That's disappointing to me.
Here's the article by Bloomberg:
DIRECT -
http://news.yahoo.com/s/bloomberg/aig7dbdntr5m
Obama's Pastor Stands by Comments, Defends Church
Kim Chipman and Nadine Elsibai Mon Apr 28, 5:48 PM ET
April 28 (Bloomberg) -- Barack Obama's longtime pastor, the Reverend Jeremiah Wright, said the furor over his past sermons stems from ignorance of the ``invisible'' black church, and he refused to back down from some of his most controversial statements.
Wright's past remarks have become an issue for Obama's campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination. Wright said today he still believes the government is capable of spreading AIDS in the black community and that U.S. foreign policy is partly to blame for the Sept. 11 attacks.
``Jesus said, `Do unto others as you would have them do unto you,''' Wright, 66, said at the National Press Club in Washington. ``You can't do terrorism on other people and expect it never to come back on you. Those are biblical principles, not Jeremiah Wright bombastic, divisive principles.''
Portions of Wright's past sermons have gotten wide circulation on television and the Internet and have been used against Obama in some Republican campaign commercials. Obama, an Illinois senator, disavowed Wright's statements in a speech last month, saying they represented a ``profoundly distorted view'' of the nation.
Wright is retiring as pastor of Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago, where Obama has worshipped for two decades. He presided at Obama's wedding and at the baptisms of Obama's daughters. Until five days ago, Wright largely had stayed out of public forums since the controversy broke last month.
Political Impact
Obama's ties to Wright may have hurt him in last week's Pennsylvania primary, which he lost to Democratic rival Senator Hillary Clinton of New York. Wright is putting himself back into the debate as Obama is stepping up efforts to win over more white male blue-collar voters, especially in Indiana, which holds its primary on May 6.
``I'm not sure exactly the motivation that Wright has, but the timing right before the Indiana primary makes it more difficult for the Obama campaign to try and persuade folks he actually understands the non-black community,'' said James McCann, a political science professor at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana.
Wright said his statements have been taken out of context, and his critics are ill-informed. The attacks on him, he said, are attacks on the black church ``by people who know nothing about the African-American religious tradition.''
Wright Supporters
The pastor's appearance today attracted a crowd that included Frederick Douglass IV, the great-great grandson and namesake of the 19th-century orator and abolitionist, former Washington Mayor Marion Barry and Michael Pfleger, a Catholic priest who, like Wright, preaches on Chicago's South Side.
Cornel West, an author and a professor of religion and African-American studies at Princeton University, also was in the audience.
``Jeremiah,'' he shouted as Wright began to speak. ``We love you baby. Yes we do.''
One positive result of the uproar is the start of a national dialogue on race, Wright said.
``Maybe now we can begin to take steps to move the black religious tradition from the status of invisible to the status of invaluable,'' Wright said, ``for all the people in this country.''
Patriotism
Wright also shot back at critics who have accused him of being unpatriotic.
``I served six years in the military. Does that make me patriotic? How many years did Cheney serve?'' Wright said, referring to Vice President Dick Cheney, who received five deferments from the draft after he became eligible.
When asked, based on his past statements, whether he thought America was damned in the eyes of God, Wright said, ``God doesn't bless everything.''
``There is no excuse for the things that the government -- not the American people -- have done,'' he said. ``That doesn't make me not like America or unpatriotic.''
He said America has never properly confessed and asked forgiveness for its sin of slavery, and so he feels no need to apologize for his criticism of the government.
``Britain has apologized to Africans, but this country's leaders have refused to apologize,'' Wright said.
Farrakhan's Voice
Wright also was unapologetic about his praise for Louis Farrakhan, the Chicago-based leader of the Nation of Islam. Obama has denounced Farrakhan's support of his candidacy and condemned him as an anti-Semite. Wright's church gave Farrakhan an award last year for his influence on the black community.
``When Louis Farrakhan speaks, it's like E.F. Hutton speaks, all black America listens. Whether they agree with him or not, they listen,'' Wright said, adding that he doesn't agree with all of Farrakhan's views. ``He's one of the most important voices in the 20th and 21st century.''
Wright said he has a moral duty as a pastor to speak out, regardless of how it might affect Obama's presidential campaign.
``Whether he gets elected or not, I'm still going to have to be answerable to God Nov. 5 and Jan. 21,'' Wright said, referring to the days after the presidential election and the inauguration.
He denied having any political aspirations of his own.
As for Obama's response, Wright repeated his statement that the candidate had to say what he did because of politics.
``Politicians say what they say and do what they do based on electability, based on sound bites, based on polls,'' Wright said. ``Preachers say what they say because they're pastors. They have a different person to whom they're accountable.''
Obama's Reaction
Obama continued to distance himself from Wright today, saying that the pastor ``doesn't speak for me, and he doesn't speak for the campaign.
``None of the voters I talk to ask about it,'' he told reporters today.
When asked yesterday on ``Fox News Sunday'' how he feels about Wright's recent speeches and possible further damage to his campaign, Obama said, ``It's understandable that somebody after an entire career of service would want to defend themselves.''
He said he considers Wright a fair political issue and he understands that some people were ``legitimately offended'' by some of the pastor's comments.
``It's also true that to run a snippet of 30-second sound bites selecting out of a 30-year career simplified and caricatured him and caricatured the church,'' Obama said. ``I strongly denounce those comments that were the subject of so much attention. I wasn't in church when he made them. But I also know that I go to church not to worship a pastor but to worship God.''
Obama's Democratic rival, Senator Hillary Clinton of New York, declined to comment on Wright's statements over the past several days and whether they reflect on Obama.
Arizona Senator John McCain, who has locked up the Republican nomination, said today that he's never questioned Wright's patriotism. He also said he takes Obama ``at his word'' when he says he doesn't share Wright's most extreme views.
To contact the reporter on this story: Kim Chipman in Washington at kchipman@bloomberg.net
-Steve
Now is the time!
