Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Obama Dodging on Wright   [Mark Hemingway]

Charlie Gibson quoted Obama telling Wright a year before scandal broke, “You can get kind of rough in the sermons, so what we’ve decided is that it’s best for you not to be out there in public.” Sensibly, Gibson asked what it was that Wright had said that had troubled him long before it became a public issue.

Obama said in his response that his decision not to make Wright a public part of the campaign was keyed to remarks he made in a Rolling Stone article, but the comment Gibson quoted specifically referenced "sermons." Obama keeps insisting he didn't hear all the controversial stuff that has been playing on cable news and YouTube, but refuses to say what it was of the "sermons" he did hear that so troubled him that he pulled him out of the public eye on behalf of his campaign.

He did not handle that question or Stephanopoulos' follow up about Wright's patriotism well at all.

UPDATE: It wasn't very clear, but to be fair to Obama, it looks like what Stephen notes here might explain the discrepancy. But I still have a hard time believing Obama knew the guy for twenty years and is just now realizing that Wright has said many problematic things.

04/16 08:33 PMShare