Video of the Interview & Transcript
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From: Democracy Now
Obama’s Ex-Pastor Breaks Silence Following Controversy over Criticism
Barack Obama’s former pastor has spoken out in his first broadcast interview since his criticism of US government policies became a major issue in the 2008 Democratic presidential race. The Reverend Jeremiah Wright has come under heavy criticism from political pundits for linking the attacks of September 11 to US foreign policy in the Middle East and for saying the United States was founded on racism. In an interview with PBS journalist Bill Moyers airing tonight, Wright says his comments have been misused.
Rev. Jeremiah Wright: “The persons who have heard the entire sermon understand the communication perfectly. A failure to communicate is when something is taken like a sound bite for a political purpose and put constantly over and over again, looped in the face of the public. That’s not a failure to communicate. Those who are doing that are communicating exactly what they want to do, which is to paint me as some sort of fanatic or, as the learned journalist from the New York Times called me, a ‘wackadoodle.’ It’s to paint me as something—something’s wrong with me. ’There’s nothing wrong with this country or its policies. We’re perfect. Our hands are free. Our hands have no blood on them.’ That’s not a failure to communicate. The message that is being communicated by the sound bites is exactly what those pushing those sound bites want to communicate.” …
The Bill Moyers interview with Reverend Wright airs tonight at 9:00 on PBS.
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