United Press International – May 30, 2008
CHICAGO, May 30, 2008 (UPI via COMTEX) — Sen. Barack Obama’s campaign once again had to apologize for remarks made by a Chicago pastor who spoke from the pulpit of the candidate’s church.
“As I have traveled this country, I’ve been impressed not by what divides us, but by all that that unites us,” Obama said in a statement. “That is why I am deeply disappointed in Father (Michael) Pfleger’s divisive, backward-looking rhetoric, which doesn’t reflect the country I see … .”
In a video on the YouTube Internet site, the priest, an Obama supporter, mocks Sen. Hillary Clinton from the pulpit of Trinity United Church of Christ, of which Obama is a member, the Chicago Tribune reported Friday.
Pfleger was a guest speaker at the church, home of the former pastor Jeremiah Wright Jr., whose vitriolic remarks about racism in the United States prompted Obama to reject him and deliver a speech about race.
Pfleger, a longtime friend of Wright’s and Obama’s, also issued a statement of apology.
“I regret the words I chose Sunday,” the statement said. “These words are inconsistent with Sen. Obama’s life and message, and I am deeply sorry if they offended Senator Clinton or anyone else who saw them.”
The Clinton campaign first had no comment, then said Obama did not go far enough, the Chicago Sun-Times reported.
“Divisive and hateful language like that is totally counterproductive … and has no place at the pulpit or in our politics,” Clinton spokesman Phil Singer said in a statement. “We are disappointed that Senator Obama didn’t specifically reject Father Pfleger’s despicable comments about Senator Clinton, and assume he will do so.”
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