expressed in his toxic sermons.
I guess Obama’s wife is in a time warp too since this is the first time she has ever been proud of America. After 20 years Obama never mentioned the time warp to his pastor? Action speaks louder than words every time. He exposed his children to that creep. Obama needs to drop out now because intelligent Americans can see through his empty rhetoric. The thought of Obama and Wright in the whitehouse makes me shutter.
the Queen of England makes me shutter.
Pastor Wright,I believe God said those that teach hes word will be hield responceable to teach the trouth in love and compasion.
Paster, do not waist all the good you have done as a teacher of God’s children what ever there race, color or any thing else is by saying the alful things that you know are wrong especly for a teacher of Gods word.
Please turn this alful thing you have done around for God sake, your sake and fore all the people you have heart so much thay are not perfect and neather are you or me, thease are God’s children that have worked very hard to get to where thay are, Tiger woods,Colen Pale President Bush and all the others especly Mr Oboma some one who loves you and could use your help right now.PLEASE GO TO GOD, AS YOU KNOW HE IS ALL FORGIVING AND ALL LOVEING THEN TEL THE WOURLD YOU HAVE SCREW UP AND YOU ARE SO SARRY WE ALL NEED TO HAMBLE OUR SELVES TO BE CLOSE TO OUR FATHER,IT IS YOUR TIME.
Paul