Jeremiah Wright, Obama's Pastor: "Hillary Ain't Never Been Called A N****r"

Video of Rev. Jeremiah Wright, pastor and mentor to Barack Obama, has been posted. The Reverend defends his most famous constituent and attacks Hillary Clinton, saying, "Hillary ain't never been called a n****r."

Meanwhile, The Blotter has detailed some highly controversial statements by Wright in the past:

Sen. Barack Obama's pastor says blacks should not sing "God Bless America" but "God damn America."

The Rev. Jeremiah Wright, Obama's pastor for the last 20 years at the Trinity United Church of Christ on Chicago's south side, has a long history of what even Obama's campaign aides concede is "inflammatory rhetoric," including the assertion that the United States brought on the 9/11 attacks with its own "terrorism."

UPDATE: Politico points out that Wright actually holds a formal position with Obama's campaign:

Wright is a member of Obama's African American Religious Leadership Committee -- the sort of largely honorary, advisory body that in recent days has recently been used mostly to throw people off who say controversial things.

The Obama campaign couldn't immediately say whether he'd remain on the committee.

***
Read a HuffPost blog by Barack Obama

Comments

[whizkid]

I've sent this a number of times in the past
couple of hours without it being posted.
Must be true:
--------------------------

Here's how this could play out if Obama is nominated.

The GOP will compare Wright's quotes with Farrakhan's.
Obama will be attached to the Nation of Islam however spurious.

How long has the MSM been sitting on this?

Obviously long enough to forment hatred for the Clintons among
some of the party base and turn the primary into a shambles.

[Tellmethetruth]

Right on - long enough so it will be very difficult for the Democrats to chose another candidate and we are either stuck with Obama or the party is totally split and less people vote.

Rove predicted early on the Democrats will win hands down if they get the voter turnout - well in the primaries this was true, but in the general - only half of those who have voted will vote in the general for a Democrat. The other half will either stay home or vote for McCain.

Let's face it, McCain looks better and better...

[dutchess2]

These sermons are all sold on the church's webpage.... they've been there all this time,
no one has hidden them...

What ELSE are you mistaken about?

[Independentjunkie]

haha this article has more comments than that of the 2 articles huffo has headlined. yet it's hidden away... but on FERRARO--- 3 days of keeping it on the 1st page HEADLINED!

[katyironkiller]

The only way I found it on huffbama, was by checking your profile, I read and posted about it on youtube. The first I heard about it was on conservatve talk radio on my way to work, that's all we have for talk radio in Texas. I,m not going to let this bullshit die, Texas will go to McCain anyway, but, I'll vote for Hillary, like I did in the primaries. Like I did when Bill ran, both times. Keep spreading the word, you're doing a great job.

[hank48188]

Put this on the FRONT PAGE HUFFINGTON POST, this will be a big story for the next week!

[dutchess2]

What a black minister says in his church to his congregation, how he interprets the Bible, and
how he communicates with that congregation is an entirely different thing than what Farraro did.

You are participating in the worst kind of racist bigotry to get all upsot over 30 seconds of 40 years worth of sermons... The Rev. Wright is a decorated ex Marine. He paid for his citizenship in this country long ago..

Nothing the Rev. Wright said is untrue, all of it relevant to his parishioners and their condition in this country. Surely you did not expect blacks to appreciate the life we insist they live!

You should know how blacks view the discrimination they've suffered in this country for all your adult life and beyond, and it should impress you that Barack Obama has lived it, seen it, smelled it,
walked it, talked it, and still extends his hand in hope that we may all rise above it.

[santafenm]

Hmmmmmmm

Just imagine if one of the Clinton associates went down such an abhorrent avenue- the press would go crazy, Huffington Post would display blood curdling banner headlines, and there would be countless pieces by indignant bloggers screaming over the usual hateful anti-Clinton din

I like Senator Obama. I hope he is on the ticket in one form or another. I don't believe he has hatred in his heart. He is, however, somewhat arrogant. His excuses for such crass race baiting fall short- very short. Imagine if Senator Clinton dismissed issues as "silly" or in this case said "I think of him (Rev Wright) as an uncle who sometimes says outrageous things."

Senator Clinton has been tarred and feathered by many in the press and the blogosphere for much less egregious associations than Rev. Wright? His hateful speech is unnerving, bone-chilling, and slightly sinister.

I fear the race baiting by both candidates will cost us in the long run. McCain surrogates will make hay with this- and I fear many on the fence will jump to the other side. Hannity's guilt by association will work. Don't fool yourselves. The press likes McCain- perhaps as much or more than Obama. I fear we ain't seen nothing yet. Just wait until the general election. God help us.

[dutchess2]

Scuse you....

The Rev. Bill Graham, minister to Presidents sat in Bill Clinton's oval office and made statements that
offended Jews around the world.

Bill Clinton executed a mentally retarded black man while he was governor of Arkansas.

One of John McCain's spiritual advisors calls the Catholic Church the Great Whore. Another
wants to destroy all of islam.

When George Bush was campaigning for his second term, one of his partners in Ohio was a
man who wants Gays executed..

i didn't hear anything from you then.

[DAbraha]

From a White Person's Perspective...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ioaChVw_p...

A testimony of what this church stands for from a White person's perspective and a regular church member: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ioaChVw_p...

We go to a church every Sunday, the paster preaches to us, there are lots of things we agree on but there are some things we don't agree with as many Christians do. We don't call him out and say Pastor, I disagree with you during the sermon or even after the sermon. You take what's good and leave the bad by rejecting it and we move on. We can't control what the Pastor of the church says. There are lots of good in a church than the bad.

Is guilt by association the threshold for being a President even you have rejected some of the ideologies. In fact, Senator Obama has to reject and denounce the statements and disassociate himself with the pastor which he has reject a lot of his ideologies and the pastor is a retiree now. Now, he has to distance himself as far away from him as possible because the dynamics of this race has gotten very personal from the Clinton side. Sometimes, a church is home because you have a second family and as such it is difficult to leave your church because you don't want to leave your families...the many people you have built relationships with.

I believe the Clinton's have attended a sermon by Rev. Wright at Trinity? Would that make them racist?

[KQuark]

For the Clinonites and the Repukelicans playing gotcha politics Obama cannot distance himself far enough. Hillary supporters and the Republicans will beat this until it completely decimates the Democratic Party. Hillary will see herself as the Phoenix rising from the ashes. This whole thing is part of her vetting process. To say it is easier for an African American to become president is so laughable because every African American knows Obama has to be near perfect just to be considered a viable candidate.

[Tellmethetruth]

Hillary might profit from this, but Obama is the one who picked Wright to marry him, baptise his children, and chose to listen to this hate and lies for the past 20 years. Obama is the one responsible for his own behavior. If he can't take responsibility for this, he doesn't possess the character to run for President.

[dutchess2]

I disagree

Editorials across the land are asking where are her tax returns and the list of doners for Bills library....

She has not explained the picture of she and Bill with Rezko. Those kinds of pictures are done for large doners.... and we need to know what he gave to the Clintons, and if there
were any recent donations.

Hillary does not believe her loyal backers deserve to know where her money has come from.

What do you think?

[whizkid]

Here's how this could play out if Obama is nominated.

The GOP will compare Wright's quotes with Farrakhan's.
Obama will be attached to the Nation of Islam however false.

How long has the MSM been sitting on this?

Obviously long enough to forment hatred for the Clintons among
some of the party base and turn the primary into a shambles.

[AnninCA]

Timing.....it's all about their press interests. This is all about timing. Don't you think Bill and Hillary would have loved for this to be released earlier?

Don't kid yourself. They have know about this link all along.

This is what Hillary meant by, "He hasn't be vetted."

What else could she say, really?

[JavaCityGal]

Oh but the Clintons have not been vetted since leaving the White House. That's why she won't release her tax returns and White House records -- there's a treasure trove there so think twice before you jump all over the controversy de jour.

[hopelessobama]

oh man, and this is the guy who titled obama's book 'the audacity of hope' , yikes! just the tip of the iceberg.

[AjicNYC]

So who has a crazy fundamentalist and radicals supporting them??? Bush,Obama, McCain...........

[2008andbeyond]

And yet Hillary's supporters are a slightly informed group that ignores details and just wants a woman president and/or Bill back in the WH. A cult? Seems that way. There's no fact they can't refute, no behavior they can't justify and no insult they can't hurl.

[Tranquility]

No, we want people who are competent and who care about this country and the people who are going to be suffering like we've never seen this upcoming depression.

[Silpat]

Jeremiah Wright does not strike me as a Christian -- he sounds more like a hatemonger. I have no problem with racial or ethnic pride, but I do have a problem with people who claim to be Christian just so they can spew hate and justify intolerance of others. As far as I am concerned, Wright is just a black version of a Ku Klux Klansman. As Christians, we are suppose to spread the biblical message of love, acceptance, and forgiveness.

Personally, I can't imagine why anyone of any race would want to attend a church that focused so much negativity and whose pastor spouted off crude language with ease from the pulpit.

[dutchess2]

Well...just what part of Thou Shalt Not Judge, and Thou Shalt Not Kill don't you understand?

Jeramiah Wright is a decorated US Marine veteran. He is a highly exteemed Bible Scholar.

He has the freedom and the duty to speak to his congregation in the terms and language they
understand and can relate to.

you have no idea what it feels like to be black in this country, they do.

He had said nothing that was not true.

Please find any hateful sentence in his sermons, and make sure you check more than the 30 second sound bites you've been given, and bring them forward for all of us to hear - K?

[ESK]

Overall, I think that this is a healthy discussion. The more we get our differences out on the table the more we'll be able to understand and accept each other. Clearly, Rev. Wright's words are inflamatory and I don't agree with them. For that matter neither does Sen. Obama. But I do believe that once you get past the initial shock of words designed to get your attention, it makes sense to try and put them in pespective. Sadly many people respond in kind and leave it at that. That may make them feel better momentarily but it slows or stops the process of understanding. If this presidential campaign teaches us anything it's that we need to set aside differences and find common ground both politically and as people. When you find common ground you become more comfortable with others. That doesn't mean the differences go away, but they're less likely to get in the way.

[AnninCA]

Honestly, my opinion is a lot of people have no clue about how the pulpit is used in the AA community. Hillary and Bill get that, and so do I.

His rhetoric is inflammatory only if you really think the AA churches are like your Methodist congregations. *haha

Never. They never have been. That was a great rousing speech in the tradition of the AA church in America. Nothing more.

But .......big ole' but.........I refuse to endorse someone who pretends that Ferarro is outrageous and calls for HER head when this is the reality behind him.

That's hypocracy.

[aftershock]

And yet you will ignore the blatant hypocrisy of Hillary... funny how that goes huh?

[dutchess2]

Well, you would not be in a position to say anything about Obama if you were not a woman from California.

[JUSTME]

I am a middle-aged white woman. I watched the Wright video. I didn't hear anything that was either (a) not true or (b) didn't make sense. Anyone who objects to Rev Wright's opinions is not only denying the reality of what America is, but also diminishing and marginalizing the reality of life for black Americans.

So before you all get so huffy about these comments and Geraldine Ferraro's comments, keep in mind that the difference between the two is that Wright's comments are wholly justified and Ferraro is just a batty, racist bitch who will now go down in history as a batty, racist bitch instead of the first woman cadidate for the vice presidency of the United States. Really, next to "batty, racist bitch" in the dictionary, is going to be a picture of Geraldine Ferraro.

[AnninCA]

*blink*

[aftershock]

No, Wright's comments aren't justified, nor are Ferraro's and nor were Powers. Please stop excusing one sides divisiveness while degrading the other for the same. Obama will have to (and I'm sure will deftly) handle this issue. It's gonna be a rough few weeks till PA and this will blow over. Obama's actually lucky this came out now, it'll be dead news after PA, and history by the time the GE rolls around.

[Dazedandamazed]

Let me try this and see how it Plays:

Barack Obama is a rich black man. Barack Obama has never been called white trash. Barack Obama does not know how it feels to be poor and white in this country. Barack Obama will never understand how it feels to be told that the deck is "stacked in your favor" yet you cannot seem to get ahead so you must be a failure. Barack Obama says he is there for us but he will bend us over and do us nasty the way Bill Clinton did Monica. So how does that play? Sounds racist to me.

[Sportswoman]

Excuse me, but is the Good Pastor lying when he says that Hilary has never been called the N word and never been racially profiled or discriminated against?No, he is not.
We didn't need Old Broad Gerry being divisive with race-baiting comments. My friends of all races were appalled. I asked a group of 40 high school students whether they felt it was racial. 100% of the hands went up--and only a small percentage were black.
"Why bring it up unless you're tring to feed the racism of those white people looking for vindication of their own racism, or their discomfort with Obama?" one very bright young lady asked.
Some of you just don't get it. this was a SERMON and he was comparing the victims of racism to the sufferings by Jesus and his community under the Roman rulers.
Some of us need to get to a church just to relate to this, because, judging from some of these inane comments, either some of you lack insight, education, or spirituality. Very telling in a country wjere kids lack values to the point where they grab a gun, carjack an SUV, kill a college student, and go to a drive-thru with her credit card.; where parents in Colorado never noticed their kid building bombs in the garage every Saturday when they went out of town; where 1 in 4 teenage girls have an STD, gangs are recruiting 11 year olds, and parents cannot pay attention because they work 3 jobs just to keep it all going.
Yet, it isn't just the economy; it isn't just the war; it isn't even W, (even though he's a moron.) It's US. ALL OF US.This country is, pardon the cliche, going to hell in a handbasket and WE are the only ones who can stop it. THAT is Obama's message; that is where he differs from Old School Billary.

[unsolved999]

Well Said!

[ESK]

Overall, I think that this is a healthy discussion. The more we get our differences out on the table the more we'll be able to understand and accept each other. Clearly, Rev. Wright's words are inflamatory and I don't agree with them. For that matter neither does Sen. Obama. But I do believe that once you get past the initial shock of words designed to get your attention, it makes sense to try and put them in pespective. Sadly many people respond in kind and leave it at that. That may make them feel better momentarily but it slows or stops the process of understanding. If this presidential campaign teaches us anything it's that we need to set aside differences and find common ground both politically and as people. When you find common ground you become more comfortable with others. That doesn't mean the differences go away, but they're less likely to get in the way.

[Dazedandamazed]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lDaO7N-JujU&NR=1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Prhnc2fxAzg&NR=1

[PhoenixtheUndying]

To begin with, the Repulicans have a Southern church strategy based on getting whole congregations to vote Republican.Secondly, there's some truth in Wright's comments. America has permanently messed up a series of countries. Case in point: Cuba. Once owned by Spain, America fought to free the island, then took back most of those freedoms under the Teller Amendment. Later a guy named Arbenz started a land reform program aimed at taking land from cooperations and giving it to the people. America replaced him with a military dictactor, spiraling the country into chaos and allowing Castro to rise to power. America also trained the Atlacatl batallion responsible for the massacre at El Mozote, El Salvador, provided Saddam with chemical weapons to fight the Iranians, overthrew Mossadeq, an elected leader of Iran, and replaced him with the Shah and according to testimony from survivors, supplied weapons to both sides in the Biafra Civil War in Nigeria. In addition to military interference, there are also economic means. Many countries, including America, have supplied third world countries with predatory loans which bankrupt their economies and drain their resources. According to reports obtained by the Congressional commitee of Frank Church, America has also experimented on its own citizens, something Bill Clinton formally apologized for as president. He also apologized for America's outright theft of the former kingdom of Hawaii, which was surrounded by our military in part because American businessmen wanted to save money. And this is only a very short list of the many horrific and often ignored chapters in American history. I don't think it's radical to point out that America has done, and continues to do, terrible things amid the more popular things it has brought the world like democracy, the better aspects of capitalism, and the idea of educating everyone, not just the wealthy. This isn't racist or rabid, its true, and the types of things Wright mentions are the ones Obama would have us turn the page on, so we can write a chapter of American history that isn't stained with mostly innocent blood.