Skip navigation
sponsored by 

Clinton: Rev. Wright’s comments ‘offensive’

In interview with Fox's O'Reilly, she criticizes remarks of rival's ex-pastor

Video
The Obamas: On the road, and on the record
April 30:  In an exclusive joint interview with TODAY Show's Meredith Vieira, Michelle and Barack Obama urged voters to "move forward," past the continuing controversy over Rev. Jeremiah Wright. NBC's Andrea Mitchell reports.

Nightly News

Video
Tim Russert crunches the numbers
April 30: NBC's Tim Russert takes a look at results of the recent NBC News-WSJ poll, which show John McCain in a dead heat with Hillary Clinton but falling behind Barack Obama.

Nightly News

Video: Decision '08  
  
Reaching out to young voters
Oct. 15: In many cases young people are excited about voting in this year's election but are also concerned that others in their age group may not make it to the polls. KNTV's Jean Elle reports.

  The candidates in pictures
Image: Sen. John McCain and Sen. Barack Obama
AP, Getty Images
Race for the presidency
The trips, the speeches, and the moments of the campaigns of Barack Obama and John McCain.
Image: President Richard Nixon greets John McCain after he returned from Vietnam.
AP file
John McCain
The Republican presidential candidates' life has revolved around the public need.
Barak "Barry" Obama
Punahoe Schools via AP
Barack Obama
The Democratic presidential candidate in photos, from childhood to party leader.
Image:  Sarah Palin
AP
Sarah Palin
The fast-track governor's rise from Alaska beauty queen to governor to John McCain’s running mate.
AP file
Joseph Biden
The senator's legacy of public service and life filled with second chances.
updated 2:42 a.m. ET May 1, 2008

SOUTH BEND, Ind. - Hillary Rodham Clinton said Wednesday she found remarks by Barack Obama’s former pastor to be “offensive and outrageous” and noted that her Democratic rival had spoken out forcefully against them.

“I think that he made his views clear, finally, that he disagreed. And I think that’s what he had to do,” Clinton said in an interview with Fox News commentator Bill O’Reilly. The network released excerpts of the taped interview ahead of its airing Wednesday night.

It was the former first lady’s first appearance on the O’Reilly show, the most popular Fox News program and a staple of conservative media. Over the years, O’Reilly has been a staunch critic of both the New York senator and her husband, former President Bill Clinton.

Story continues below ↓
advertisement

Campaign aides said her appearance on the Fox News show was designed to reach out to working-class, independent white men who could decide the outcome of next week’s Indiana primary.

Last week Clinton accepted the endorsement of another frequent critic, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review publisher Richard Mellon Scaife. The billionaire had funded several investigations that helped lead to Bill Clinton’s impeachment in 1998.

Obama distances himself from Wright
Obama on Tuesday dissociated himself with the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, his pastor of 20 years, after Wright made inflammatory comments to reporters in Washington. Among other things, Wright praised Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan and said the American government may have developed the AIDS virus to infect the black community.

“I sure don’t believe the United States government was behind AIDS,” Clinton told O’Reilly.

Clinton defended her husband’s White House years during the 15-minute interview.

“In the ’90s, we had one of the strongest, fairest economies we’ve ever had,” she said. “Yes, did people like you and me pay a little bit more? We sure did. But so did everybody else benefit, because middle class taxes stayed pretty even.”

She added: “People are net losers under the Bush economy. They were net winners under the Clinton economy. We’re going to bring back a good, positive economy for the vast majority of Americans.”

  Picking the president: The candidates
Click to visit that candidate's MSNBC page or click the XML symbol for an RSS feed.


John McCain               

Barack Obama

© 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Sponsored links

Resource guide

Get Your 2008 Credit Score

Find a business to start

Try for Free

Search Jobs

Find Your Dream Home

$7 trades, no fee IRAs

Find your next car