"Pfleger's apology" (with video)

Ben Smith:

Obama's latest troublesome priest quickly apologized for his remarks, Lynn Sweet reports.

''I regret the words I chose on Sunday. These words are inconsistent with Senator Obama's life and message, and I am deeply sorry if they offended Senator Clinton or anyone else who saw them," he said.

Sweet's column is worth a read on this, placing Pfleger a bit in the Chicago political scene. He's also somebody well enough known to Obama that Obama's camp thought he would know better:

She writes:

Pfleger is a longtime Obama friend and was in the audience at the National Press Club for that Wright press conference, and when we talked afterward, he realized Wright created a problem for Obama.

I was told Pfleger's comments stunned some in the Obama camp because they expected him to be more politically savvy -- and not take on Clinton, especially at Trinity, of all places.

Howie P.S.: There's video of Pfleger's comments here, from WGN via the Chicago Tribune.

Barack Obama