The Politician and the Pastor
Searches Rise for Barack Obama's Ex-Pastor
Over the past several days, Jeremiah Wright has been talking a lot. He's chatted with Bill Moyers on PBS, lectured reporters at the National Press Club, and addressed thousands of listeners at the NAACP.
On Tuesday, Barack Obama responded by denouncing his ex-pastor's words. But the next day, Search revealed that the religious leader's language continues to echo with the American public.
Over the past week, lookups for "rev. jeremiah wright" surged 782%. On Tuesday, queries like "trinity united church of chicago," "wright obama," and "rev. wright interview" spiked into our top 500 movers. Even "black liberation theology" jumped more than 600%. Rounding out the mix, curiosity about the pastor's speeches, sermons, and recent appearances picked up.
The Illinois senator and his former religious leader have also been the subject of two of Buzz's most popular politics articles over the past 24 hours. One report, from Yahoo! News, examines how Obama is "seeking to divorce himself" from Wright. Another, compiled by The Huffington Post, offers a "different" view of the reverend from a member of Trinity Church.
As far as Obama's political future is concerned, the most important listeners right now might be the Democratic voters of Indiana and North Carolina. They go to the polls next Tuesday. It remains to be seen whether the Chicago pastor's words will influence their decisions once they get there.
Filed under: News, Elections, Barack Obama
the buzz log
more posts
- Stay Safe this Friday
- JLo's "Louboutins," JFK's Death, Black Friday Coupons: What's the Buzz
- Obama's Brother, Elizabeth Lambert, and a Special Delivery: Buzz Week in Review
- New Record for "New Moon"
- Horror at the Movies: Popcorn
- LeBron James, Project Runway, Thawing Turkey: What's the Buzz
- New Moon, Blind Side, Planet 51: Critics Roundup
- Michelle Obama Action Figures: Collect All Three
- Battle of the Corporations
- Johnny Depp, Abraham Lincoln, Eggo Shortage: What's the Buzz
what's the buzz?
A subject's buzz score is the percentage of Yahoo! users searching for that subject on a given day, multiplied by a constant to make the number easier to read. Weekly leaders are the subjects with the greatest average buzz score for a given week.
For more detailed information, visit our FAQ.