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Pastor vs The Pol: Did Wright Mean To Hurt Obama?

Chicagoans Who Know Both Men Tell The Story Of Betrayal; Controversy Continues On Despite Obama's Best Attempt To Cut It Off

CHICAGO (CBS) ― Chicago friends of the Rev. Jeremiah Wright and Sen. Barack Obama say both men are simply sad following a controversy and eventual falling out that came to a head Tuesday.

Just how did the battle of wills play out behind the scenes?

CBS 2 Chief Correspondent Jay Levine reports Obama felt betrayed and Wright felt sand-bagged. Father Michael Pfleger of St. Sabina Church said he has been speaking to both men as the events of the past 24 hours unfolded.

He counseled Obama Tuesday morning, and while CBS 2 talked to him Tuesday evening, Rev. Wright called his cell phone.

"I don't think he had any intention to hurt Barack. He loves Barack," Pfleger said. "I think the pain and the moment took over."

That moment was in a place Pfleger called "a lion's den" – The National Press Club.

"The people who were close to him pleaded with him not to do it," said WVON radio host Roland Martin. "We knew what the questions were gonna be, but it really was the antics, the looks the dismissive tone, the strut. It was being flippant, some say being pompous and arrogant."

That appearance Monday was far from a pastor's comfort zone, like St. Sabina on the South Side, the site of Wright's first appearance after his words drove a wedge between him and Obama.

Fr. Pfleger says Wright's first instinct Monday was to defend his reputation.

"Sometimes you get caught up in the emotional response because you're hurt, because you're injured," Pfleger said.

Mayor Richard M. Daley called the current flap a dangerous distraction.

"You better believe it; you cannot have distractions in any campaign," Daley said.

Meanwhile Sen. Hillary Clinton's supporters said the relationship between Obama and Wright raised new doubts about who'd be the better candidate to take on presumptive Republican nominee Sen. John McCain.

"The Republicans are salivating over this issue," said Clinton supporter Delmarie Cobb.

"People are still saying how could you, as the pastor, knowing full well this is your member has a chance to do something no other African American has had a chance to do in the history of this nation, and you still move forward as if its no big deal," Martin said.

It's clearly a big deal now. The polls already show that. Though a whole lot can happen between now and November. Obama, if he survives and wins the nomination, can only hope other issues will make voters forget about Rev. Jeremiah Wright.

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