During his interview with Chris Wallace on Sunday, this exchange occurred:

WALLACE: Did you talk to reverend Wright recently about his decision to make a series of public appearances at this particular point?

OBAMA: You know, I didn't talk to him about that. I had talked to him after all this had happened, partly because I regretted — I always regret people who are civilians, essentially, being dragged into these political fights.

And I expressed to him — I said, "Look, we have very strong differences. I do not agree with the comments that you made. On the other hand, I regret that you have drawn so much attention."

Elsewhere in the interview, Obama answered in the negative when asked if he considers Rev. Wright "just a victim here." However, the answer just quoted show that he deems Wright a victim at least in part.

There are a number of reactions to Wright's America-hating statements that one might have expected (or at least hoped for) from Obama if, as he claims, he didn't know about them before. "I'm sorry that my candidacy caused you the inconvenience of having your statements come to light" isn't one of them. It's a reaction that probably speak volumes about Obama's own ambivalence about this country.

Posted by Paul at 1:36 PM  |    |