The Republican Party of Pennsylvania launched a last-minute television ad that calls attention to Barack Obama's relationship with the Rev. Jeremiah Wright.
A new ad from Republicans in Pennsylvania highlights Barack Obama's relationship with Rev. Jeremiah Wright.
"If you think you could ever vote for Barack Obama, consider this: Obama chose as his spiritual leader this man," the ad's narrator says before clips of Wright's controversial statements are shown.
"Does that sound like someone who should be president?" the ad asks.
The retired pastor's ties to Obama became an issue during the primary season after controversial clips of Wright's sermons were circulated and widely discussed on the Internet and on television.
Obama later condemned Wright's remarks and said he would have left his church if his pastor had not retired and had not acknowledged making comments that "deeply offended people."
Sen. John McCain has repeatedly said he does not believe Obama's relationship to Wright should be an issue -- to the ire of some Republicans who feel it raises questions about the Illinois senator's judgment.
Gov. Sarah Palin appeared to suggest last month that Wright is a fair issue to raise, but said ultimately it is McCain's decision.
"[Obama] sat in the pews for 20 years and heard Rev. Wright say some things that most people would find a bit concerning. But again that is John McCain's call," Palin told reporters.
The state GOP did not release the extent of the ad buy, but defended airing it.
"We feel that it is necessary that the American people remember that Obama sat in a church and listened to this man preach hate for many, many years," said a statement on its Web site. "What does that say about his judgment? Do we want the next president of the United States to have spent years listening to hateful rhetoric without having the good judgment to walk out?"
The ad was paid for by the Republican Federal Committee of Pennsylvania and was not authorized by the McCain campaign.
McCain and Palin have barnstormed Pennsylvania in recent weeks as they try to win the state's 21 electoral votes. Obama leads McCain by 7 points in Pennsylvania, 51 to 44 percent, according to CNN's latest poll of state polls.
Earlier Sunday, Democratic VP candidate Sen. Joe Biden condemned the "politics of division" at a rally interrupted by protesters.
"We can't move past the politics of division unless after this election is over, if God willing we win, we reach out to the very people out in the outer parking lot," he said, calling out the protesters at the Tallahassee, Florida, event.
"We've got to reach out, we've got to end this. Somebody's got to be big enough to stand up and end this," he said...
http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/11/...rap/index.html
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