CNN’s Roberts Declares ‘Rev. Wright-Free Zone’ During Obama Interview

CNN’s John Roberts apparently took David Gergen’s advice from last week, and during his interview of Barack Obama on Monday’s "American Morning," declared out of the gate that he wasn’t going to ask the Democrat from Illinois about his former pastor. "I want to just stipulate at the beginning of this interview, we are declaring a Reverend Wright-free zone today. So, no questions about Reverend Wright. Our viewers want us to move on, so this morning we're going to move on. Is that okay with you?" Obama reacted favorably to this declaration. "Fair enough. That sounds just fine."

After getting this issue out of the way, Roberts asked Obama about his rejection of the gas tax holiday proposal, his solution to the high energy prices, and about his "more ambiguous" answer to the question of what he would do as president if Iran struck Israel with nuclear weapons. On this question, Obama continued his ambiguity. When Roberts asked, "If Iran attacked Israel with a nuclear weapon, would you use the United States’ nuclear arsenal against Iran," Obama answered, "John, I'm not going to speculate."

During a segment on CNN’s "Newsroom" program after Rev. Wright’s presentation at the National Press Club on April 28, David Gergen made the suggestion that "it’s time for him [Rev. Wright] to get off the stage, and frankly, for the media, I suggest, to move on."