Mentor, role model
Obama addressed Wright's statements on Israel at a Feb. 24 meeting with Jewish leaders in Cleveland, describing the pastor as "an old uncle who sometimes will say things that I don't agree with."In a January 2007 Chicago Tribune profile of Wright, however, Obama spoke of the pastor as a spiritual mentor and role model who helped keep his priorities straight and his moral compass calibrated."What I value most about Pastor Wright is not his day-to-day political advice," Obama said. "He's much more of a sounding board for me to make sure that I am speaking as truthfully about what I believe as possible and that I'm not losing myself in some of the hype and hoopla and stress that's involved in national politics."The Tribune said Obama, then a community activist in Chicago, was first attracted to Wright's Trinity United Church of Christ in 1985 when it bore a "Free South Africa" sign on the lawn.Obama was not a churchgoer at the time, the paper noted, but he found himself returning to the sanctuary. In his 1993 memoir "Dreams from My Father," Obama recounts that when he met Wright, the pastor warned that getting involved with Trinity might turn off other black clergy because of the church's radical reputation.Before leaving for Harvard Law School in 1988, Obama responded to one of Wright's altar calls and declared a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Later, the rising political star based his 2004 keynote speech to the Democratic National Convention on a Wright sermon called "Audacity to Hope," who also was the inspiration for Obama's second memoir, "The Audacity of Hope."The Tribune profile said that while Wright and Obama do not often talk one-on-one often, the senator checks with his pastor before making any bold political moves, including in 2006, when considering a run for the White House.Wright reportedly cautioned Obama not to let politics change him, but he also encouraged him to dive in, win or lose.
Obama addressed Wright's statements on Israel at a Feb. 24 meeting with Jewish leaders in Cleveland, describing the pastor as "an old uncle who sometimes will say things that I don't agree with."In a January 2007 Chicago Tribune profile of Wright, however, Obama spoke of the pastor as a spiritual mentor and role model who helped keep his priorities straight and his moral compass calibrated."What I value most about Pastor Wright is not his day-to-day political advice," Obama said. "He's much more of a sounding board for me to make sure that I am speaking as truthfully about what I believe as possible and that I'm not losing myself in some of the hype and hoopla and stress that's involved in national politics."The Tribune said Obama, then a community activist in Chicago, was first attracted to Wright's Trinity United Church of Christ in 1985 when it bore a "Free South Africa" sign on the lawn.Obama was not a churchgoer at the time, the paper noted, but he found himself returning to the sanctuary. In his 1993 memoir "Dreams from My Father," Obama recounts that when he met Wright, the pastor warned that getting involved with Trinity might turn off other black clergy because of the church's radical reputation.Before leaving for Harvard Law School in 1988, Obama responded to one of Wright's altar calls and declared a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Later, the rising political star based his 2004 keynote speech to the Democratic National Convention on a Wright sermon called "Audacity to Hope," who also was the inspiration for Obama's second memoir, "The Audacity of Hope."The Tribune profile said that while Wright and Obama do not often talk one-on-one often, the senator checks with his pastor before making any bold political moves, including in 2006, when considering a run for the White House.Wright reportedly cautioned Obama not to let politics change him, but he also encouraged him to dive in, win or lose.
As in the days of Noah...