Obama denounces Farrakhan

In a wide-ranging debate that dealt with foreign policy and domestic issues, Obama was asked about remarks made recently by Minister Louis Farrakhan of Chicago that seemed to be something of an endorsement of his candidacy.

NBC moderator Tim Russert questioned Obama about a recent headline in his hometown paper, The Chicago Tribune, that said "Louis Farrakhan Backs Obama for President at Nation of Islam Convention in Chicago." When asked if he accepted Farrakhan's support, Obama said he had been "very clear" in his "denunciation of Minister Farrakhan's anti-Semitic comments" and called such comments "unacceptable and reprehensible."

Obama said he did not solicit Farrakhan's support but seemed to understand why the Nation of Islam leader would endorse him.  "He expressed pride in an African-American who seems ito be bringing the country together," said Obama.  "I obviously can't censor him, but it is not support that I sought. And we're not doing anything, I assure you, formally or informally with Minister Farrakhan."

In a series of followup questions, Russert noted that Farrakhan had once called Judaism a "gutter religion" and asked Obama if he rejected Farrakhan's support, to which Obama replied: "I can't say to somebody that he can't say that he thinks I'm a good guy." The audience laughed.

Senator Obama said he was "very familiar" with Farrakhan's record, which is why he had consistently denounced it.

After that exchange, the conversation turned to Obama's minister, Rev. Jeremiah Wright of Trinity United Church in Chicago, who said that Farrakhan "epitomizes greatness" and traveled to Libya in 1984 with Minister Farrakhan to visit with Moammar Gadhafi. When asked if his Jewish support might be affected by his association with Wright, Obama disagreed, saying he had "some of the strongest support from the Jewish community in my hometown of Chicago and in this presidential campaign." He cited his "stalwart" friendship of Israel as a reason for the Jewish support.

"The reason that I have such strong support is because they know that not only would I not tolerate anti-Semitism in any form, but also because of the fact that what I want to do is rebuild what I consider to be a historic relationship between the African-American community and the Jewish community," Obama said.

When the back-and-forth ended with Obama, Senator Clinton jumped into the fray. "I just want to add something here, because I faced a similar situation when I ran for the Senate in 2000 in New York. And in New York, there are more than the two parties, Democratic and Republican. And one of the parties at that time, the Independence Patty, was under the control of people who were anti-Semitic, anti- Israel," she said.

Clinton said she made it very clear that she did not want their support.  "I was willing to take that stand," she said, which she described as a "stand on principle."  Russert then zoomed in to ask if Clinton was suggesting that Obama was not standing on principle.

"No. I'm just saying that you asked specifically if he would reject it. And there's a difference between denouncing and rejecting."  Obama said he did not see a difference between denouncing and rejecting  Farrakhan's support.  "If the word 'reject'" Senator Clinton feels is stronger than the word 'denounce,' then I'm happy to concede the point, and I would reject and denounce."

Clinton described Obama's comments as "good" and "excellent," the audience applauded, and NBC took a commercial break.

It was not the first time that Louis Farrakhan's name had come up in presidential politics.  Rev. Jesse Jackson, also of Chicago, was grilled on his ties to Farrakhan when he ran for president in 1984 and 1988. And Rev. Al Sharpton was asked by Russert to disavow Farrakhan during an appearance he made on "Meet The Press" in the midst of his 2004 presidential campaign. 

Three years ago, former president Bill Clinton seemed to endorse the ideas behind Farrakhan's Millions More March, telling New York City's Amsterdam News, "I think this is a very positive idea."  Clinton said: "I like the idea of a march. It's fine to be concerned about security but we also have to keep trying to make America strong and better here at home." 
 
He also commented on Farrakhan's 1995 Million Man March, which took place when he was president.  "They were basically standing up for the dignity of family and asking African American men and fathers to be more responsible," Clinton said. "It was totally non-violent and got a big participation and it also showed ... [that] there's all these people and they are advocating a responsible agenda and not just asking for something."