TAKING A HUGE RISK O March 18 2008 Barack and cameras in Philadelphia Obama stood before spectators Pennsylvania The media reported that he was about to deliver a controversial speech There was also buzz in political circles It said giving the speech would be a huge risk for Obama He was running as the Democratic Party’s candidate for president He had a chance to be the first African-American US president His campaign was strong But his opponent Arizona senator John McCain was also campaigning hard Obama’s March 18 speech was called A More Perfect Union
On March 13 ABC News had aired a shocking video It showed clips of Obama’s pastor Reverend Jeremiah Wright Wright was speaking at Trinity Church in Chicago Illinois He condemned the US government He claimed the government was corrupt and racist A Look at Race Relations Wright’s harsh words put Obama in a tough spot The candidate had attended Trinity for 20 years Some people agreed with Wright’s comments Obama did not In a public statement he called them appalling He added I reject outright the statements by Rev Wright It quickly became clear that this distancing was not enough Obama saw that the controversy was starting to hurt his campaign He decided to address the issue in a speech Obama also wanted to talk about the wider issue of racial prejudice in the United States Obama distanced himself from Wright’s views so they would not be mistaken as his own
