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in a pre-taped interview with ABC’s “The View,” which aired Friday, that Wright’s most offensive sermons drew from an outdated view of America and its prejudices.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.
Obama-Osama,
Wow, name calling huh…What are you, 12???
I like Obama for some reasons, and dislike him for others. My biggest concerns are his views on Israel and taxes. However, I have to say Samantha’s comments are shockingly ignorant. His race speech was brilliant and very specific. How people can say Obama isn’t specific enough is beyond me. He’s a man who is probably the most independent and intelligent person I’ve seen run for office in my lifetime. His ability to explain problems and address issues is unrivaled. In my opinion a far better candidate than either Hillary or McCain.
I don’t believe you and now I don’t trust you, Mr. Obama.
Most of us are not buying Obama’s story. He seems like a ‘typical lying politician’ rather than the ‘new modern choice’ he fashins himself to be.
I tend to be conservative, I feel the Pastor was just as wrong as Ms. Pelozi was wrong. Obama should of asked his “pastor” to apologize and then drop the subject. I feel he is prolonging his own agony by dragging the story on, and on, and on, etc.
If Obama disowned his church and pastor he would be no better than a Clinton, or other politician who only goes to church to “look” Christian. I can’t believe he is getting this much flack for things his preacher said. Rev. Wright deserves the critique, but what more honestly can the Obama’s say than what has been said? Let it go, folks. Our nation and the candidates need to start focussing on how to right our listing government, not what candidate’s preachers or friends have said. This November let’s show the world that Americans have a longer attention span than an amoeba…. and that we can focus on issues of substance, not the politics of character destruction. Pick on Obama’s liberal voting record, lack of experience, etc…, but DROP the preacher bashing association, it just gives Hillary encouragement to drag this thing out further.
Obama and his wife were students for 20 years and now they see it? Give me a break. While Wright is fleasing his flock for 1.6 mil Obama is disowning him. What will Obama do next to get votes?
Saying that he was “stuck” in a timewarp implies he has been the same for the last 40, 50 or 60 years. If the Reverend was like this back then, why did Mr. Obama remain at the church? Also, some of the video was from 2001. Why did Mr. Obama continue to stay? Saying he would have left the church if the Reverend did not retire is a lie. And, Mr. Obama has never came out and said he disagrees with the statements Reverend Wright made; he just said the statements offended people and should not have been publicly stated. It appears that Mr. Obama, his wife and family believe the rhetoric of Reverend Wright.
Comment by samatha burns
March 28th, 2008 at 10:22 am
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Agreed.
It’s quite obvious that our comments are being uniquely chosen to be posted. Not all voices of the people are being heard through this website. A pastor can speak of Anti-America, but a citizen who loves his Country cannot even get a comment in on a website about the truth of how some people feel.