CHICAGO -- Sen. Barack Obama's controversial pastor, Jeremiah Wright, was back in the spotlight Friday after a canceled church appearance. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton responded to the pastor's situation and also to her inconsistent comments about a trip to Bosnia.
Pastor of a Tampa Bay church, Earl Mason, canceled Wright's appearance because of what he calls "a negative cloud of too many outside agendas."
"We didn't have the comfort level that we needed. And after the withdraw of one of the bigger players and the logic attached to it, it was a choice of mine."NBC5's Phil Rogers spoke with a church in Houston, where Wright was to speak next. As of Tuesday, Wright was still scheduled to speak.While Obama vacationed in the Virgin Islands, Clinton continued to answer questions regarding the controversial relationship between Obama and Wright."I am just speaking for myself and I was answering a question that was posed to me, but I think given all we have heard and seen, he would not have been my pastor," Clinton said. "We don't have a choice when it comes to our relatives. We have a choice when it comes to our pastors and the churches we attend."Clinton was also responding to the issue of conflicting recollections of her 1996 trip into Bosnia. On the trip as first lady, Clinton claimed to have rushed by sniper fire, but videos of the visit showed a casual and secure visit. She said her campaign characterization of the event was a "mistake.""I was the first first lady taken into a war zone since Eleanor Roosevelt," said Clinton. "I think the military and the Secret Service did a terrific job, but we certainly took precautions, there is no doubt about that and I remember that very clearly. But I did make a mistake."Obama released six years of tax returns up to 2006 on Friday. Those show that Obama and his wife reported a 2006 income of about $430,000 plus another $507,000 in business income, mostly from book sales. The Obamas paid about $277,000 in taxes, but they got a $41,000 refund.
