It's not like Obama didn't know this Wright moment was coming. They discussed it in April 2007.

Maddy McCall

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Tue Apr-29-08 05:44 PM
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It's not like Obama didn't know this Wright moment was coming. They discussed it in April 2007.

Also, this isn't the first bit of friction between Wright and Obama over Obama snubbing him. Read on:

From a CBS Op-Ed today:

In a New York Times profile of the Obama-Wright relationship in April 2007, Wright himself predicted such a split based on the controversial remarks that were already under some scrutiny. �If Barack gets past the primary, he might have to publicly distance himself from me,� Wright told the paper over a year ago. �I said it to Barack personally, and he said yeah, that might have to happen.�

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/04/29/politics/main4056166.shtml

Here's the original New York Times article from which the quotation above was taken:

Mr. Obama, a Democratic presidential candidate who says he was only shielding his pastor from the spotlight, said he respected Mr. Wright�s work for the poor and his fight against injustice. But �we don�t agree on everything,� Mr. Obama said. �I�ve never had a thorough conversation with him about all aspects of politics.�

It is hard to imagine, though, how Mr. Obama can truly distance himself from Mr. Wright. The Christianity that Mr. Obama adopted at Trinity has infused not only his life, but also his campaign. He began his presidential announcement with the phrase �Giving all praise and honor to God,� a salutation common in the black church. He titled his second book, �The Audacity of Hope,� after one of Mr. Wright�s sermons, and often talks about biblical underdogs, the mutual interests of religious and secular America, and the centrality of faith in public life.

The day after the party for Mr. Wright, Mr. Obama stood in an A.M.E. church pulpit in Selma, Ala., and cast his candidacy in nothing short of biblical terms, implicitly comparing himself to Joshua, known for his relative inexperience, steadfast faith and completion of Moses� mission of delivering his people to the Promised Land.

�Be strong and have courage, for I am with you wherever you go,� Mr. Obama said in paraphrasing God�s message to Joshua.

It is difficult to tell whether Mr. Obama�s religious and political beliefs are fused or simply run parallel. The junior senator from Illinois often talks of faith as a moral force essential for solving America�s vexing problems. Like Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York and John Edwards, his fellow Democratic candidates, he expresses both a political and a religious obligation to help the downtrodden. Like conservative Christians, he speaks of AIDS as a moral crisis. And like his pastor, Mr. Obama opposes the Iraq war.

snip/

In an interview in March in his office, filled with mementos from his 35 years at Trinity, Mr. Wright recalled his first encounters with Mr. Obama in the late 1980s, when the future senator was organizing Chicago neighborhoods. Though minister after minister told Mr. Obama he would be more credible if he joined a church, he was not a believer.

�I remained a reluctant skeptic, doubtful of my own motives, wary of expedient conversion, having too many quarrels with God to accept a salvation too easily won,� he wrote in his first book, �Dreams From My Father.�

Still, Mr. Obama was entranced by Mr. Wright, whose sermons fused analysis of the Bible with outrage at what he saw as the racism of everything from daily life in Chicago to American foreign policy. Mr. Obama had never met a minister who made pilgrimages to Africa, welcomed women leaders and gay members and crooned Teddy Pendergrass rhythm and blues from the pulpit. Mr. Wright was making Trinity a social force, initiating day care, drug counseling, legal aid and tutoring. He was also interested in the world beyond his own; in 1984, he traveled to Cuba to teach Christians about the value of nonviolent protest and to Libya to visit Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi, along with the Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan. Mr. Wright said his visits implied no endorsement of their views.

snip/

He has said that he relies on Mr. Wright to ensure �that I am speaking as truthfully about what I believe as possible.� He tends to turn to his minister at moments of frustration, Mr. Wright said, such as when Mr. Obama felt a Congressional Black Caucus meeting was heavier on entertainment than substance.

snip/

In March, Mr. Wright said in an interview that his family and some close associates were angry about the canceled address, for which they blamed Obama campaign advisers but that the situation was �not irreparable,� adding, �Several things need to happen to fix it.�

Asked if he and Mr. Wright had patched up their differences, Mr. Obama said: �Those are conversations between me and my pastor.�

Mr. Wright, who has long prided himself on criticizing the establishment, said he knew that he may not play well in Mr. Obama�s audition for the ultimate establishment job.

�If Barack gets past the primary, he might have to publicly distance himself from me,� Mr. Wright said with a shrug. �I said it to Barack personally, and he said yeah, that might have to happen.�

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/30/us/politics/30obama.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1