Yesterday, Barack Obama tried to put an end to the Jeremiah Wright controversy, and probably at least minimized any impact Wright’s future statements might have on the campaign. However, as more comes out from past statements by both Obama and Wright, it will keep the wounds open and call into question Obama’s honesty. Take for instance this clip, which undercuts Obama’s statement yesterday that Wright was “just my pastor”:
Clearly, in 2007 Jeremiah Wright was more than just Obama’s pastor. He was a counselor, a friend, and in Obama’s estimation, a “great leader, not just in Chicago,” but nationally as well. Wright apparently aspired to that status, and his antics over the last few days seemed calculated to put him on the same level as Al Sharpton or Jesse Jackson.
Can Obama put the Wright Stuff behind him? Maybe, but he had better put away that “just my pastor” calculation. His own past statements impeach it, and the fact that he funded Wright’s radical and demagogic views to the tune of $26,000 in 2006 alone shows that he considered Wright something much more significant all along. (via Jim Geraghty)
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