Priest's apology to Clinton does little to quiet storm

CHICAGO — Reverberations from the Sunday sermon of a Roman Catholic priest who mocked Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton at Sen. Barack Obama's home church.
In a guest appearance at Trinity United Church of Christ, the priest,the Rev. Michael Pfleger, who resigned about two weeks ago from anunpaid position on the Obama campaign's Catholic advisory council,delivered a tirade against Clinton that included fake tears, ahigh-pitched voice and top-of-the-lungs screaming. He also gave aracially tinged critique of so-called "white entitlement," of which hesays Clinton is guilty.

"When Hillary was crying, and people said that was put on — I reallydon't believe it was put on," said Pfleger, 59, the white pastor of apredominantly black South Side church. "I really believe that she justalways thought: 'This is mine. I'm Bill's wife, I'm white and this ismine. I just got to get up and step into the plate.' And then, out ofnowhere, came, 'Hey, I'm Barack Obama.' And she said, 'Oh, damn. Wheredid you come from? I'm white. I'm entitled. There's a black manstealing my show."

'I am deeply sorry'

The
Clinton campaign's communications director, Howard Wolfson, said the
comments have no place in the campaign or in the pulpit. "We are
disappointed that Sen.Obama didn't specifically reject Father Pfleger's
despicable comments about Sen. Clinton and assume he will do so,"
Wolfson said.