Clinton: Wright "Would Not Have Been My Pastor"

Sen. Hillary Clinton has reintroduced the issue of Barack Obama's pastor Jeremiah Wright today. First, she mentioned the controversy during a conversation with the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review:

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, in a wide-ranging interview today with Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reporters and editors, said she would have left her church if her pastor made the sort of inflammatory remarks Sen. Barack Obama's former pastor made.

"He would not have been my pastor," Clinton said. "You don't choose your family, but you choose what church you want to attend."...

"You know, I spoke out against Don Imus (who was fired from his radio and television shows after making racially insensitive remarks), saying that hate speech was unacceptable in any setting, and I believe that," Clinton said. "I just think you have to speak out against that. You certainly have to do that, if not explicitly, then implicitly by getting up and moving."

She repeated her remarks later today during a press conference, and followed them up by saying:

I was asked a personal question and I responded as to what I would have done... and I feel very comfortable with that. I don't think that's negative."

Watch:

The Obama camp has responded to Clinton's comments:

"After originally refusing to play politics with this issue, it's disappointing to see Hillary Clinton's campaign sink to this low in a transparent effort to distract attention away from the story she made up about dodging sniper fire in Bosnia. The truth is, Barack Obama has already spoken out against his pastor's offensive comments and addressed the issue of race in America with a deeply personal and uncommonly honest speech. The American people deserve better than tired political games that do nothing to solve the larger challenges facing this country."

Comments

[jtshipp]

OK, Senator Clinton, The appropriate question now is: What church are you a member of and what is the political philosphy of YOUR pastor? I suspect that you have no MEMBERSHIP association with any church in DC or NY.

[TheRealMacDaddy]

Spread the TRUTH about Rev. Wright’s sermons not the edited and parsed sound bites of Fox News…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QOdlnzkeoyQ&feature=related http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RvMbeVQj6Lw&feature=related

[quintus]

Everything shifts when you get the opportunity to listen to the ENTIRE sermon. It makes a HUGE difference. It's so obvious that the media is deliberately going for sensationalism.

[tiredofhillary]

I really says a lot about someone who has made a judgement about Rev. Wright but has yet to listen to the entire sermon instead of snippets.

[Pecola]

This was her moment, and she blew it. She could have regained the respect of a lot of democrats. She could have seized the opportunity to raise the level of our political discourse back to where it was two short months ago and shown herself to be a woman of character. HUCKABEE had Obama's back, for the love of God, and he's on the other team.

Until this moment, JUST this moment, I've been telling myself that I'm voting democrat in November no matter what. Even if I had to down a couple shots and have a designated driver get me to the polls. Even if I had to tape Bush's picture next to one of McCain to my steering wheel for a month. NO MATTER WHAT. But I just can't. I cannot, CANNOT, live with myself if I give this woman my vote. I'll be voting Obama in November, even if I have to write him in.

[ChiGuy]

Time to give it up, Hil. Even your former pastor is chastising you now:

But the pastor at the church that Clinton did once attend has recently expressed public support for Wright. He's even proclaimed it a "grave injustice" to make a judgment on Wright based off of "two or three sound bites," and criticized those who would "use a few of [Wright's] quotes to polarize."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/03/25/pastor-of-clintons-forme_n_93418.html

****And he bounces back anyway:

Gallup: Obama Retakes Lead Over Hillary

http://tpmelectioncentral.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/03/gallup_obama_retakes_lead_over.php

[SDgirl]

Did you see her in this interview? Someone could of at least combed the woman's hair. She looked like the living dead. Obama's gonna come back all tan and rested and she's gonna look like a flesh eating zombie! That said, Hillary you are a bad bad person.

[bumpersticker]

What better example that Obama's ability to transcend race. Yep, the tan is gonna look great!

[billis3811]

I've always feared the undead

[CaptainVideo]

"Obama's gonna come back all tan"

Is this a joke, or a rascist remark or what?

[midknightryder13]

None of the above.
ANYONE can tan.
Recall please the many times Bryant Gumbel would come back from a week of skiing with a very obvious "skier's tan"

[tiredofhillary]

Yes, it's possible for Sen. Obama to tan.

[drzoon]

once again.... Hilary has used the fear/race card. she and her campaign find a way every day to remind everyone to be afraid of this black man who is running for the nomination.

i dont know why that doesn't turn the stomachs of HRC's supporters. I will never for the life of me understand how anyone can back her when she lies (even when she doesn't have to)... and is just flat out mean!

and... i will never understand how a "d" can vote for anyone who voted for this war. how can anyone reward that vote with a vote of their own?

she has played more than her part in killing 4000 of our guys... and destroying the lives of untold number of americans.­.. and millions of iraqis.

how how how how?

[snow]

Hillary points to someone in the audience to appear animated and engaged, which will photograph well - it is all transparently about her. She professes to be "serving" her country; she is self-serving.

[letuckerchicago]

Tonight's news stated that Rev. Wright's security is at issue and it is impeding his ability to move about the country . Thanks for the hate, Hill!

[JWLANDSCAPES]

Ummm, Rev. Wright likes nothing more than this attention. It gives him the ultimate platform..­>Are you kidding? HIllary was spreading Hate? Wow....Rev­. Wright speaks divisive and hateful sermons and gets a pass? Seriously.

[CaptainVideo]

Wright brought the hate on himself by his incendiary, hatemongering statements. I think that Obama supporters are blinding themselves to the reality that working class whites, whose votes are needed to win the election, are shocked and appalled what this hatemongering preacher said.

I had made several monetary contributions to the Obama campaign before this happened, but I fear that Revered Wrong may have damaged Obama irrevocably. I hope I'm wrong, but I will suspend judgement until I see the outcomes of the subsequent primaries to see if this is or is not the case.

[itsbushstupid]

oh, yeah,
hillary is responsible for wright's hate speech.
hillary is responsible for obama listening to that hate speech for twenty years.

but, but, but, clinton...­.
definitely repub trolls or jesumammas trolls.

[hitech]

I have just breezed through this garbage. Obama supporters. You can make 100 calls a day in Pennsylvania. You are wasting your time. BYE BYE OBAMA.

[kthomas73]

what are you smoking? If it is time for this man to be president then it is time. stop hating and start noticing who the real enemy is. Have you heard this out of touch idiot McCain? Lets kick his A** and stop eating our own young?

[utd]

There are 10 contests left last time I checked, not exact sure who told you Pennsylvania is the only state that matters but you may want to inform them there is more to go. Since Hillary is failing to win states, delegates, popular vote, and the act like a human being threshold it means she needs to win by 65% in all of those places, not to mention apologize to the Democratic party for acting like a jackass. Math is pretty simple, no one makes those kinds of numbers in a race this close. So I wouldn't call out the parade just yet.

[changeishere08]

hey hitecheinstein, Obama isn't expected to win PA (Alabama North complete with KKK) but to close the gap. But as long as he has the lead and gained more Super Delegates Since Super Tuesday as opposed to not gaining any.

BYE BYE CLINTONS

Next time keep the lies straight.

[ChiGuy]

Don't keep up with the news, do ya'?

Gallup: Obama Retakes Lead Over Hillary
Today's Gallup tracking poll shows Barack Obama retaking the national lead over Hillary Clinton, after the Jeremiah Wright scandal had badly damaged his numbers and put him behind for nearly a week.

http://tpmelectioncentral.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/03/gallup_obama_retakes_lead_over.php

[BrooklynLager]

Luckily, Ed Rendell only controls ONE state.

[Justtellthetruth]

She would sell out her own grandmother too if she thought it would help put her in power. This is such a transparent attempt to draw attention away from her lies about taking fire while in landing in Bosnia, where in fact politicians and little 8 year old girls awaited her.

Her "experience" is just BS.

[gjoh]

HRC has just shown us her true character. When she gets caught in a lie, she panics and starts to throw stuff to deflect attention from her mistake. Now there's a Commander and Chief for ya! She's a chip off the old BUSH.

[BOBZILLA]

So, now her own pastor during the White House years puts out a memorandum complimenting Rev. Wright and, essentially, telling Hillary to knock off this dirty foolishness. Imagine that.

He must be part of the Vast Media Conspiracy, or maybe he hates women.

[indie17]

LOL! Very good.

[GManPhx]

This woman is an incorrigible, and unrepentant liar. She wants to excoriate Obama for something someone else said, while at the same time demonstrating her ability to lie beyond redemption.
It is telling that she equates "being human" as synonymous with being a liar.

[mickyx65it]

Hillary is as fake as her laugh.

[tams]

Obama would have used this issue to his advantage as well, lets not fool ourselves in thinking that it's just one particular camp or another. Either see an opportunity and will take it.
Hillary could have used the fact that Obama planned to cut a major program (Constellation) at NASA, plus seriously cutting the NASA budget to a drop in the bucket (which mirrors what New York Hotel spent on their renovations this year) which will hurt not only NASA, Houston area and Texas economy, but also our technological advances..­. but she didn't during the Texas Primary, not ONE word was mentioned about it.

[SDgirl]

or her hair color

[Morpheum]

What will she not do to enable the Republicans?

She is John McCains enabler.

It is impossible for her to be the Democratic nominee for president. There is no reasonable scenario by which she can win the nomination.

She has lied about her "commander­-in-chief" credentials. Her campaign has played the race card. She has equivocated regarding Obama's religion (not a Muslim, as far as I know)

This is Quixotic.

Her chance of being the Democratic nominee is as likely as windmills being giants!

Wake up Hillary it's over.