The Reverend Jeremiah Wright, Jr., Barack Obama's spiritual mentor, has caused no end of embarrassment for the campaign. His friendship with Louis Farrakhan, his trip to Libya with the Black Muslim leader and his church's "black value system", among other indices of disturbing radicalism, have turned off many voters. Rev. Wright was disinvited from the announcement of Obama's presidential campaign.

In a stirring sermon that weaved the hopefulness of past African generations with dreams for the future, Rev. Jeremiah Wright Jr. preached his final sermon Sunday at Trinity United Church of Christ, leaving a 36-year legacy as pastor and activist in the black community. [....]

Obama was one of the thousands who joined Trinity under Wright's leadership. When Wright became Trinity's pastor in 1972, the church had 85 members. Today, Trinity has a congregation of 8,500, with more than 80 ministries, making it one of the largest and most influential black churches in the nation.