Obama has stated unambiguously that the statements which Wright made around which this somewhat arbitrary controversy was built up (presumably by those who have a vested interest in controversy) were never heard by him in Rev Wright's church.

Furthermore, while, for example, it is incredibly impolitic to say "God damn AMerica", if you examine the rhetorical device in the context of the protest against Murrica's many sins, and contrasting it with the clichŽd placebo, "God Bless America", you can see the sense of it in the context in which he spoke it.

I do not think we should use Wright's texts, which Obama did not subscribe to, participate in or even hear directly, as a sort of violation of the COnstitution, which states "but no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States."

A