Posted on 04/28/2008 10:08:54 AM PDT by NormsRevenge
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Barack Obama's former pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, blasted news media he said had sensationalized his remarks in an often confrontational appearance at a reporters' club on Monday.
But the Chicago preacher stood by the fiery sermons that have dogged Obama's Democratic presidential campaign since they gained public attention in March.
"You cannot do terrorism on other people and not expect it to come back to you," Wright said at the National Press Club when asked about a speech in which he asserted the September 11 attacks were retaliation for U.S. foreign policy.
Asked about another sermon in which he suggested the U.S. government created the AIDS virus to kill black people, Wright also did not retreat.
"Based on what has happened to Africans in this country, I believe our government is capable of doing anything," he said.
Obama, who is battling fellow Democrat Hillary Clinton for the right to take on Republican John McCain in the November presidential election, joined Wright's Trinity United Church of Christ 20 years ago.
Obama has distanced himself from Wright's remarks and denounced some of his views, which many voters have interpreted as anti-American.
"Those citizens who say that have never heard my sermons," Wright said. "I served six years in the military. Does that make me patriotic? How many years did Cheney serve?"
Vice President Dick Cheney, an architect of the Iraq war, received student deferments that kept him out of military service during the Vietnam War.
Asked about a remark -- "God Bless America? No, God damn America" -- that has been widely circulated online, Wright said he had been quoting an Iraqi official.
"God damns some practices, and there is no excuse for some of the things the government, not the American people, have done. That doesn't make me not like America, or unpatriotic," he said.
Wright, 66, said the news coverage of his sermons showed a fundamental misunderstanding of the black religious tradition in America, which evolved over hundreds of years of slavery and repression.
"This is an attack on the black church," he said. "If you think I'm going to let you talk about my momma and her religious tradition, and my daddy and his religious tradition, you've got another think coming."
He said his church has a long history of political activism but also feeds, houses and educates thousands of needy people each year.
Wright was cheered enthusiastically by many black churchgoers in the audience, who often groaned in exasperation when the moderator asked questions submitted by journalists.
Wright, too, often challenged his questioners. He asked the moderator when she had last been to church and what her pastor had said there.
Others he dismissed as ignorant.
"You haven't heard the whole sermon? Well, that nullifies that question," he responded at one point.
We're all terrorists, yaknow.
The Lord truly does work in mysterious ways. ;-)
From what I heard of his speech at the NAALCP (thanks, Rush) last night, Wright is just another Black Marxist. He wants total equality of outcome, not opportunity.
I’d like to live in a 1.5 million dollar house like the one he has, so I wonder how Obama will arrange that for all of us.
That dog wont hunt. Obama's mentor and advisor is completely out of the bag now.
“Wright, 66, said the news coverage of his sermons showed a fundamental misunderstanding of the black religious tradition in America, which evolved over hundreds of years of slavery and repression.”
Dang. Now we are going to have to suffer another 2+ weeks of white urban liberal pundits claiming Wright’s Marxish blather are a “black religious tradition” because they hope it so.
It seems verboten for the white liberal news media to ask Black clergy if this is true.
I would guess it was likely the Mayflower or the Willard or the Four Seasons or one of the Ritz Carlton hotels.
You know, where the rich folk stay.
Rev. Wright can rant all he wants to about how awful and terrible White America is.
But HE enjoys the benefit -- every single day -- of living in the USA where the opportunities to life one's self up out of a life of poverty are great.
He is a race baiter, opportunist that loves himself and worldly things, look at the house he is building in a white neighborhood, he is hypocrite and the chickens have come home to roost.
My money's on her getting the nomination.....the 'Rat party will breathe a collective (maybe some in a dark room) sigh of relief and unify, along with their media allies, and pummel McCain.
Hillary still has higher negatives...and, if she somehow wrestels the nomination from Obama, then a large part of their much required coalition (specifically blacks, far-left moonbats, and young liberals) will not vote for her...probably will not vote at all.
This has been one of the hopes from the beginning and it is coming to fruition.
It's just about to the point where it will work the same either way with a lot of Hillary supporters doing the same if Obama wins.
LOL, very funny. Everything is supposedly out of context, but when asked to clarify the context he only confirms it.
Hey, Reverend Wright, how about The Finger?
Well imho IR-Reverent Wright is a G@D Damm LIAR!!
"God damns some practices, and there is no excuse for some of the things the government, not the American people, have done. That doesn't make me not like America, or unpatriotic," he said.
"This is an attack on the black church," he said. "If you think I'm going to let you talk about my momma and her religious tradition, and my daddy and his religious tradition, you've got another think coming."
There is no cure for stupid.
LOL! The Wrong Reverend Wright, has his ‘Münchhausen Cindy Moment’ with the MSM.
>Bo)
Was this article out of context?
One of the stranger aspects of Jeremiah Wrights speech(to the NAACP):
Africans have a different meter, and Africans have a different tonality, he said. Europeans have seven tones, Africans have five. White people clap differently than black people. Africans and African-Americans are right-brained, subject-oriented in their learning style, he said. They have a different way of learning. And so on.
This sounds oddly similar to claims made in
Interestingly, one other point got made about the book, and specifically about its co-author Murray. Murray had no experience as a psychometrist, but instead received his PhD in political science. One critic tied Murray and his efforts to establish physiological differences in brains through genetics and race to one of the foundations that purportedly help fund the research for the book: The Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation
.......... the book was widely seen as a piece of profoundly racist and classist pseudo-science, and was denounced by the American Psychological Association.
Who was the critic? Julian Bond of the NAACP. This comes in a footnote to his 2005 speech to the NAACP at their 96th annual convention. Apparently, they didnt like the notion of physiological differences in brain structure three years ago, but had no problem with cheering Jeremiah Wright when he used their stage for his own pseudo-science.
http://hotair.com/archives/2008/04/28/the-wright-stuff-echoes-of-the-bell-curve/
"Based on what has happened to Africans in this country, I believe our government is capable of doing anything," he said.
Dear God in heaven, please keep this preacher talking!
So far, I think that Obama will receive the nomination. But I think the presence of Wright is one reason Clinton stays in. I would, too, if I were in her shoes. (Thankfully, I’m not.}
So how does Obama overcome today? I agree he likely has the nomination, but I can’t imagine how he captures any state that Kerry didn’t. Today’s activity alone puts a couple in play
This is exactly what Johnson meant when he said that "Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel." Wright served in the military which proves he's a patriot and therefore cannot be questioned about his anti-American philosophy. The drive-by smear of Cheney makes it a twofer.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.