Oprah could leave the church, but apparently Obama could not leave the church. Oprah made the correct judgment that Reverend Wright might hurt her if she were to stay in the church. So why did Oprah think Wright's sermons were incendiary but Obama didn't?
Yesterday, Greta Van Susteren had Allison Samuels of Newsweek on her show, "On the record" to discuss the latest Newsweek article about Oprah leaving the church. Allison was an African-American and an Obama supporter. Her response on why Oprah left was that she understood the black experience, and Obama didn't so it took him a little longer. Greta asked the logical follow up question, "I hate to quibble, but it took Obama twenty years to figure it out" I don't think Allison helped Obama much.
According to Newsweek in the article "Something wasn't right",
According to two sources, Winfrey was never comfortable with the tone of Wright's more incendiary sermons, which she knew had the power to damage her standing as America's favorite daytime talk-show host. "Oprah is a businesswoman, first and foremost," said one longtime friend, who requested anonymity when discussing Winfrey's personal sentiments. "She's always been aware that her audience is very mainstream, and doing anything to offend them just wouldn't be smart. She's been around black churches all her life, so Reverend Wright's anger-filled message didn't surprise her. But it just wasn't what she was looking for in a church." Oprah's decision to distance herself came as a surprise to Wright, who told Christianity Today in 2002 that when he would "run into her socially … she would say, 'Here's my pastor!' " (Winfrey declined to comment. A Harpo Productions spokesperson would not confirm her reasons for leaving the church.) continue reading
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