Wright's Wrongs

Today's campaign media coverage surrounded Reverend Jeremiah Wright, the pastor of Trinity United Church of Christ, a Chicago church of which Senator Barack Obama is a member. Rev. Wright also happened to preside at the wedding of Senator Obama and his wife, Michelle, as well as at their daughters' baptisms. Video recently surfaced of Wright making a variety of incendiary comments regarding race and religion in America. Clips can be found here and here, with many other clips available on sites like YouTube.

Obama has stated on several occasions that he does not agree with these comments, but that he considers Wright as an "uncle," and stated on The Countdown with Keith Olbermann that he would not repudiate the man himself, noting that he has given his last sermon, is on sabbatical, and is basically out of the preaching scene. These sentiments were echoed in an interview Obama did with the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review:

Q: I don't know if you've seen it, but it's all over the wire today (from an ABC News story), a statement that your pastor (the Rev. Jeremiah Wright of Trinity United Church of Christ on Chicago's South Side) made in a sermon in 2003 that instead of singing "God Bless America," black people should sing a song essentially saying "God Damn America."

A: I haven't seen the line. This is a pastor who is on the brink of retirement who in the past has made some controversial statements. I profoundly disagree with some of these statements.

Q: What about this particular statement?

A: Obviously, I disagree with that. Here is what happens when you just cherry-pick statements from a guy who had a 40-year career as a pastor. There are times when people say things that are just wrong. But I think it's important to judge me on what I've said in the past and what I believe.

Meanwhile, Senator John McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee, as well as Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, Obama's Democratic primary opponent, are both waiting in the wings,
letting the story unfold without jumping into the middle of a developing (and increasingly intense) media storm.

The comments are absolutely disgusting, and Obama has made it clear that he disagrees with the sentiments expressed by Wright, even severing the one official tie between his campaign and the pastor. Without evidence that Obama is misrepresenting his relationship with Wright, one might ask, what's the big deal? But in a campaign where the Illinois senator is touting his judgment, continuing to associate himself with this man until video was disseminated to the American public calls that judgment into question.

UPDATE: While the television media have run away with this story, finding every opportunity to broadcast the video of a festively-clad Wright screaming and waving his arms, Mike Allen of Politico notes that the print media has taken a more...subtle approach to its coverage. The Washington Post displayed this story in the lower right corner with the header "Outspoken Minister Out Of Obama Campaign," while the New York Times printed 900 words on page A13 under "Obama Denounces Statements of His Pastor as 'Inflammatory."

UPDATE: Patrick Ishmael at The News Buckit includes some clips from Trinity United Church of Christ's most recent church bulletin. They read:

I use his words today on the third Sunday of a New Year to keep before you the painful truth of who we are and where it is we are in this racist United States of America! What’s goin’ on?

...The reality, however, is that the entire war in Iraq and the larger “war on terror” have been based on lies, half-truths and distortions to serve the agenda of the United States imperialism. Where is the public outcry? Where is the outrage? What’s goin’ on? (Emphasis added)

Hmmm....