Obama makes a round of tv appearances tonight to try to air out his position on Wright, and wrap up his interviews on Rezko. Below, his appearance on MSNBC.
Two preliminary points. First, if you feel you're going to have to wrestle with some tough issues, better do it now -- with four weeks to settle in before Pa., and 6 weeks before Ind. and NC -- than on, say, April 15, when Hillary will release her tax returns.
Second, on Wright, he's drawn a line between "inflammatory" language, which he said he hadn't heard from Wright, and a social-justice gospel, which was central to Wright's preaching. In practical terms, that could be a pretty fine line, and turn this into a real tar-pit for Obama. If at some point enough other parishoners say the "inflammatory" was known to them, Obama's claim that he was surprised won't be credible.
Comments (3)
Does anyone really believe that Obama NEVER heard of his pastor's statements prior to this week or only heard about one or two of them? Come on!! I am NOT am active member of my church and I am 100% SURE if my pastor had ever said that the federal government is giving black people HIV; spreading drugs; or is responsible for 9/11 I would have heard about it.
He is also stating he was NEVER there when Wright made remarks that were so inflammatory..what about his wife Michelle? Was she there?
Give me a break! Why don't you give Mr. Oblah,blah another pilow. Where is his so called judgement? 20 years relationships with these Rezko and Wright. And he never noticed anything suspicious?
There is Spanish proverb that translates, "Tell me with whom you walk and I will tell you who you are." [A man is known by the company he keeps.]
http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2008/03/just-what-did-o.html
What did Obama know and when did he know it?
In his Friday night cable mea culpas on the incendiary comments made by his spiritual adviser Rev. Jeremiah Wright, Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., repeatedly said, "I wasn't in church during the time that these statement were made. I did not hear such incendiary language myself, personally. Either in conversations with him or when I was in the pew, he always preached the social gospel. ... If I had heard them repeated, I would have quit. ... If I thought that was the repeated tenor of the church, then I wouldn’t feel comfortable there."
Obama told CNN that he "didn't know about all these statements. I knew about one or two of these statements that had been made. One or two statements would not lead me to distance myself from either my church or my pastor. ... If I had thought that was the tenor or tone on an ongoing basis, then yes, I don't think it would have been reflective of my values."
But according to a New York Times story from a year ago, the Obama campaign dis-invited Wright from delivering a public invocation at Obama's candidacy announcement.
“Fifteen minutes before Shabbos I get a call from Barack,” Wright told the Times. “One of his members had talked him into uninviting me."