At a hastily called news conference on the tarmac of the airport here, with the engines of his campaign plane buzzing in the background, Mr. Obama briefly responded to questions for the first time about Mr. Wright’s speech today to the National Press Club.
Mr. Obama declined to say whether he felt betrayed over the comments from his longtime former pastor. He also declined to assess the political fallout from the remarks, which comes as he is working to win the primaries next week in North Carolina and Indiana and to convince Democrats that he would be the party’s strongest candidate in the fall.
“People will understand that I am not perfect and there are going to be folks in my past – like Reverend Wright – that may cause them concern,” Mr. Obama said. “But, ultimately, my 20 years of service and the values that I’ve written about, spoken about and promoted are their values and what they are concerned about. That’s what this campaign has been about. And will continue to be about.”
As images and words from Mr. Wright filled cable television airwaves today, Mr. Obama was making three campaign stops in North Carolina. The controversy was not mentioned, by Mr. Obama or by voters, during a town meeting this afternoon. Initially, the campaign did not plan to have Mr. Obama speak to reporters here, but aides changed their mind as they neared the airport. |
