If you've ever wondered why the mainstream media didn't show much curiosity about how 20 years of attending Rev. Jeremiah Wright's church shaped President Barack Obama, there is a perfectly logical explanation. Obama wasn't really there.
According to Richard Wolffe, an MSNBC contributor and former Newsweek columnist that covered the Obama presidential campaign for the weekly magazine, people don't have to worry about the rantings and ravings of Obama's controversial preacher having any impact on his world view because he wasn't there.
Wolffe, in an appearance at the Politics & Prose bookstore in Washington, D.C. on June 15 promoting his book about Obama, "Renegade," told the audience the president wasn't naïve about Wright - he was ignorant.
"I don't think I phrased it as naïve, but I was curious to know, as everyone was what he heard and what he thought about it," Wolffe said. "And my conclusion from talking to him and his friends was that the dirty secret of the Rev. Wright episode, which he couldn't really explain, was that he actually really wasn't much of a churchgoer."
Wolffe, who has been criticized for his coziness with Obama, was granted unprecedented access to the president, crediting having covered the Obama campaign from Day 1, going back to Feb. 10, 2007 when he announced in Springfield, Ill. as the reason. He explained Obama was reluctant to attend Wright's services because they were time consuming events.
"When he said he wasn't in church - he was trying to get at that, but I think this is kind of embarrassing for him," Wolffe said. "And he told me look, ‘Yeah,' he said. ‘It's true, I didn't go much, I had young kids. The services would go on for hours, if you've ever taken young kids to church, for three hours.'"
Wolffe told the audience Obama was using religion, specifically his church attendance to garner support for the various offices he held - from Illinois state senate, the U.S. senator and ultimately President.
"And then at the same time, he was running for various offices," Wolffe said. "So when he went to church, and this is where the politician's slipperiness comes in - he didn't say, ‘I wasn't much of a churchgoer.' If he was in church, it just wasn't his church. He wasn't going to church to pray. He was going to church around the state of Illinois to get votes."
Wolffe said the Obama-Wright relationship was important allowed the future president "to find community." He described Wright as "charismatic, erudite figure" and said the controversial preacher of Chicago's Trinity United Church of Christ was who Obama leaned on to "make sense" of the civil rights struggle of the 1960s "in a modern world."
Wolffe referenced a Feb. 22, 2007 Rolling Stone article and said that was the actual first warning sign to the Obama campaign the radical preacher was a problem for Obama.
"Rolling Stone did a story about Wright's sermons right at the start of the campaign," Wolffe said. "The candidate saw it. He disinvited Wright from giving the public prayer at the start of the Springfield launch. He gave a private prayer with the family and he ordered his campaign staff to go research the sermons. He said, ‘Go find out what's in these sermons,' obviously he wasn't there."
However, as Wolffe explained - the research wasn't done and it took some time before the details emerged.
"That work was never done," Wolffe said. "That was a huge mistake."
Wolffe described the Obama campaign as lucky the news didn't surface before the Iowa caucuses or in the heat of the contest with Democratic challenger Hillary Clinton during the early part of 2008.
"They were lucky, lucky, lucky that it didn't emerge before Iowa, just before Iowa or before he had won that whole string of primaries through February," Wolffe said.
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To the idiots on the left
June 16, 2009 - 14:24 ET by EdhenryTo the idiots on the left it's "Yeah, this makes sense. I don't go to church either" And I like O, so I will excuse and rationalize any/every behavior and association.
To the reasonable rest of us: Bull$#i! Either you knew him and in the interest of cred for your distorted constituancy at that time, you went, listened and believed. Or you didn't investigate the theological teachings (rants) of your spiritual guide. So you associated with a racist for spritual guidance, or you don't care enough to investigate the beliefs of your family's most important partner. Either way, it doesn't wash.
This makes sense. I don't
June 16, 2009 - 14:37 ET by Another Dead KennedyThis makes sense. I don't go to church either.
It doesn't matter because
June 16, 2009 - 17:51 ET by gmaniac1It doesn't matter because of according to one of head liberal idiots, jasper, it is impossible for a liberal be a racist. So according to that moronic logic, Reverend Wright isn't a racist, he's just misunderstood.
When the people fear the government it's called tyranny, when the government fears the people it's called liberty!
Lib here. Wright's a
June 16, 2009 - 18:03 ET by Another Dead KennedyLib here. Wright's a racist.
He is and so are a lot of
June 16, 2009 - 19:22 ET by gmaniac1He is and so are a lot of people, regardless of politics. I've just heard one too many times that libs can't be racist and because I'm a conservative that I represent a racist Uncle Tom. Isn't that racist, at least sort of? Oh well, I'll live.
When the people fear the government it's called tyranny, when the government fears the people it's called liberty!
It's an ignorant comment to
June 16, 2009 - 20:50 ET by Another Dead KennedyIt's an ignorant comment to say libs can't be racist. Some of the most racist people I know consider themselves dems/libs. Either way, there's no excuse for racism. Not in present day, not ever.
Of course liberals are
June 17, 2009 - 08:42 ET by misterbee241Of course liberals are racist. They treat minorities in a patronizing and condescending manner as if adult minorities are too child-like to manage their lives and their affairs and therefore need the government to do it for them. Thus we have affirmative action. My minority friends are perfectly capable of looking out for themselves, thank you very much.
"I dont need to read a newspaper to know the world's been shaved by a drunken barber."
Walter Brennan, The Colonel, Meet John Doe, 1941
Once again, please don't
June 17, 2009 - 11:48 ET by Another Dead KennedyOnce again, please don't lump all liberals together. Every liberal isn't like Keith Olbermann just like every conservative isn't like Rush Limbaugh. And while I'm not a huge supporter of affirmative action, I do understand its importance. But that's not what this thread is about so let's move on.
HEY OBAMA...WE R NOTICING!
June 16, 2009 - 19:07 ET by reelman46HEY OBAMA…WE ARE NOTICING!
Obama says he loses sleep over deficit fears…
Senate health overhaul costs top $1.6 Trillion…
CRAWFISH NOTE: Its the bizarre world of the modern
democrat (secular socialist)…how can anyone read these two headlines of
June 16.2009 and not see the arrogant distortion of reality?
This is now a weekly thing…you see Obama saying one thing yet allowing
another contrary to it go on (usually within his Party) without him
making a peep…in fact, his own actions may obviously be the opposite!
We know the same Party POTUS-Congress are not separate political
planets never communicating or coordinating. We know the history of
tax-spend when that Party controls all. Who is conning who?
Hey, Obama…even an 8th grade dropout notices by now that the truth, the honesty, the integrity…is just not there…if it ever was.
Can you imagine the media outrage if any Repub POTUS constantly said
one thing and did another? There would be network TV news panels of
shrinks discussing for days his emotional-ethical shortcomings. Picture
what “The View” gals would say most every day.
The juke and jive phase is over…we get it Barack…and its at least quite unsettling. When will the fawning network media get it?
“Ignore what is said, watch what is done”..an old saying that is the theme song for this administration.
Doug Schexnayder, Ph.D. (theconservativecrawfish)
What a bunch of BS if I
June 16, 2009 - 14:36 ET by bigtimerWhat a bunch of BS if I ever heard it....
Wolffe has always been a pathetic little worm for msnbc...and always will be.
Wright is a Black Nationalist...so are the O's.
Doubling down on stupid is not a particularly good idea. ~Andrew Breitbart
If you think about it, it
June 16, 2009 - 14:48 ET by AcrosIf you think about it, it was Michelle's church and all you have to do is listen to her rants to know who heard the Rev. Wright preaching.
Fortified
June 16, 2009 - 14:57 ET by slickwillie2001From the New York Times, 2007: "When Mr. Obama arrived at Harvard Law School later that year (1988), where he fortified himself with recordings of Mr. Wright’s sermons, he was delivering stirring speeches as a student leader in the classic oratorical style of the black church."
He thought enough of the odious Wright to bring tapes of him along to Harvard. The Bamster's excuses on this are as weak as Al Gore's iced-tea routine. It is also likely Wright, among others, that taught the Bamster his hatred of The Juice.
Ref: What Did Obama Know About Wright and When Did He Know It?: http://pajamasmedia.com
I believe it that Obama didn't go to church.
June 16, 2009 - 15:30 ET by motherbeltPresident Obama didn't like church, he just liked Rev. Wright.
That's why he took the recorded sermons with him.
It's easy to believe he didn't go to church...well at least until he was campaigning for President. He has not gone to church since he was inaugurated, except for Easter.
I'm sure they have their own private services in the White House for the first family and staff. <sarc>
The excuse is that they are "trying to find" a church.
As if!
If you are a real Christian, you go somewhere to worship with others on Sunday, (e.g. the church across the street!) until you find a church of your own to join.
IOW, he's not a devout Christian; but he played one on the campaign trail.
I didn't think it was physically possible, but this both sucks and blows. -Bart Simpson
"Wolffe reference a Feb.
June 16, 2009 - 14:57 ET by beerboy"Wolffe reference a Feb. 22, 2007 Rolling Stone article and said that was the actual first warning sign to the Obama campaign the radical preacher was a problem for Obama."
Didn't this article come out almost a year before any of the primaries yet it did not seem to intrest anyone in the press where Obama attended church.
Don't cry Wolffe
June 16, 2009 - 15:04 ET by ThisnThatDidn't Wolffe check out the Mosques during Friday prayers?
And why can't Wolffe spell his name correctly?
___________________________________
Liberals constantly demand that we accept a glaring falsehood as truth; Obama's elimination of the word "terror" will make terrorist acts less terrifying
Pure B.S.
June 16, 2009 - 15:07 ET by poxomaObama claimed to have consulted Wright on every major decision he had to make while a member of the church. And Wright referred to Obama recently as "his son" who was not allowed to see him because of "all them Jews". Does it make sense that Obama had no idea about Wright preaching? Obama either lied big time about him not knowing Wright's racist remarks, or he lied about being a regular church-going in Chicago. It smells rotten either way. It's still a lie to promote himself in politics. Hope and Change??? I think not.
He wasn't a churchgoer?
June 16, 2009 - 15:15 ET by lgeubankI don't know WHEN I've been more surprised. How much of a mosque-goer was he?
Obama 'Stupid' or Wright is a 'Poor Mentor'
June 16, 2009 - 15:31 ET by Retired Geek“The government gives them the drugs, builds bigger prisons, passes a three-strike law and then wants us to sing ‘God Bless America.’
No, no, no, God damn America, that’s in the Bible for killing innocent people.
God damn America for treating our citizens as less than human.
God damn America for as long as she acts like she is God and she is supreme.”
Jeremiah Wright (2003)
Barack Obama's chosen Mentor and Spiritual Advisor for over twenty years.
"What I value most about Pastor Wright is not his day-to-day political advice. He's much more of a sounding board for me to make sure that I am speaking as truthfully about what I believe as possible and that I'm not losing myself in some of the hype and hoopla and stress that's involved in national politics."
Barack Obama
Either Barack Obama is 'Stupid' or Jeremiah Wright is a really poor mentor.
Picture Obama
June 16, 2009 - 15:42 ET by sevenGoing to church and firing the Pastor. Church of the reformation. Like he is reforming healthcare. He will have to fire a lot of docs next.
"Either Barack Obama is
June 16, 2009 - 15:46 ET by HockeyKid"Either Barack Obama is 'Stupid' or Jeremiah Wright is a really poor mentor."
I vote C: Both.
"Beauty is only skin deep, but liberal's to the bone." - me
So Obama was just using Wright to get street cred
June 16, 2009 - 16:20 ET by OxyCon...but was too stupid and lazy to look into what kind of Church Rev Wright was running, according to Wolffe. Yeah, right.
Wolffe is also wrong about Obama "being lucky" that news of his close relationship to the bigot Wright didn't get out before the Iowa caucuses. It wasn't luck at all, as Wolffe should know since he played a major part in it, but in fact a media conspiracy to cover it up and protect their golden boy. The information was freely available to the mainstream media, but they deliberately refused to report on it. Sean Hannity was talking about this scandal on a daily basis, but it wasn't until months later when ABC's Brian Ross picked up on the story that it finally hit the mainstream.
But what was the reaction to this news by the mainstream media once it finally got reported on? They actually tried to mainstream Wright's bigotry and his anti-American rants. Wright was portrayed by Wolffe and his media cohorts as a sympathetic man who was being maligned by racist whites, and all of Wright's anti-American rants were reported as being true (well, we really did bomb Hiroshima!).
You know what? Wolffe can go to hell for all of his lying and dissembling. He was a chief Obama proponent on a nightly basis while "reporting" on Keith Obamamann's MSBS show, all the while he was traveling with Obama as an insider who at the same time was writing a pro Obama book. But Wolffe never bothered to mention his impartiality and the role he was playing for the Obama campaign to the MSBS audience.
Yes he was just using him
June 16, 2009 - 16:30 ET by motherbeltYes he was just using him for street cred. He didn't care what he was saying in church; at least not then. Wright told him he'd be more successful as an organizer if he was church-connected, so Obama joined his church.
Obama, the pragmatist. Doing what needed to be done to get where he wanted.
I didn't think it was physically possible, but this both sucks and blows. -Bart Simpson
So Uhbama didn't go to
June 16, 2009 - 17:57 ET by HockeyKidSo Uhbama didn't go to church because he was busy raising kids. He always gets everything bass-ackwards. Real (non-politician) people go TO church because they're busy raising kids.
So that reason doesn't fly. The real reason? He didn't go to church because he didn't believe in it. He joined with Michelle because it was her church and he saw that it would give him an inside track with the community in southside Chicago. He followed Wright because Wright supports Farrakhan, obviously believing that tired old "all faiths lead to God" heresy. Thus Barry could have his Koran and eat at the church dinners, too. What a fake.
"Beauty is only skin deep, but liberal's to the bone." - me
And this is a surprise???
June 16, 2009 - 18:33 ET by PrairieSky"And my conclusion from talking to him and his friends was that the dirty secret of the Rev. Wright episode, which he couldn't really explain, was that he actually really wasn't much of a churchgoer."
Where were these insightful "revelations" before the election?
Obama's alleged "religiosity" is a farce and always has been...He uses religion in the same way that Clinton did...He showed up for church or met with religious leaders when he felt that it could do him some political good. Period.
Obama attached himself to Trinity in Chicago because it was a militant black inner city church, and he felt that his membership there would do him some good by allowing himself to mix with inner city blacks, who's support he needed to build his political base upon. It's that simple. Virtually every decision Obama has made since he left law school, from what church he attended, to who he married, has been very carefully calculated to benefit him in his political career.
That said, I do not believe for a second, that even given the fact that Obama was obviously not a regular church goer, that meant that he didn't know the types of despicable things that Wright was saying...Obama just didn't give a damn, or worse, he secretly agreed with it. Either way, the bottom line is that what did matter to Obama was his belief that being a member at Trinity did him some political good, and that's what he cared about.
"The problem is not that people are taxed too little...the problem is that government spends too much." ~President Ronald Reagan
Amazing, and to think I had
June 17, 2009 - 00:04 ET by Clear thinkerAmazing, and to think I had seen enough BS from journalists for one day. Then along comes this little gem.
S'cuse me while I go puke!
http://iamnotaracist.wordpress.com/
So wait a minute, all we
June 17, 2009 - 10:06 ET by TheConservativeChemistSo wait a minute, all we heard all campaign was about how religious and *Christian* Hussein was...and now they tell us he didn't go to church? (He hasn't been once since Inaguration Day)...
But then it all makes sense...of course he didn't go to church...he was busy at mosque!
Wollfe borrows chrissy's kneepads
June 17, 2009 - 10:20 ET by east tennessee johnSo, Comrade O didn't attend church. Then why did he pick it? Did Mr. Kissass even refer to his subject's own words? Attending Trinity United or not, does that make Comrade O any less of a Marxist black liberation theology believer? What a suck up moron.