Hillary Rodham Clinton, Obama's rival for the Democratic nomination, has said that she would not have chosen Wright as her pastor.
The Obama campaign said it had no role in Wright's emergence in public, which included his appearance on a PBS program broadcast Friday, sermons on Sunday morning in Dallas and a televised speech before a National Assn. for the Advancement of Colored People dinner in Detroit on Sunday night.
"We were told he was going to do it," said David Axelrod, a top campaign strategist for Obama. "There wasn't anything we could do about it. We have no control over Rev. Wright. Is it bad or good for the campaign? I think candor requires me to say it's not ideal."
Obama reacted to Wright's comments on Monday, noting that he considered Wright to be his "former pastor."
"Any of the statements he's made -- both that triggered this initial controversy and those he's made over the last several days -- are not statements that I heard him make previously," Obama said. "They don't represent my views and they don't represent what this campaign is about."
Wright, who spoke at the National Press Club at the organization's invitation, said he accepted in part because he was unwilling to sit still while his "faith tradition" was demeaned.
He said the criticism directed at him was tantamount to "an attack on the black church."
For Obama, the timing is unwelcome. He is facing new scrutiny from Democratic leaders after failing to win white blue-collar voters in Pennsylvania and Ohio. He lost both state primaries to Clinton by large margins.
Public opinion surveys also are showing new challenges for Obama. In an Associated Press poll released Monday, Clinton was ahead of John McCain by 9 percentage points while Obama was essentially tied in a head-to-head matchup with the presumed Republican nominee.
Exit polls from Pennsylvania showed that about 20% of voters said race was a major factor in deciding whom to support. White voters who cited race as a factor went for Clinton by a 3-to-1 margin.
To win over white blue-collar voters, Obama needs to convince them he will champion their interests, Democratic strategists said. That's a tough argument to make with his former pastor retaking the stage, returning the focus to race and religion.
"He needs to talk about the people's problems, not his own problems," said Peter Fenn, a Democratic strategist who is not aligned with either candidate. "He needs to talk about the economic plight of the American voter and how to get out of Iraq. What this does is divert him from his strong message of change."
