Said Peter Hart, a Democratic pollster: "I can't imagine it does anything that would help Sen. Obama or the Democratic cause by having Rev. Wright front and center in this campaign."
Obama's relationship with Wright dates back 20 years. The pastor presided over Obama's wedding and baptized his two daughters. The title of Obama's book "The Audacity of Hope" was drawn from a Wright sermon.
Obama has long been aware that the relationship is a delicate political matter.
He rescinded an invitation to have Wright give the invocation at his presidential announcement speech in February 2007.
The Obama campaign is not planning another Philadelphia-style speech aimed at damage control.
In his appearance before the press club Monday, Wright offered a blend of biblical references and political commentary. He pulled passages from the Bible to buttress some of the assertions that have caused Obama embarrassment.
Asked about his statement that the U.S. had invited the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Wright said: "Be not deceived; God is not mocked, for whatsoever you sow that you also shall . . . "
Supporters in the audience finished the sentence: "Reap."
Wright's depiction of Farrakhan drew criticism from the Anti-Defamation League. The organization said Monday that Farrakhan had never apologized for multiple anti-Semitic comments, some recent.
A section of the ADL's website tracks Farrakhan’s statements. The group quotes from a Farrakhan speech in November 2007 in which he asserted that "satanic Jews" had taken over the Black Entertainment Television network.
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peter.nicholas@latimes.com
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Times staff writer James Hohmann contributed to this report.
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IN HIS OWN WORDS
'They are unfair accusations'
Some recent statements by the Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr.
From his appearance Monday at the National Press Club in Washington:
On Barack Obama's denunciation of some of his past remarks:
"Politicians say what they say and do what they do based on electability, based on sound bites, based on polls. . . . Preachers say what they say because they're pastors. They have a different person to whom they're accountable. As I said, whether he gets elected or not, I'm still going to have to be answerable to God Nov. 5 and Jan. 21. . . .
