'America can change': Obama
SPEECH | Distances himself from pastor's comments but cites Wright's good deeds
Seeking to stem a controversy clouding his run for the presidency, Sen. Barack Obama on Tuesday embraced his former pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, but rejected Wright's racially incendiary comments that have played endlessly in the media in recent days and sparked a feeding frenzy of criticism.
Obama spoke at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia in blunt, personal terms over 37 minutes about the racial divide in the country but insisted Americans could bridge those barriers.
(AP)
"The profound mistake of Reverend Wright's sermons is not that he spoke about racism in our society. It's that he spoke as if our society was static; as if no progress has been made; as if this country ... is still irrevocably bound to a tragic past. What we know, what we have seen, is that America can change," Obama said.
Wright's comments have included suggesting America brought the 9/11 terrorist attacks on itself and saying blacks should condemn the United States for its murderous treatment of them.
While Obama didn't specifically address Wright's statements, he called them "not only wrong but divisive."
But Obama still embraced Wright himself -- who presided over Obama's wedding, baptized his daughters and inspired the title of one of Obama's books. And the presidential hopeful paid tribute to the good deeds Wright and Trinity United Church of Christ have accomplished.
A CBS News Poll taken Sunday and Monday before the speech showed the pastor's controversial statements hurt the senator, who faces a big test against rival Hillary Clinton in Pennsylvania on April 22. A third of those in the poll who had heard Wright's comments said they made them feel more negative about Obama. The other two-thirds said they had no impact, according to the poll.
In Chicago, the speech brought praise from Obama supporters but prompted questions on how effective it would be, given its often nuanced content in a sound-bite era.
"It is a discussion of race that America hasn't heard before," said the Rev. Michael Pfleger, the pastor of St. Sabina, who describes himself as an Obama supporter and good friend of Wright.
"There's not an American around who couldn't listen to the whole speech and take away something to think about," Pfleger said. "The danger is in the sound bite. God help us, if we try to sound-bite race in America."
Late Tuesday, Obama appeared on ABC's ''Nightline'' to discuss the speech, including his reference to the O.J. Simpson trial. Obama said on ''Nightline'' that he thinks Simpson was guilty of murdering his ex-wife and her friend.
Obama was also asked whether he considers himself an American, or a black man. He said he considers himself an American first.
Contributing: Sun-Times wires