Obama Does Damage Control on Wright

[ScreamingEagle]

Tuesday, April 29, 2008

"At a certain point, if what somebody says such things, then he questions or not whether you believe it, in front of the National Press Club, then that's enough... That's a show of disrespect for me.

As described to me, "Obama isn't just throwing Wright under the bus... He's getting a tractor trailer and running him over a few times."

He says Michelle was "similarly angered."

Obama describes Wright's comments from yesterday as "a bunch of rants."

UPDATE: More Obama: "When you start focusing so much on the plight of the historically oppressed, that you lose sight of what we have in common, that it overrides everything else, that we lose sight of the struggle of others... It doesn't address what I believe is the power of faith to bring people together."

"When this controversy started, I didn't see this as an attack on the black church, I saw it as a simplification, a caricature of who he was... The only aspect that had to do some people were surprised when he was shouting. That's just a black church tradition."

"Yesterday, I think he caricatured himself. That made me angry, and it also made me sad."

Obama said he had tried to reach him before the Philadelphia speech, and couldn't reach him because he was on a cruise. He says they talked after the speech, but said that he didn't want to discuss their private conversations. He said he told him that he found certain statements unacceptable.

"It may have been unintentional on his part, but I do not see our relationship as the same."


"He was never my quote unquote, spiritual adviser, my quote unquote spiritual mentor, he was my pastor."

More Obama: Wright is "an embarrassment to his campaign" and "not what my campaign is about."

ANOTHER UPDATE: The early reaction from CNN: "This was exactly what Barack Obama needed to do."

Roland Martin: "Barack Obama did everything he could to avoid denouncing Wright, but he had no choice because it was indeed offensive." Martin says people close to Wright pleaded with him not to appear at the National Press Club.

From what I saw able to see - I joined the press conference in progress — Obama's criticism of Wright that we heard moments ago was more or less what I wanted to hear in the Philadelphia speech. I'm glad that Obama no longer feels that Americans are unfairly misjudging Wright on "snippets", and that the scales have fallen from his eyes. It's frustrating that Wright had to become a catastrophe for Obama's presidential ambitions before he could see him for what he is, and to offer the full-throated, no ifs, ands or buts, disavowal that he explicitly rejected in his earlier speech.

Obama emphasizes "the man I saw yesterday was not the man I knew for 20 years." I guess the question is, will the voters buy that?

http://campaignspot.nationalreview.com/post/?q=ZDg0ZTMwNmViNjA5OWQyYzExNjE2YzVjODQzMjM5NTA=

 

[ScreamingEagle]

Guess it was *finally* time (read politically expedient) to throw the "crotchety old uncle" out....once and for all.....after 20 loooong years.... 'cause what he recently said was so "shocking".....

Wah!....why can't i just finish my waffle?

 

[AllieBaba]

One of the questions that was thrown at him was something like "what does this say about your judgement?"

I didn't listen to the answer, but he fielded some tough questions. I'd like him if it weren't for his views on the economy, health care and the war. I can't decide if he's just a naive baby or if he's intentionally misleading....

 

[Dogger]

yap, yap, yap . . .
I didn't listen to the answer, but he fielded some tough questions.
blah, blah, blah . . .

Why would you listen to Obama's answer. Are you that afraid of learning anything?

 

[TheGoodShepherd]

Wright's speech at the NPC is easily the best thing to have happened to Obama since the Wright issue began.

What more is there to say about the issue now that hasn't already been said? Its a good thing all this happened in the context of the biggest primary audience the U.S. has ever seen. Otherwise, the Wright issue may have followed him to the GE in a significant way.

But now, everyone will tire of it...give it a week.

Back to the war.

 

[Dogger]

Wright's speech at the NPC is easily the best thing to have happened to Obama since the Wright issue began.

What more is there to say about the issue now that hasn't already been said?

Back to the war.

Thanks to Rev. Wright, no one is calling Obama a secret Muslim, except perhaps the truly deranged.

 

[ScreamingEagle]

Wright's speech at the NPC is easily the best thing to have happened to Obama since the Wright issue began.

What more is there to say about the issue now that hasn't already been said? Its a good thing all this happened in the context of the biggest primary audience the U.S. has ever seen. Otherwise, the Wright issue may have followed him to the GE in a significant way.

But now, everyone will tire of it...give it a week.

Back to the war.

The best thing? Maybe.....I wonder if it wasn't set up by the Obama campaign....in order to ditch Wright once and for all. They evidently have no qualms about lying to the public....after all, even Wright said that Obama had to say what he did about him earlier because of politics...you can be sure that lying to whitey bears no shame in his world...

The FACT still remains that Obama had a close relationship with Jeremiah Wright for over 20 years....all this after Obama graduated from Harvard (the man is not stupid) and during his years of being a state senator (if he didn't hear all of Wrights comments directly he most certainly would have heard them indirectly). I certainly don't consider Obama to be a naive man......misleading? Most definitely. Wright's agenda is quite obvious and there for anybody to see....Obama just wants to distance himself in order to get elected.

 

[Ravi]

Call me cynical but I think Wright did this to make himself look like a buffoon and get Obama off the hook.

 

[TheGoodShepherd]

The best thing?

The FACT still remains that Obama had a close relationship with Jeremiah Wright for over 20 years.... Wright's agenda is quite obvious and there for anybody to see....Obama just wants to distance himself in order to get elected.

I've always felt the Wright issue will die a natural death - especially because of the size and interest of the primaries this year. I never thought it would last through to the general. And it appears it won't.

American people usually don't fall for the guilt by association thing anymore. The days of McCarthy are over.Getting elected nowadays is all about the money you raise and the size and level of the sophistry of the campaign you run.

Another thing? Who would have ever thought a politician would throw people under the bus for ambition?

Wow! That's breaking news.

 

[ScreamingEagle]

I've always felt the Wright issue will die a natural death - especially because of the size and interest of the primaries this year. I never thought it would last through to the general. And it appears it won't.

American people usually don't fall for the guilt by association thing anymore. The days of McCarthy are over.Getting elected nowadays is all about the money you raise and the size and level of the sophistry of the campaign you run.

Another thing? Who would have ever thought a politician would throw people under the bus for ambition?

Wow! That's breaking news.

Yeah, wow...it is news. Who wudda thought a politician would throw his long-time personal PASTOR under the bus?

I don't think the issue is going to disappear that easily. It cuts too close to who Obama really is.

 

[TheGoodShepherd]

Yeah, wow...it is news. Who wudda thought a politician would throw his long-time personal PASTOR under the bus?

I don't think the issue is going to disappear that easily.

Only time will.

Right now though, McCain has serious issues of his own to worry about - and they are not issue related.

The democrats have been blowing McCain out of the water in terms of fund raising. The dem's war chest is huge.

Thank the long the primary season stretching out to states that did not matter as much in the past but are so crucial now. What's happening is that Obama and Clinton are building national organizations in each and every state they campaign in.

That's invaluable and come general election time, their preparedness is going to exhibit itself as far superior to McCain's.

 

[ScreamingEagle]

Only time will.

Right now though, McCain has serious issues of his own to worry about - and they are not issue related.

The democrats have been blowing McCain out of the water in terms of fund raising. The dem's war chest is huge.

Thank the long the primary season stretching out to states that did not matter as much in the past but are so crucial now. What's happening is that Obama and Clinton are building national organizations in each and every state they campaign in.

That's invaluable and come general election time, their preparedness is going to exhibit itself as far superior to McCain's.

Despite all of Obama's money... his campaign is floundering...money isn't everything.

 

[TheGoodShepherd]

Despite all of Obama's money... his campaign is floundering...money isn't everything.

Maybe, just maybe against Hillary....not against the GOP candidate though.

That hasn't even begin yet.

But like I said, this is the best thing to happen to Obama regarding the Wright issue.

 

[Ravi]

Maybe, just maybe against Hillary....not against the GOP candidate though.

That doesn't actually make any sense.

 

[AllieBaba]

Why would you listen to Obama's answer. Are you that afraid of learning anthing?

No, fuckface, I didn't listen because I had to go back to work.

 

[AllieBaba]

I've always felt the Wright issue will die a natural death - especially because of the size and interest of the primaries this year. I never thought it would last through to the general. And it appears it won't.

American people usually don't fall for the guilt by association thing anymore. The days of McCarthy are over.Getting elected nowadays is all about the money you raise and the size and level of the sophistry of the campaign you run.

Another thing? Who would have ever thought a politician would throw people under the bus for ambition?

Wow! That's breaking news.

It won't die a natural death because hostile dems won't let it die, and because Wright apparently doesn't care at all whether or not he makes things worse.

I thought maybe Obama and Wright were working together, too. But I don't think Wright would deliberately make outrageous statements he doesn't hold with, just to "help" Obama. For one thing, I don't think it is going to help.

The thing that is going to plague Obama from here on in, with this association and that with his terrorist buddy is...is the obvious fact that either he's a low life, or his judgement is so bad that he's a terrible risk for being taken advantage of BY lowlifes.

I think he thought that by hitching his star 20 years ago to Wright's church he was making a sound political move. And I think it bit him in the butt.

 

[LordBrownTrout]

Obama hasn't been able to shake Wright for two months now. I think this whole thing may have been staged at the Press Club so Obama could disavow Wright in the proper context. Only, it's a little too late. Wright came across as pompous, arrogant, condescending....three things that people hate.

 

[ScreamingEagle]

Obama hasn't been able to shake Wright for two months now. I think this whole thing may have been staged at the Press Club so Obama could disavow Wright in the proper context. Only, it's a little too late. Wright came across as pompous, arrogant, condescending....three things that people hate.

If they staged it I think it was a misstep....people are going to wonder.....

First, Obama throws his own Granny under the bus....

Second, Obama throws his close, long-time mentor-Pastor under the bus....

Hey, Michelle, you'd better watch out!

 

[AllieBaba]

He still refuses to condemn what's his face, the guy who set bombs, and said he wished he'd set more..and who is a professor at one of our esteemed universities, btw.

 

[LordBrownTrout]

There's a lot of people under that bus. It's gonna be hard to move it now.