WASHINGTON, May 1, 2008
Michelle Obama: "Voters Are Tired Of This"
Barack Obama, Wife Try To Put Controversy Over Rev. Wright To Rest
-
Play CBS Video Video Obama And The Wright Stuff Sen. Barack Obama is holding his own among Democrats, but trails Sen. John McCain in national polls as he continues to deal with fallout from the Rev. Wright controversy. Dean Reynolds reports.
-
Video Hillary On Rev. Wright "CBS News RAW": Speaking to Fox News' Bill O'Reilly, Hillary Clinton said that she found Rev. Jeremiah Wright's comments "offensive and outrageous."
-
Video Obama Reacts To Wright's Speech Democratic Presidential Candidate Barack Obama has strongly condemned his former pastor, Rev. Jeremiah Wright, and his actions. David Mark of The Politico weighs in.
-
Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., right, and his wife Michelle have a conversation with working families in Indianapolis, Ind., April 30, 2008. (AP)
-
Timeline Obama And Rev. Wright Key dates in the relationship between Barack Obama and the Rev. Jeremiah Wright.
-
Photo Essay Barack Obama A look at the life and meteoric rise of the president-elect.
"We hear time and time again voters are tired of this," Michelle Obama said in an interview the couple gave to NBC's "Today" show.
"They don't want to hear about this division, they want to know what are we going to do to move beyond these issues," she said. "And what made me feel proud of Barack in this situation is that he is trying to move us as a nation beyond these conversations that divide."
Barack Obama said he initially tried to give the Rev. Jeremiah Wright the benefit of the doubt when films clips first surfaced on the Internet of fiery sermons the pastor gave at their Chicago church — a series of haranguing declarations from the pulpit in which he damned the United States for racial oppression and accusing the government of deliberately spreading the HIV virus to harm black people.
"When the first snippets came out, I thought it was important to give him the benefit of the doubt because if I had wanted to be politically expedient I would have distanced myself and denounced him right away, right? That would have been the easy thing to do," said Obama. This week he denounced Wright's comments as "giving comfort to those who prey on hate."
In speeches and interviews over the past week, Wright has said that criticism surrounding his sermons is an attack on the black church. He dismissed Obama's widely-praised speech last month in Philadelphia — which sought to put Wright's sermons in the context of the black experience in the United States — as political posturing.
Wright had been Obama's pastor for more than 20 years. Wright brought Obama to Christianity, inspired the title of his book "The Audacity of Hope," officiated at his wedding and baptized his daughters.
Barack Obama acknowledged the Wright controversy, as well as his own remarks about voters clinging to guns and religion in economically-depressed Pennsylvania towns, have hurt his campaign and the damage is beginning to show in polls.
"I think it's pretty clear what has happened," he said. "We've had — what — two months now, or a month and a half, in which you've had the Reverend Wright controversy, you've had the issue of my comments in San Francisco that have been magnified pretty heavily — that's been a pretty full dose."
In a separate interview with CNN taped Wednesday, Michelle Obama said her husband's denunciation of Wright's comments was "a tough thing for him to do."
"Yes, it was painful. Yes, it's been difficult, but I think that the more difficult thing that this country is facing is trying to move politics into conversations around problems and problem-solving, and that's what we're going to be pretty determined to do," she said. "I think that this is about all I'm going to say on this issue, and I think we're going to close this chapter and move into the next phase of this election. With that, I'm hoping that we'll talk about something else."
© MMVIII The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
More From Politics
Best-selling author Mitch Albom on his first nonfiction work since "Tuesdays with Morrie."
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
... - 7
- next
See all 132 CommentsIf obama accomplished anything oit was to bring out the wite racists groups. And Michlle was a great help in that also.
I''m Catholic and I wonder if Obama''s problem would be the same as attending mass while a pediphile priest is on the staff, that hasn''t been discovered yet? So sad!
+ report abuse
Oh, baloney! It''''s a civil suit filed by a con! It''''s called a frivilous lawsuit! They''''ve already thrown it out once, and they''''ve thrown out his phoney tape because they found voice overs on it.
With all due respect Sir - It really sounds like just ANOTHER frivolous Clinton lawsuit that''s going to Court. Again you''re half right!
Vote smart Indiana and North Carolina. Terrorist don''t play SOFTball or powder-puff football.
Amen!
Oh, baloney! It''s a civil suit filed by a con! It''s called a frivilous lawsuit! They''ve already thrown it out once, and they''ve thrown out his phoney tape because they found voice overs on it.
But it sounds good to an Obama honker, doesn''t it...to bad you''ve ignore his 936 lies (outdoes Bush/Cheney) and believe the BS he tells you!
He urged Democrats to %u201Creject the old negative politics%u201D and unify behind Obama.
This attempt to demean Reverend Wright is a perfect example. Being white the Old Guard Clinton Campaign are hoping that old people like us will become intimidated. Become bitter, & negative concerning Obama & rally around Hillary our Great White Hope.
I was a Clinton supporter but have been much disappointed with this Negative polictics of Hillary''s. She claims to have 35 years experience in Washington and when I look at the polictics in Washington during this time. It was a very negative, hostile, & warring time. The all about me agenda.
I realize that she has made a small fortune 110,000,000 dollars practicing her polictics of personal destruction. Little has been done for the People during this time of Bitter rhetoric.
The special conciderations the Judge gave her in the Peter Paul case. Its becoming evident that the Clinton campaign is biased and getting special considerations from the Judical & Media. It''''s time to stop this policy of personal destruction and get back to doing the work of the American people. 35 years of negative polictics is not the answer. Chairman Joe Andrew has it right.
Suddenly, after losing Pennsylvania and Wright getting bad press on Meet the Press, he throws him under the campaign bus. Is this political?
.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Posted by Trapbreak at 03:35 PM : May 01, 2008
Of course it is! It means AGAIN that his being above politics as usual is the biggest frigging hoax of the century! He''d throw his own children under the bus to get elected!
Jane Fonda Endorses Obama
Filed under: 2008 Election %u2014 DRJ @ 7:58 pm
[Guest post by DRJ]
In what the LA Times%u2019 Top of the Ticket blog admits may be a %u201Cless desirable%u201D endorsement, Jane Fonda told photographers yesterday that she is voting for Barack Obama for President:
%u201CFonda was eating out last night and exited the restaurant, ignoring as celebrities often do the assembled press contingent.
But a video camera was rolling as she approached the street and someone, perhaps just trying to get her to turn around for a picture, shouted out at her back, %u201CWho are you going to vote for?%u201D
There was a moment of silence. Then, the actress did turn around toward the cameras, paused and with a smile said simply, %u201CObama!%u201D Then she got into a car and drove away.%u201D
As the Times%u2019 blogger Andrew Malcolm notes, this endorsement probably won%u2019t help Obama lure crossover Republican voters away from McCain.
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
... - 7
- next
See all 132 Comments