Obama was interviewed by Anderson Cooper about Wright. I thought this part of the interview was pretty interesting given the fact that there are some who don’t see a problem with Wright’s comments. Evidently your candidate doesn’t agree:
COOPER: (AUDIO GAP) … was created by the government to kill black people. He’s called America the number-one killer around the world. He’s said that black people shouldn’t sing “God Bless America,” but say God d*** America.
There’s a lot of folks in America right now who have heard that. And I want to ask you why you have been listening to this pastor and close to him for nearly 20 years?
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D-IL), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Well, first of all, Anderson, you know, I strongly condemn the statements that have been shown on the tape.
I have to confess that those are not statements that I ever heard when I was sitting in the pews at this church. This is a church that I have been a member of for 20 years. This is a well-established, typical, historically African-American church in the South Side of Chicago, with a wonderful set of ministries.
And what I have been hearing and had been hearing in church was talk about Jesus and talk about faith and values and serving the poor…
COOPER: How…
OBAMA: … something that the church (INAUDIBLE) some.
But so the — what is — what is undeniable is that, you know, these are a series of incendiary statements that I can’t object to strongly enough. Had I heard those in the church, I would have told Reverend Wright that, you know, that I profoundly disagreed with them. They didn’t reflect my values, and they didn’t reflect my ideals.
COOPER: Did you not know, though, that, I mean, a couple days after 9/11, he said, you know, this was America’s chickens coming home to roost, a result of what he called American terrorism around the world?
(CROSSTALK)
COOPER: I mean, you may not have been there, but have you — you must have heard that he had said these things.
OBAMA: You know, I confess that I did not hear about this until — until I started running for president.
And then there was a story that was issued in which I strongly objected to these statements and condemned them. But what I also understood that was — was Reverend Wright was on the verge of retirement and that a new pastor was coming in. The church family was one that was very important to me. It’s where my wife and I got married. It’s where our children were baptized. And, so, my belief was that this was something out of the ordinary. Obviously, some of these statements indicate that this was happening more frequently.
But I also want to say this, Anderson. This is somebody who was a former U.S. Marine, who is a biblical scholar, who’s preached and taught at theological seminaries all across the country, and has had a reputation as a preeminent preacher in the country.
And, so, I have to strongly condemn the statements that were made. They do not reflect my views or Michelle’s views, or probably the views of many people in the church.
On the other hand, you know, Reverend Wright is somebody who is like an uncle or a family member who you may strongly object to what they have to say, but, as he’s about to retire, I have no intention of leaving the church itself.
He also says that Wright has had a different experience than he has. After Anderson played the clip of the pastor ripping into Hillary for being white, rich and European, Obama said this:
Well, I just don’t think that it’s necessary to talk about Senator Clinton or anybody in those terms. And, so, as I said, you know, I think that I can’t be clear enough about these not reflecting my views or the views of Michelle or our family. And had I heard or known about some of these statements, I would have been very clear about it.
Now, the one thing I will say, Anderson, just in terms of putting it in context, this is a man who preached for 30 years and, during those years, was regarded as an outstanding preacher all across the country.
And, so, many of the sermons that I heard were extraordinarily powerful. One of them, which I have written about, titled “The Audacity of Hope” is one that helped inspire my convention speech.
And part of what I think I see is Reverend Wright as somebody who grew up in the ’60s, had very different life experiences than I had, has continued to harbor a lot of anger and frustration about discrimination that he may have experienced.
And, so, his life experiences have been very different than mine. And part of what is going on within the African-American community is a transition, in which some of the rhetoric and statements and — and frustrations of the past have given way to opportunities that I have experienced, and — which is part of the reason why I speak in very different terms. And that’s part of what our campaign has been about, is to surface some of these issues and to be able to move forward and get beyond them.
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