CNN's Lou Dobbs noted the same as the Guardian article. Obama in his speech refused to disown the controversial pastor he's associated himself with for some 20 years.
Why is that a negative? Prior to this speech, Obama has over and over in separate statements to several news networks disavowed, rejected, chastized the statements made by Wright that are deemed 'incendiary.'
Dobbs raises excellent questions, and poses to hold all government elected people accountable. We're not knocking him for that.
But why must Obama do as Dobbs demands, cut himself off completely from Wright if he heard or learned of Wright's particularly incendiary and Dobbs says anti-American statements?
Obama has rejected Wright's incendiary and controversial statements.
Why isn't that enough?
Maybe a review of Dobbs interviews with several panelists will reveal more.
Like whether Dobbs played the following clip, or heard the following clip, or was at CNN offices when the clip was played... or heard this part of Obama's speech
Aired March 18, 2008 - 15:00 ET
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D-IL), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: But the remarks that have caused this recent firestorm weren't simply controversial. They weren't simply a religious leader's effort to speak out against perceived injustice.
Instead, they expressed a profoundly distorted view of this country, a view that sees white racism as endemic and that elevates what is wrong with America above all that we know is right with America.
http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0803/18/cnr.05.html
What more could Dobbs want?
He appears to be disatisfied with Obama no matter what. Given his knowledge there is a campaign to draft him for President, and having himself written a book that could be the genesis of a third-party political movement, one does have to question Dobbs approach. At one point, he quibbled with Obama's use of the word "nagging" in his A More Perfect Union speech.
During a panel discussion later in the week, Dobbs still is picking apart every aspect of Obama's speech, and just is not accepting Obama may not have heard all of the particularly incendiary sermons of Wright.
What has been bothersome to us as well, however, Obama has not been absolutely clear about what he heard himself... and when.
He's admitted all along he heard Wright's Audacity of Hope sermon, used it as inspiration for his first book and AUDACITY OF HOPE.
Only by reading both the book and Wright's sermon, can we at least be on the same page and possibly determine what about the sermon inspired Obama...
(Net the Truth Online)
Andrew Sullivan 16 Mar 2008 10:38 am
The full text of Jeremiah Wright's "Audacity To Hope" sermon in 1990:
http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2008/03/for-the-record.html
Wright’s Sermon - “The Audacity To Hope”
As a public service we present an archival copy of Mr. Wright’s stirring 1990 sermon that we are told so inspired the young Barack Obama.
http://sweetness-light.com/archive/wrights-sermon-the-audacity-to-hope
ABC NEWS youtube report
Selected sermons of Rev. Jeremiah Wright
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=36T1fnIafC0
Obama's Pastor: God Damn America, U.S. to Blame for 9/11
http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/story?id=4443788&page=1
Campaign News; Declining Industrial Base; Outsourcing National Defense
Aired March 22, 2008 - 19:00 ET
Tonight: Senator Obama tries to shift the campaign agenda away from the outrage over his controversial former pastor. We'll have complete coverage.
Senator Obama tonight is struggling to limit the political damage from his controversial former pastor, Reverend Jeremiah Wright. Senator Obama delivered a major speech on race and that he criticized Wright and said race is an issue that America can't afford to ignore.
But now, Obama is refusing to disown his former pastor and creating even more problems for himself. Wright frequently accused our government of racism and declared the 9/11 attacks to be retaliation for American foreign policy.
http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0803/22/ldtw.01.html
Transcripts for all CNN programs today
http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/2008.03.18.html
Obama refuses to disown controversial pastor
Ewen MacAskill in Washington guardian.co.uk, Tuesday March 18 2008
In the most important speech since he launched his campaign in February last year, Obama tried to damp down what he described as the "firestorm" over Wright's sermons claiming the US brought the 9/11 attacks on itself and that blacks should sing 'God Damn America" not 'God Bless America'.
Obama reiterated his condemnation of Wright's comments but he stood by the man that has been his spiritual adviser.
"I can no more disown him than I can disown the black community," Obama said in his speech in Philadelphia.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/mar/18/barackobama.uselections20082
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