On Keith Olbermann tonight, Obama used interesting language about Pastor Wrights' comments, indicating that he knew about the comments for at least several months. The comments date back to at least 2001 after the 9/11 attacks and Obama has been an active member of Pastor Wright's church for almost 20 years.
Also Obama keeps harping on how he "wasn't in the pew" when the comments were made. Does this mean he doesn't have to react to them if he doesn't hear them in person?
Finally on the Huffington Post today is Obama's most damaging comment,
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/...
When these statements first came to my attention, it was at the beginning of my presidential campaign. I made it clear at the time that I strongly condemned his comments.
So, here is the big question - if Obama knew about these comments why did he keep Pastor Wright as a member of his campaign's spiritual advisory committee until today? In other words, the only thing that changed today is Pastor's comments became widely known (although well known already to Obama by his own admission). The answer is either:
- He fired him today for political reasons to reduce the controversy, but continues to feel the same way he did about him when the Pastor joined his campaign.
- He has changed his mind about the Pastor and has reconsidered who the Pastor is and what he stands for.
If the answer is #1 - I am grossly offended. If the answer is #2 - he does not have a backbone or lacks judgment. In either case, this is a big problem for Obama and raises serious questions.
Here is another question - by Obama saying he was "not in the Pew" when comments were made what is that? Is he not an avid churchgoer? Does he not pay attention to the views of people he puts on his campaign advisory list?