Obama: I never heard
my pastor's trash talk

Rev. Jeremiah Wright Jr. tears up at the conclusion of his final sermon as senior pastor of Trinity United Church of Christ, Feb. 10, in image from video

Responding to mounting controversy over radical anti-American and racist statements by his pastor, Sen. Barack Obama issued a statement today to the Christian Broadcasting Network saying he strongly condemns and denounces remarks by Rev. Jeremiah Wright Jr. that disparaged the country or degraded people.

Obama referred to the "firestorm over the last few days" from unearthed video segments of Wright's sermons that the senator described as "some inflammatory and appalling remarks he made about our country, our politics, and my political opponents."

The front-runner for the Democratic presidential nomination said he was not in attendance when Wright made any of the statements and never heard such talk in private conversations.

"Let me say at the outset that I vehemently disagree and strongly condemn the statements that have been the subject of this controversy," Obama said. "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."

Late today, Wright stepped down from his formal role in Obama's campaign, as a member of his African American Religious Leadership Committee, said the Politico's Ben Smith, citing campaign spokesman Tommy Vietor.

In a January 2006 sermon, Wright called America the "No. 1 killer in the world" and blamed the country for launching the AIDS virus to maintain affluence at the expense of the Third World. The pastor reportedly said in a sermon just after 9/11, "The government lied about inventing the HIV virus as a means of genocide against people of color. The government lied."

In a 2003 sermon, reported yesterday, Wright encouraged blacks to damn America in God's name and blamed the U.S. for provoking the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks by dropping nuclear weapons on Japan in World War II and supporting Israel since 1947.

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Obama said that because the statements are "so contrary to my own life and beliefs," some have legitimately raised questions about his relationship with Wright and Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago.

"Let me repeat what I've said earlier," he said. "All of the statements that have been the subject of controversy are ones that I vehemently condemn. They in no way reflect my attitudes and directly contradict my profound love for this country."

Obama said the statements first came to his attention at the beginning of his presidential campaign.

"I made it clear at the time that I strongly condemned his comments," Obama said. "But because Rev. Wright was on the verge of retirement, and because of my strong links to the Trinity faith community, where I married my wife and where my daughters were baptized, I did not think it appropriate to leave the church."

The senator said that with Wright's retirement – he preached his final sermon last month – and the "ascension of my new pastor, Rev. Otis Moss, III, Michelle and I look forward to continuing a relationship with a church that has done so much good."

"And while Rev. Wright's statements have pained and angered me," he concluded. "I believe that Americans will judge me not on the basis of what someone else said, but on the basis of who I am and what I believe in; on my values, judgment and experience to be president of the United States."

In his statement to CBN, Obama also sought to provide "context," explaining that when he joined the church 20 years ago, he "knew Rev. Wright as someone who served this nation with honor as a United States Marine, as a respected biblical scholar, and as someone who taught or lectured at seminaries across the country, from Union Theological Seminary to the University of Chicago."

"He also led a diverse congregation that was and still is a pillar of the South Side and the entire city of Chicago," Obama said. 'It's a congregation that does not merely preach social justice but acts it out each day, through ministries ranging from housing the homeless to reaching out to those with HIV/AIDS.

"Most importantly, Rev. Wright preached the gospel of Jesus, a gospel on which I base my life. In other words, he has never been my political adviser; he's been my pastor. And the sermons I heard him preach always related to our obligation to love God and one another, to work on behalf of the poor, and to seek justice at every turn."

In a January 2007 Chicago Tribune profile of Wright, Obama spoke of the pastor as a spiritual mentor and role model who helped keep his priorities straight and his moral compass calibrated.

"What I value most about Pastor Wright is not his day-to-day political advice," Obama said. "He's much more of a sounding board for me to make sure that I am speaking as truthfully about what I believe as possible and that I'm not losing myself in some of the hype and hoopla and stress that's involved in national politics."

The Tribune said Obama, then a community activist in Chicago, was first attracted to Wright's Trinity United Church of Christ in 1985 when it bore a "Free South Africa" sign on the lawn.

Obama was not a churchgoer at the time, the paper noted, but he found himself returning to the sanctuary. In his 1993 memoir "Dreams from My Father," Obama recounts that when he met Wright, the pastor warned that getting involved with Trinity might turn off other black clergy because of the church's radical reputation.

Before leaving for Harvard Law School in 1988, Obama responded to one of Wright's altar calls and declared a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Later, the rising political star based his 2004 keynote speech to the Democratic National Convention on a Wright sermon called "Audacity to Hope," who also was the inspiration for Obama's second memoir, "The Audacity of Hope."

The Tribune profile said that while Wright and Obama do not often talk one-on-one often, the senator checks with his pastor before making any bold political moves, including in 2006, when considering a run for the White House.

Wright reportedly cautioned Obama not to let politics change him, but he also encouraged him to dive in, win or lose.

 

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