Russert didn't let Obama off easy. He questioned him on why it took him so long to denounce Wright in emphatic terms. He showed a clip of Obama saying, "I can no more dismiss him than I can dismiss my white grandmother" (referring to supposed racist comments he said he heard her utter) during his speech in Philadelphia five weeks ago. He also confronted him with news reports that he had uninvited Wright from speaking at his February, 2007 announcement speech in Springfield, Illinois because of some of the rough things he had said in a number of his sermons but later apologized to Wright, who was offended that he had been uninvited. Obama really didn't have any choice but to speak out in even harsher terms about Wright. "I did what I thought was right." "He does not share my fundamental beliefs." He said he won't be seeking advice from Wright again.
Any hope that this story would go away was dashed as Newsweek broke a new story explaining why Oprah Winfrey, a staunch Obama supporter, quit Wright's church back in the mid-1990s largely because of Wright. Newsweek's Allison Samuels writes:
According to two sources, Winfrey was never comfortable with the tone of Wright's more incendiary sermons, which she knew had the power to damage her standing as America's favorite daytime talk-show host. "Oprah is a businesswoman, first and foremost," said one longtime friend, who requested anonymity when discussing Winfrey's personal sentiments. "She's always been aware that her audience is very mainstream, and doing anything to offend them just wouldn't be smart. She's been around black churches all her life, so Reverend Wright's anger-filled message didn't surprise her. But it just wasn't what she was looking for in a church." Oprah's decision to distance herself came as a surprise to Wright, who told Christianity Today in 2002 that when he would "run into her socially … she would say, 'Here's my pastor!' " (Winfrey declined to comment. A Harpo Productions spokesperson would not confirm her reasons for leaving the church.)
But Winfrey also had spiritual reasons for the parting. In conversations at the time with a former business associate, who also asked for anonymity, Winfrey cited her fatigue with organized religion and a desire to be involved with a more inclusive ministry. In time, she found one: her own. "There is the Church of Oprah now," said her longtime friend, with a laugh. "She has her own following."
Friends of Sen. Barack Obama, whose relationship with Wright has rocked his bid for the White House, insist that it would be unfair to compare Winfrey's decision to leave Trinity United with his own decision to stay. "[His] reasons for attending Trinity were totally different,'' said one campaign adviser, who declined to be named discussing the Illinois senator's sentiments. "Early on, he was in search of his identity as an African-American and, more importantly, as an African-American man. Reverend Wright and other male members of the church were instrumental in helping him understand the black experience in America. Winfrey wasn't going for that. She's secure in her blackness, so that didn't have a hold on her.'' And while Winfrey, who has endorsed Obama and campaigned on his behalf, had long understood the perils of a close association with Wright, friends say she was blindsided by the pastor's personal assault on Obama. "She felt that Wright would never do anything to hurt a man who looked up to him as a father figure," said her close friend. "She also never thought he'd intentionally hurt someone trying to make history and change the lives of so many people.''
The Star's Gary Varvel captures Obama's problem with Wright today as well as a political cartoonist can. Based on Obama's tough words today, I suspect Rev. Wright will continue driving that car right off the cliff.
4 comments:
Oprah only attended Trinity 6 times....she was not a member....just a visitor like most churches have.....Obama came across on Meet the Press and I believe did much to ease the concerns that some still had about his former minister. He also spoke very clearly re: the phony gas tax scheme of McCain and Hillary.
Nice job, Gary.
From the Newsweek article: "Winfrey was a member of Trinity United from 1984 to 1986, and she continued to attend off and on into the early to the mid-1990s."
Nice try, Artfuggins.
He was a member for 20 years at that church. He liked Minister Wright so much he had him officiate at his wedding and baptize his children. It's preposteerous that Obama did not know what Wright was preach about at the pulpit. Pray tell, how has any of what Obama said "ease concerns" about Obama and Wright? There was no excuse for Obama to continue going to that church with Wright preaching anti-American hatred.
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