March 25, 2008
Clinton: Wright would not have been my pastorPosted: 03:43 PM ET
Clinton took aim at the Rev. Jeremiah Wright Tuesday.
(CNN) — Hillary Clinton would have long disassociated herself from the Rev. Jeremiah Wright if she was a member of his church, the Democratic presidential candidate said Tuesday — the first time she or her campaign has commented directly on the issue that has swirled around rival Barack Obama's campaign in recent weeks.
"I think given all we have heard and seen, he would not have been my pastor," Clinton said in a press conference in Greensburg, Pennsylvania. The comments came hours after the New York senator made similar comments to the Pittsburg Tribune-Review in an editorial board interview.
"You don't choose your family, but you choose what church you want to attend," she told the paper. Clinton also repeated those remarks in the press conference.
Clinton's comments come almost a week after Obama delivered a speech on race and politics in Philadelphia, during which he denounced some of his former minister's sermons, but said he could not repudiate the man himself.
The sermons in question — some of which were several years old — included several racially-charged remarks, and became the subject in scrutiny after a news report highlighted them earlier this month.
Speaking to reporters Tuesday, Clinton referenced a speech she gave nearly a year ago following talk radio-host Don Imus' controversial remarks about the Rutgers women's basketball team.
"I said it was time for standing up for what is right, for saying enough is enough, for urging that we turn a culture of degradation into a culture of empowerment, for saying that while we of course must protect our right of free expression, it should not be used as a license or an excuse to demean or humiliate our fellow citizens. Sen. Obama spoke eloquently at that time as well," she said of that speech.
"Everyone will have to decide these matters for their selves, they were obviously very personal matters," Clinton added. "But I was asked what I would if he was my pastor and I said I think the choice would be clear for me."
In his speech last week, Obama said he heard his former minister make controversial remarks, but not the ones which have been the subject of recent controversy.
Did I know him to be an occasionally fierce critic of American domestic and foreign policy? Of course," Obama said in the speech. "Did I ever hear him make remarks that could be considered controversial while I sat in church? Yes. Did I strongly disagree with many of his political views? Absolutely — just as I'm sure many of you have heard remarks from your pastors, priests or rabbis with which you strongly disagreed."
Asked by CNN if her speaking openly about Wright meant the issue was now on the table with superdelegates, Clinton answered: "I was asked what I would do, and I answered the question."
– CNN's Alexander Mooney and Peter Hamby
Filed under: Barack Obama • Hillary Clinton • Jeremiah Wright
