Obama Publicly Rejects Reverend Jeremiah Wright’s Statements
By Justin Gardner | Related entries in 2008 Election, Barack, Religion
Well, that was fast.
Obama writes at The Huffington Post:
The pastor of my church, Rev. Jeremiah Wright, who recently preached his last sermon and is in the process of retiring, has touched off a firestorm over the last few days. He’s drawn attention as the result of some inflammatory and appalling remarks he made about our country, our politics, and my political opponents.Let me say at the outset that I vehemently disagree and strongly condemn the statements that have been the subject of this controversy. I categorically denounce any statement that disparages our great country or serves to divide us from our allies. I also believe that words that degrade individuals have no place in our public dialogue, whether it’s on the campaign stump or in the pulpit. In sum, I reject outright the statements by Rev. Wright that are at issue.
Because these particular statements by Rev. Wright are so contrary to my own life and beliefs, a number of people have legitimately raised questions about the nature of my relationship with Rev. Wright and my membership in the church. Let me therefore provide some context.
You can read the rest over at Huff Post.
It’s a well written response and, as always, it makes sense. Obama has run a campaign, and this is yet another example of him addressing problems very quickly and efficiently.
The reverend’s words may still hurt him, but you can’t say he hasn’t come out extremely strongly against what was said.
This entry was posted on Friday, March 14th, 2008 and is filed under 2008 Election, Barack, Religion. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
March 14th, 2008 at 4:37 pm
[...] we’ve already covered, Barack Obama has condemned the controversial words of Rev. Jeremiah Wright. But what now – [...]
March 18th, 2008 at 10:41 am
Obama is toast…He did hear Wright spewing his hatred…News reporters have attested to being in the church when Obama was there and Wright ranting his bigoted hatred FROM THE PULPIT…If I were in a church and heard that kind of garbage coming out of a Preacher’s mouth…I would head for the nearest door…White America is going to dump Obama like a hot potato…Guilt by association…Suddenly Obama is backing away from his “mentor, friend and pastor, and spiritual advisor”…He is done…Hillary is probably jumping for joy…Imagine…Hillary’s pastor screaming the hateful messages this disgusting “reverend” was spewing or kudos for David Duke and the KKK from the alter? Woah…Bye bye Barack…
March 18th, 2008 at 10:47 am
Jan, you’re just plain wrong. If you’re referencing Bill Kristol’s column, it was debunked. If you’re referencing something else, provide a link or go away. There’s no room for conjecture and hearsay in this debate.
March 22nd, 2008 at 11:48 pm
I can’t say I’ve ever heard a sermon in a church before, but I was under the impression that pastors say a lot of things in sermons about whatever they believe in, and even if you’re in the audience listening that doesn’t mean that you condone everything the pastor says. And say it is true that Obama heard Wright say inflammatory things about the black condition in America–the man’s entitled to his own opinion, and I don’t consider Obama the type of person to challenge someone’s deeply held beliefs outright, even if they are racist.
From what I’ve found of Rev. Wright’s statements, none seem so inflammatory to me that I would leave and protest his words. It’s important to have freedom of speech, and while some call what he’s doing hatemongering, I think he’s simply echoing the beliefs of many in the black community (I don’t wish to condone the beliefs that Wright advocates). I have found nothing Wright has said to be so flagrantly racist and anti-American that we would be considered an unusual American citizen.
I think perhaps we ought to remember that everyone has their own beliefs, and simply tolerating the views of someone else does not mean that you condone them.