Remember that wonderful couple from this winter? Barack Obama and Oprah Winfrey? They appear to be taking a break from the political marriage, as Politico reported two days ago.Newsweek has the scoop on why Oprah quit Trinity United Church of Christ, Barack Obama's church, and of course where until recently, the controversial Jeremiah served as pastor.
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.)
This is a bigger deal than you think. Criticism of Obama's Trinity membership predates--by months--the revelation of Wright's inflammatory sermons in March. Apologists for Obama would snap back that "Oprah is a member of that church." She was, but she quit attending in the mid-1990s.
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