By Pamela Gentry, Senior Political Producer

Posted April 30, 2008 – Sen. Barack Obama did everything he could to distance himself from his former pastor, respectfully, but the Rev. Jeremiah Wright went too far in his latest public appearances. Wright’s antics have angered Obama, forcing him to denounce, disown and break ties with the flamboyant and arrogant pastor.

And, yes, I said “arrogant.”

After Obama witnessed what he called “rants” by the former pastor of  the Trinity United Church in Chicago that were  “not grounded in truth,” he realized it was time speak out.

“The person I saw yesterday was not the person that I met 20 years ago,” Obama said.  Wright made it easy for Obama to rebuff him, and it may lead to the Illinois senator leaving the church altogether.

Wright, so caught up in his 15 minutes of fame, somehow thought he should take a national platform – not once, not twice but three times – to defend his name and his views on America, even if it meant jeopardizing Obama’s candidacy. 

Wright’s spectacle at the press club furthered negative stereotypes and re-enforced the fears of an “angry Black man” held by many Whites. If this latest episode derails Obama’s bid for the White House, Wright might find that Black folks are his greatest critics. 

“When I say I find these comments appalling, I mean it,” Obama told reporters at a news conference Tuesday.  “It contradicts everything that I’m about and who I am. And anybody who has worked with me, who knows my life, who has read my books, who has seen what this campaign is about, I think will understand that it is completely opposed to what I stand for and where I want to take this country.”

The airwaves will be filled with Wright’s comments now throughout the rest of the primary season.  The constant chatter about the ordeal will make it more difficult for Obama to stay on message, and the news media will pass on discussing gas prices to follow the circus appeal of Wright.

Obama, obviously agitated by Wright’s allegations, said, “But he states, and then amplifies, such ridiculous propositions as the U.S. Government somehow being involved in AIDS; when he suggest that Minister [Louise] Farrakahan somehow represents one of the greatest voices of the 20th and 21st century; when he equates the United States’ wartime efforts with terrorism, then there are no excuses,”Obama said. 

Wright’s statements combined with his attacks on White America were obviously riveting for the Illinois senator.   “I have spent my entire life trying to bridge the gap between different kinds of people,” Obama said.   

“His comments were not only divisive and destructive, but I believe that they end up giving comfort to those who prey on hate,” Obama told reporters on the campaign trial in Winston-Salem, N.C.

Of course, the big question is what impact this will have on his campaign. We’ll have to wait for the next contest to get the answer. 

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