Sermons row resurfaces for Obama

Barack Obama, under pressure to demonstrate his electability against the Republican presidential nominee John McCain, today faces a potential re-run of the controversy over the fiery sermons of his former Chicago pastor.

Reverend Jermiah Wright appears today in his first televised interview since the row over a sermon in which he said Americans bore some responsibility for the 9/11 attacks. The appearance could prove awkward for Obama ahead of hard-fought contests in North Carolina and Indiana on May 6. Though still the undisputed Democratic frontrunner, he faces some doubts about his ability to connect with white working-class voters following his defeat in the Pennsylvania primary.

In early partial transcripts of the interview, Wright defended that sermon as well as others in which he accuses the US government of deliberately spreading HIV. "I felt it was unfair," Wright told PBS. "I felt it was unjust. I felt it was untrue. I felt for those who were doing that, were doing it for some very devious reasons." Obama denounced Wright's controversial sermons in a much-praised speech about race last month. But his 20-year attendance at Wright's church in Chicago has continued to be an issue.

In the PBS interview, which is the first of a number of public engagements by the pastor in the coming days, Wright argues that there was an organised attempt to smear him as "some sort of fanatic" as well as pull down Obama. "I think they wanted to communicate that I am unpatriotic, that I am un-American, that I am filled with hate speech, that I have a cult at Trinity United Church of Christ. And by the way, guess who goes to his church, hint, hint, hint? That's what they wanted to communicate."

The prospect of a second chapter in the Wright story has been greeted like a gift by rightwing television hosts who have been hammering Obama for weeks about his membership of Wright's church. Republicans in North Carolina also sought to capitalise on his relationship to Wright, using footage of the pastor's fiery sermon in an attack ad. The advert says Obama is "too extreme" for the state.

Doug Wilder, the first African-American to be elected a state governor, yesterday acknowledged that race would continue to be a factor in Obama's campaign. He argued Obama faced "ingrained difficulty" winning over some white voters. "He's struggling with them in terms of the nomination," he said, but added: "I don't think that struggle will emanate through the general election because they have far more in common with him than they do with the Republican candidate."

Obama's perceived vulnerability to such attacks has caused concern among the Democratic superdelegates who will probably determine the party's nominee. Despite his overwhelming lead in delegates, the popular vote and fundraising, a number of delegates remain undecided about his prospects against McCain. "I'm not buying the Clinton argument that Senator Obama is unelectable, but I certainly intend to continue to watch his performance to [determine] just how strong a candidate he will be," Keith Roark, the chair of the Idaho Democratic Party, told the Los Angeles Times.

Hillary Clinton's battered campaign won a new lease of life with an infusion of $10m (£5.1m) and some signs of hesitation among superdelegates about Obama. Her campaign claimed to have broken all previous fundraising records by bringing in that amount in the 24 hours following Tuesday's strong win in Pennsylvania - and followed up by sending out a new email appeal to supporters yesterday.