Via Michelle Malkin, you can watch Rev. Wright do his usual thing:

Draw your own conclusions. And there’s more!Here’s Dana Milbank, from the WaPo:

“The Rev. Jeremiah Wright, explaining this morning why he had waited so long before breaking his silence about his incendiary sermons, offered a paraphrase from Proverbs: “It is better to be quiet and be thought a fool than to open your mouth and remove all doubt.”

Barack Obama’s pastor would have been wise to continue to heed that wisdom.

Should it become necessary in the months from now to identify the moment that doomed Obama’s presidential aspirations, attention is likely to focus on the hour between nine and ten this morning at the National Press Club. It was then that Wright, Obama’s longtime pastor, reignited a controversy about race from which Obama had only recently recovered – and added lighter fuel.

Speaking before an audience that included Marion Barry, Cornel West, Malik Zulu Shabazz of the New Black Panther Party and Nation of Islam official Jamil Muhammad, Wright praised Louis Farrakhan, defended the view that Zionism is racism, accused the United States of terrorism, repeated his view that the government created the AIDS virus to cause the genocide of racial minorities, stood by other past remarks (”God damn America”) and held himself out as a spokesman for the black church in America.

In front of 30 television cameras, Wright’s audience cheered him on as the minister mocked the media and, at one point, did a little victory dance on the podium. It seemed as if Wright, jokingly offering himself as Obama’s vice president, was actually trying to doom Obama; a member of the head table, American Urban Radio’s April Ryan, confirmed that Wright’s security was provided by bodyguards from Farrakhan’s Nation of Islam.”

And now keep in mind that Obama said, in his big speech on race, that he never heard those kinds of remarks, that they were the exception and that he can’t disown Wright (any more than he can disown the black community – idiotic nonsense of course).

This should spell the end of Obama’s campaign.

Joe Klein: “I’ve been to dozens and dozens of African-American church services over the years, including the investiture of one of my friends as an AME minister two years ago, and I have very rarely, if ever, heard the kind of rants that are part of Reverend Wright’s canon. . . . Wright’s purpose now seems quite clear: to aggrandize himself–the guy is going to be a go-to mainstream media source for racial extremist spew, the next iteration of Al Sharpton–and destroy Barack Obama.”

Andrew Sullivan finally catches on: “But what he said today extemporaneously, the way in which he said it, the unrepentant manner in which he reiterated some of his most absurd and offensive views, his attempt to equate everything he believes with the black church as a whole, and his open public embrace of Farrakhan and hostility to the existence of Israel Zionism, make any further defense of him impossible. This was a calculated, ugly, repulsive, vile display of arrogance, egotism, and self-regard. This is an outright attack on the stated beliefs and policies and values of Barack Obama in a secular setting.”

(both links above via Instapundit)

O, and note to Obama. Stop lying. We’re not idiots.

Of course if he “disowns” Wright within a couple of days, many of his supporters will say “ah, all is good now!” No it won’t. He was influenced by this man for 20 years, when to his church for 20 years, let him baptize his children. It speaks volumes about Obama that he was inspired by this man. And it also speaks volumes about Obama’s famous “judgment.”

UPDATE

More videos (just so you can’t accuse us of taking quotes out of context):

About Obama: “He’s doing what politicians do.” He has to distance himself a bit from Rev. Wright now, because if he doesn’t “he can’t win.” But he, Rev. Wright, forgives Obama for this hypocrisy. Nice.

AIDS: sure, government created it to kill blacks. Another ‘nice’ one.

Chickens coming home to roost; wasn’t my opinion, was quoting an ambassador BUT… yeah, they came home to roost.

Although I think, by the way, that Rev. Wright is an extremist, and that Obama should have distanced himself from him years ago, I have to say that the press conference caused me to respect Rev. Wright in a way. Really? Yes, really? Want to know why? Because he knows that he’s hurting his image, and that of one of his acolytes, but he isn’t giving in, because he truly believes what he says. Yes, that means that Obama knew what Wright believes and that he should never have been a member of Wright’s church, let alone call the irreverend his “spiritual guide,” but… the man doesn’t seem to be someone who’s talking just so he gets attention; I think that he truly believes what he’s saying (how sick it may be).

As for the question about Islam: (stupid question) – that’s probably the only point on which Rev. Wright and I agree.

For all the rest: this is one crazy theology.

UPDATE II

Pete Abel writes:

Thanks for trying, Senator Obama. Thanks for trying to rise above the fray, for trying to embrace a post-partisan world and impart a sense of promise and empowerment that many of us have not felt for a very long time. It was wonderful while it lasted.

And though I hope I’m proven wrong, I’m increasingly concerned the mass electorate is simply not ready for you.

This concern is based on much more than the Rev. Wright’s recent assault on your campaign. Though I largely agree with Eugene Robinson’s take on that matter — “Politically, by surfacing now, [Rev. Wright] was throwing Barack Obama under the bus. Sadly, it’s time for Obama to return the favor.” — I’m not sure such a move would do you much good.

I’m unconvinced of the utility of said bus-throwing because, if I’ve learned anything during your campaign, it’s this: There remains in this country far too much fear, far too much bias. And yes, far too many simple minds — minds that are either unable or unwilling to realize that, if we were all to be damned by our associations, then we would all be … well … damned.

Owkay. Where to start with this one?

1. Obama hasn’t risen above the fray, nor has he even tried. His campaign wasn’t just about “hope” and “change,” it was also – perhaps mainly – about what a bad person Hillary Clinton is. For all the talk about how negative Clinton went on Obama, media and Obama supporters (but I’m repeating myself) are conveniently ignoring the fact that Obama went negative on Clinton well before Clinton said anything about Obama. She, basically, returned the favor. Perhaps there are, however, two main differences: Obama was unknown, so more skeletons to hide and Clinton’s simply better at the negativity game than Obama is.

2. Obama has never, and I do mean never, been a bipartisan politician. His reaching out to the other side has always meant politely listening to what the other side had to say, after which those other opinions would be dismissed, and the liberal things would be done. That’s the kind of progressive politician Obama was, and still is.

3. The “electorate” may not be “ready” for Obama (“may,” because I think that he could still very well win in November), but that’s not because Obama is such a special figure, it’s because he’s a base hypocrite and he has been exposed as such. Not only that, he also cozies up to left-wing extremists as if it were his hobby.

4. There are two kinds of associations: associations one chooses, and associations one doesn’t choose. Obama chose to be associated with Rev. Wright. And yes, when you’re running for office, people do and should look at the people you choose to associate with. Why? Because it tells a whole lot about you. And what his associations tell us about Obama, ain’t good.

5. Obama didn’t just “associate” with the radical pastor Wright, he even called him his spiritual guide, and wrote and said that he was greatly inspired by Wright’s view on God and his social views. Those made a big impression on him. In fact, he even called his book after a sermon Wright gave.

6. Obama can’t “throw Wright under the bus” because he says that doing so would equal throwing the entire African American community on the bus. Obama, therefore, seems to believe that all African Americans are black supremacists, radicals, and anti-Semites.

Next Pete writes in his seemingly heartfelt post:

Some will argue that this dichotomy, this double standard, is only appropriate — that we should hold the three of you to a higher standard because you are running for the highest office in the land. Perhaps they have a point … to a degree. But I’m concerned we’ve moved well beyond a degree to the realm of infinite degrees, seeking perfection from imperfect people in an imperfect world.

Perfect? No one’s looking for someone to be perfect. Well, those who criticize Obama aren’t. But they do ask of leading politicians not to consider racists “spiritual guides.” That’s not about being perfect, that’s about not doing what any one of us wouldn’t do either. Namely, to go to a racist Church, led by a racist preacher.

And then:

Thanks for trying, Senator Obama. Maybe four years from now, or eight, or 12, the world will be ready for you, after you’ve had more time and more opportunity to prove that you should be defined as we all would be defined, not by whom we have known, but by who we are.

Pete, with all due respect: you don’t even know who Obama is. No one knows. Only Obama knows… and perhaps he doesn’t either. That’s why we look at his chosen associations, his words, and his actions. Words matter, yes, but so do actions. In fact, actions speak louder than words, which is something Pete and Obama should try to keep in mind.

I respect Pete, but the post he wrote is overly sentimental, seemingly decrying the fate of a man he deems to good for the electorate.

UPDATE III

In the comment section, Christine Stanley writes:

Re: your response to Pete (I actually don’t agree with all of it, esp about the negativity toward Hillary Clinton, but…) I think you’re really onto something with point #6. With that one line in his speech about not being able to disown Rev. Wright because that would be like disowning the black community, Obama gave Wright the ammunition which Wright’s now aiming at him. I wonder how long until someone points out to the pundits and bloggers who are saying that Wright is incorrect in his assertion of his position as a representative of the black church in America, that Obama himself implicitly stated this and gave Wright the platform on which he now stands.

And the implications go to a larger scope to hit directly at Obama’s judgment because Wright is now proving exactly why it is harmful for politicians to show empathy for extremists- in doing so, they give validation for the extremism.

Quite right.