Sen. John McCain came out swinging against the Rev. Jeremiah Wright on Sunday and suggested Sen. Barack Obama's relationship with the controversial minister was "beyond belief."
Campaigning in Coral Gables, Fla., McCain reiterated that he still wants the North Carolina Republican Party to stop running an ad that shows Wright screaming "God damn America." The ad links the pastor with Obama.
But McCain said he was deeply disturbed by new comments Wright has made.
"I saw yesterday some additional comments that have been revealed by Pastor Wright, one of them comparing the United States Marine Corps with Roman Legionnaires who were responsible for the death of our savior. I mean being involved in that, it's beyond belief. And then of course saying that al-Qaida and the American flag were the same flags," McCain told reporters.
McCain pointed out that Obama told Fox News Sunday that he thought criticism of his involvement with Wright was fair.
"But Senator Obama himself says it’s a legitimate political issue, so I would imagine that many other people would share that view and it will be in the arena,” McCain said.
He then took a swipe at Obama's claim that Americans are "bitter" and "clinging" to their faiths and guns.
"I can understand why Americans, when viewing these kinds of comments, are angry and upset," McCain said, adding, "Just like they view Senator Obama’s statements about why people turn to their faith and their values. He believes that it’s out of economic concerns. We all know it’s out of a fundamental belief, a fundamental faith in this country and its values and its principles."
The Obama campaign reacted quickly to McCain's broadside.
"With each passing day, John McCain acts more and more like someone who's spent 26 years learning the divisive, distracting tactics of Washington," an Obama campaign statement read. "That's not the change that the American people are looking for."
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