April 29, 2008 - WASHINGTON (AFP) — The Democratic Senator flashed with ANGER Tuesday as he denounced comments by Reverend Jeremiah Wright, who once claimed AIDS was a racist government plot and said after the September 11 attacks that blacks sing "God Damn America."
"I am OUTRAGED by the comments that were made and SADDENED over the spectacle that we saw yesterday," Obama said, portraying Wright, who made headlines in Washington Monday, as antithetical to his calls for unity.
"I have known Reverend Wright for almost 20 years," he said of the man who conducted his marriage and baptized his two daughters, as he spoke to reporters in Winston Salem, North Carolina.
"The person I saw yesterday was not the person that I met 20 years ago.
"His comments were not only divisive and destructive but I believe they end up giving comfort to those that PREY ON HATE. I believe that they do not portray accurately the perspective of the black Church.
"I am OUTRAGED by the comments that were made and SADDENED over the spectacle that we saw yesterday," Obama said, portraying Wright, who made headlines in Washington Monday, as antithetical to his calls for unity.
"I have known Reverend Wright for almost 20 years," he said of the man who conducted his marriage and baptized his two daughters, as he spoke to reporters in Winston Salem, North Carolina.
"The person I saw yesterday was not the person that I met 20 years ago.
"His comments were not only divisive and destructive but I believe they end up giving comfort to those that PREY ON HATE. I believe that they do not portray accurately the perspective of the black Church.
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THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE May 31, 2009
Office of the Press Secretary
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE May 31, 2009
STATEMENT FROM THE PRESIDENT
ON THE MURDER OF DR. GEORGE TILLER
I am SHOCKED and OUTRAGED by the murder of Dr. George Tiller as he attended church services this morning. However profound our differences as Americans over difficult issues such as abortion, they cannot be resolved by heinous acts of violence.
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Jul 23, 2009 - BOSTON (WBZ) ― President Barack Obama said Cambridge police acted "stupidly" in the arrest of prominent black scholar Henry Louis Gates Jr. in Cambridge last week. The comments came in response to a reporter question at the end of a primetime news conference on health care reform Wednesday night.
Obama started off by making it clear that Gates is a friend of his, "so I may be a little biased here." The president said HE DOESN'T KNOW ALL THE FACTS about the arrest last week, and does not know what role race played, "but I think it's fair to say, number one, any of us would be angry, and two, that the Cambridge police acted stupidly in arresting somebody when there was already proof they were in their own home," Obama said.
"And number three, there's a long history in this country of African-Americans and Latinos being stopped by law enforcement disproportionately. And that's just a fact."
Obama started off by making it clear that Gates is a friend of his, "so I may be a little biased here." The president said HE DOESN'T KNOW ALL THE FACTS about the arrest last week, and does not know what role race played, "but I think it's fair to say, number one, any of us would be angry, and two, that the Cambridge police acted stupidly in arresting somebody when there was already proof they were in their own home," Obama said.
"And number three, there's a long history in this country of African-Americans and Latinos being stopped by law enforcement disproportionately. And that's just a fact."
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November 6, 2009: Now this was President Obama's lighthearted response the day of the Fort Hood Massacre:
As the U.S. military and law enforcement were scrambling to save lives after a deadly shooting rampage at Ft. Hood, Texas, President Obama opened his remarks Thursday with a two-minute "shout out" to audience members who attended the Tribal Nations Conference hosted by the Interior Department.
Obama's initial comments on the shooting that killed 13 and wounded scores of others came at the conclusion of Thursday's conference, which was attended by leaders from several of the 564 federally recognized American Indian tribes.
"I planned to make some broader remarks," he told the crowd. "But as some of you might have heard there has been a tragic shooting at the Fort Hood Army base in Texas."
The president's words on the deadly rampage came two minutes after he gave a "shout out" to an audience member and stressed the need to pass health care reform.
"I hear that Dr. Joe Medicine Crow was around, and so I want to give a shout out to that Congressional Medal of Honor winner. It’s good to see you," he said.
On Friday, Obama opened his remarks at a brief press conference in the White House Rose Garden in which he warned the American public against "jumping to conclusions" over the motives of the shooter.
"This morning I met with FBI Director Mueller and the relevant agencies to discuss their ongoing investigation into what caused one individual to turn his gun on fellow servicemen and women," he said. "We don't know all of the answers yet, and I would caution against jumping to conclusions until we have all of the facts."
As the U.S. military and law enforcement were scrambling to save lives after a deadly shooting rampage at Ft. Hood, Texas, President Obama opened his remarks Thursday with a two-minute "shout out" to audience members who attended the Tribal Nations Conference hosted by the Interior Department.
Obama's initial comments on the shooting that killed 13 and wounded scores of others came at the conclusion of Thursday's conference, which was attended by leaders from several of the 564 federally recognized American Indian tribes.
"I planned to make some broader remarks," he told the crowd. "But as some of you might have heard there has been a tragic shooting at the Fort Hood Army base in Texas."
The president's words on the deadly rampage came two minutes after he gave a "shout out" to an audience member and stressed the need to pass health care reform.
"I hear that Dr. Joe Medicine Crow was around, and so I want to give a shout out to that Congressional Medal of Honor winner. It’s good to see you," he said.
On Friday, Obama opened his remarks at a brief press conference in the White House Rose Garden in which he warned the American public against "jumping to conclusions" over the motives of the shooter.
"This morning I met with FBI Director Mueller and the relevant agencies to discuss their ongoing investigation into what caused one individual to turn his gun on fellow servicemen and women," he said. "We don't know all of the answers yet, and I would caution against jumping to conclusions until we have all of the facts."
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