Obama Blasts Former Pastor

Barack Obama is distancing himself even further from former pastor Jeremiah Wright. Obama says Wright's comments do not accurately portray the perspective of the black church. Here’s what Obama had to say:

"I am outraged by the comments that were made and saddened by the spectacle that we saw yesterday. This is not an attack on Jeremiah Wright. The person I saw yesterday was not the person that I met 20 years ago. His comments were not only divisive and destructive but I believe that they end up giving comfort to those who prey on hate. What became clear to me was that he was presenting a world view that contradicts what I am and what I stand for. I gave him the benefit of the doubt in my speech in Philadelphia explaining that he's done enormous good. But when he states and then amplifies such ridiculous propositions as the U.S. government somehow being involved in AIDS.. There are no excuses. They offended me. They rightly offend all Americans and they should be denounced. That's a show of disrespect to me. It is also, I think, an insult to what we've been trying to do."