NPR: Columnist Makes Error in Reporting on Obama, Wright

Columnist Makes Error in Reporting on Obama, Wright

When conservative pundit Bill Kristol became a columnist at The New York Times, many liberals groaned. Their groans will be even louder this morning after it appears that Kristol has made an error about a key piece of information in a column about Sen. Barack Obama and his former pastor Jeremiah Wright.

Obama has been under fire the past few days over his relationship with Wright after some of the pastor's more incendiary comments became known. In his column Kristol wrote that Obama was in the audience last July 22 when Wright gave a sermon entitled "The United States of White America."

Here is the paragraph in question:

But Ronald Kessler, a journalist who has written about Wright's ministry, claims that Obama was in fact in the pews at Trinity last July 22. That's when Wright blamed the "arrogance" of the "United States of White America" for much of the world's suffering, especially the oppression of blacks. In any case, given the apparent frequency of such statements in Wright's preaching and their centrality to his worldview, the pretense that over all these years Obama had no idea that Wright was saying such things is hard to sustain.

But Marc Ambinder of theAtlantic.com writes that this is "a major, prejudicial error."

Turns out, Ambinder writes that Obama couldn't have been at the sermon in question because he was on his way to campaign in Florida. (This was before he signed an agreement not to campaign there.) Ambinder even provides video evidence, which shows Obama attending the La Raza Convention in Miami on that date. (Here's a report from the Washington Times that talks about the speech Obama gave on that date. Also LaRaza's agenda for that day, showing Obama as a speaker. The Obama campaign has also confirmed to the NewsBlog that Obama was not at the service on that day.)

The original story, that Kristol appeared to base his story on, appeared on the conservative NewsMax Web site

Ambinder concludes: "Now, a simple Google search suggests that Obama spent most of the day in Miami. But a simple e-mail or telephone call to Obama's campaign might have cleared things up."

10:15 AM ET | 03-17-2008 | permalink

Comments

Why should we be surprised, Most conservatives, never let a few facts get in the way of a good story

Sent by Rob Fiedler | 10:23 AM ET | 03-17-2008

Spin...Spin....Spin....

Twenty years of Wright being that Obama guy's spiritual advisor, and one sermon that Obama guy wasn't in the audience.

Give it a break. Take a look at the videos of Wright's sermons. See for yourselves.

Spin......Spin.......Spin

It ain't working for BHO against HRC.

fred camorra call

Sent by fred camorra call | 10:30 AM ET | 03-17-2008

If this Reverend was actually preaching in this manner all the time, How come all the white congregation?, How come this is not common knowledge in chigaco? how come all the white support for Senetor Obama in Chicago?(White congregation seen on the TV clips)
Editing speeches and cherry picking out of context as well as cherry picking video clips to influence elections how sad (What do they really think about the electorate in general, that stupid?) If the electorate is manipulated that easily then it is not as smart and sophisticated as the rest of the world is made to understand.

Sent by concern | 10:42 AM ET | 03-17-2008

Tom, I would say that you've technically made an error. Kristol's column says "...But Ronald Kessler, a journalist who has written about Wright's ministry, claims that Obama was in fact in the pews..." Kristol is writing that another person made the claim, not that it actually happened. Therefore your headline that "Columnist Makes an Error in Reporting..." is incorrect. This just seems like another instance of the media trying to inflate an issue so they can claim that they've broken a story. It gets old.

Sent by Karen | 10:50 AM ET | 03-17-2008

Good God........This isnt news, its tit for tat.....If i could have a dollar for every critical thought and ten dollars for every piece of news minus the opinion attatched....Oh but Id still be broke!

Sent by k chandler | 10:52 AM ET | 03-17-2008

Mr Kristol would probably do better by writing about how great McCain is for America. Tell us how he plans to maintain our military in Iraq for the next 100 years or what his plans are to get 50 million Americans some affordable healthcare. Kristol, write about what McCain is planning to do about the tax programs implemented by his new found friend (Dubya). If you're going to spin negatives about Obama, next time pick up the phone and verify your facts.

Sent by Roger | 11:03 AM ET | 03-17-2008

The whole uproar about Wright's preaching indicates to this preacher that most folks have no idea how preachers - and most especially black preachers - form their sermons. If we are supposedly a Judeo-Christian nation, how come so few in the media know anything about the Hebrew prophets who were constantly preaching to the people of Israel that if they didn't take care of the poor, the widows and children, that they would be "damned." The entire story of the Bablylonian exile is the result of Israel's refusal to heed God's word.
To remind people of those ancient stories brought up-to-date is called "prophetic preaching" which is in contrast to the messages of the health and wealth TV evangelists ie. God loves America and wants us all to be rich no matter what.

It is evident that the so-called experts in the media have no understanding of any of this - nor have they bothered to investigate the incredible work that Trinity and Wright have done in their Chicago community. But that would take a phone call or two - or perhaps even a trip to the church - and obviously they can't be bothered. Maybe NPR could do such a story.

At last - as a preacher, I can tell you that most people in the pews couldn't tell you Monday morning what the sermon was about so why in God's name is Obama being blamed for what Wright has to say. Unless of course this is a way to slam him - oh no, that can't POSSIBLY be correct.

Sent by Dorothy Slater | 11:24 AM ET | 03-17-2008

Facts?! Facts?! We don't need no stinkin' facts!

Sent by shayhurs | 11:27 AM ET | 03-17-2008

I'm afraid Fred is correct, Obama may not have been in the church when this particular sermon was given but it is highly implausible given his intimate relationship with this man, his "spiritual mentor" and nearly twenty years of church attendance, anyone with a basic sociological knowledge of black churches should find it impossible to believe he wasn't aware of this minister's version of the "social gospel."

As a secular person and life long Democrat who views the expression of religion in public political discourse with justified suspicion I am reminded of the remarks of Christopher Hitchens when he recently debated a professor from Emory University here in Atlanta. He noted how much you can get away with in our culture, how much evil and nonsense you can talk as long as you put "Reverend" in front of your name. In what way does this "Reverend" Wright deserve respect from anyone?

I hope that Senator Obama has the wisdom and integrity to repudiate not only his message but the man so Democrats such as myself don't have to hold our nose to vote for him in November, or worse, skip his name on the ballot.

At the moment, the latter seems like the only option.

Sent by David | 11:45 AM ET | 03-17-2008

Maintain the army for 100 years!!!!! oh yes while billions of dollars go there and a huge chunk of the money ends up with black water and Haliburton and some other LLc's they have created.
While people work 24hrs a day 7 days a week to maintain their homes and bring up children who can barely remember the last time they went to the park with their parents to share quality time.

Sent by concern | 11:46 AM ET | 03-17-2008

Our political system has become a circus for all the world to watch. I cannot believe we are even wasting our time on some sermon that Obama may or may not have attended many years ago. There are so many other important issues that we have to worry about right here in the NOW. Honestly, I do not care what Obama's middle name is, what the content of a sermon was that he listened to, the kind of food his dog eats etc etc etc. Next story to break will be that Obama ate at a restaurant owned by the Mafia and he is now linked to a major crime syndicate. I just hope that some day in the future we will actually have a campaign based on issues that actually do effect us as human beings(all) trying to make it in this crazy world. Of the three I can safely say that Obama is the only candidate that even comes close to meeting this but he keeps getting so distracted with stupid issues that deserve about as much time as it takes to take our next breath.

Sent by Dave | 11:57 AM ET | 03-17-2008

I guess Mitt Rommey strongly believes in polygamy and everything else the mormon church believed in about blacks until recently.Because he has and is a member of the Mormon church. This is a guy who is working hard to become McCains choice for VP, and is regarded by the right wing.

Sent by concern | 12:15 PM ET | 03-17-2008

How many of you reading this have attended the same church for 20 years can honestly say you don't know the political leanings of your minister, rabbi, etal. For Obama to say he's never seen the spital coming from Mr. Wrights mouth when he railed against White America is like Hilary pretending that Bill is a model husband. Both will suspend reality in the quest for the Democratic nomination, and ask you to deny it along with them. Wink, Wink, nod,nod. Obama dropped Mr. Wright like a two dollar pistol in a hold up and Hilary loves Bill inspite of the stains. Politics can be rather amusing at times.

Sent by casual observer | 12:19 PM ET | 03-17-2008

The whole story is stupid. Most thinking people don't agree with everything their clergy preach or how they preach it. And I couldn't possibly care less about what people like Fred Polaroid Scream think.

Sent by Mike Fleissner | 12:31 PM ET | 03-17-2008

It is the responsibility of all reporters for the New York Times to check the validity of their sources. Newsmax is anything but a credible source of information, and the New York Times should know as much.

Should the New York Times or Hillary's supporters trust the source? Here's some examples of previous stories that Newsmax spread: Bill Clinton raped his wife to impregnate Hillary; Hillary Clinton is in fact a lesbian; Bill Clinton repeatedly says the N-word, and so on.

Quoting Kessler is like quoting the "reporters" from the National Enquirer, and Kristol should know as much.

Sent by Tynan Kelly | 12:38 PM ET | 03-17-2008

Wow ... people are making such a stink over the whole Rev. Wright thing.

Which is pretty absurd coming from anyone on the right -- do a search for "Francis Schaeffer" and see how the Republican Party embraced the guy even though he was saying pretty much the exact same thing Rev. Wright has, but without the racial tones.

Heck, Francis Schaeffer even called for the violent overthrow of the American government, yet was still held up as some sort of conservative hero.

As far as Kristol goes, he has a "correction" up now ... one that even has a typo in it (meaning his correction needs a correction).

Why the NYT gave space to a guy who has been wrong on every major policy in the past five years -- and can't even use spellcheck and legit sources -- is beyond me.

Sent by Mark D | 3:45 PM ET | 03-17-2008

I certainly can understand why people are interested in Barak Obama's relationship with his preacher, not because I am a religious nut, but because the media is going to do this kind digging on any candidate--get used to it-- and because there are many people that want to know who the heck Obama is!
He has a complex background--that is fine, no prob, it is expected that the public will want to know about it.
His fantastic orations sound like preaching, he has the cadence of a preacher, speaking from the pulpit. He grips a podium like a preacher, he is very charismatic. This is not a bad thing, and has worked very well for him, as it works well for preachers. Even the media has covered how the Dems. are not afraid of religion in this election cycle. So this scrutiny is not a surprise.
Looking at his background, it seems that Obama embraced the mainstream, or evangelical Christian church as an adult, after a less-than-traditional religious childhood. Although I have no doubt he would respect the bounds of church and state, as would Clinton, I find it amusing to see the Dems.
canvassing the religious vote so openly in a realm usually associated with Republicans.
Obama may not come out and say it in his speeches directly, but those of us that have spent time in those churches know it, he is a hair away from picking up a bible and asking you to rebuke your sins in the name of Jesus.
This kind of appeal is effective and emotional. He uses these tools, and they are sharp tools to garner votes. But as with all good things, there can be a down side. These blades cut both ways. He is being nipped here by his association with his church.
And as many great public speakers know, the church is a great place to learn how to orate. Unfortunately for him, his pastor happened to be a hothead.
If people want to know if he shares these hotheaded views, it is legit. Just as it is legit to ask if the Democrats are going to start the religious pandering in office that the Republicans do.

Sent by gemdem | 7:16 PM ET | 03-17-2008

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