Democratic presidential nomination hopeful Senator Barack Obama was on “The View” this morning and had an amazing interview. The first part of the interview focused on Obama’s longtime reverend, Jeremiah Wright, and the anti-American comments Wright has made over the course of his career. Obama hasn’t renounced Wright, but hasn’t wholeheartedly defended him either. He explained that when he joined the church, he didn’t have his revered vetted. Wright was a powerful speaker and Obama was generally just another member of the congregation. He and his wife Michelle were married in Wright’s church and their daughters were baptized there, but as he pointed out, he hadn’t read every church bulletin, or gone over Wright’s old sermons. He also pointed out that a key point is that Wright is retired now, so it’s not as though there needs to be a call for him to step down from anything. Obama did a good job of gracefully walking a very fine line.

In the second part of the interview, host Whoopi Goldberg ask Barack Obama what the first three things are that he’d do in office. Obama replied that he would start withdrawing the troops from Iraq, and doing his best to make sure it was done in a safe and fair manner for both the troops and Iraqis. He said he didn’t think the Iraqis were going to take responsibility for their own country as long as American troops were there. Obama said the second thing he would do is work on getting healthcare for every American, and even went so far to say that for people that didn’t have healthcare, the government would offer plans similar to the healthcare he has as a senator. He pointed out how important it is to return to a focus on preventative health care, which over the long-term saves costs. Finally he said he’d deal with America’s energy crisis, focusing on developing new technology to lesson our reliance on foreign oil.

Some of Obama’s most powerful remarks came in the final part of the interview, where he talked about the differences and similarities between republicans and democrats. He noted, “I am not somebody who believes that the democrats have a monopoly on wisdom,” and said that he would consider having republicans in his cabinet. He also made a dig at President Bush, saying, “I’ve got some very strong views about how we need to move the country forward, but I don’t presume I’m right all the time; I want to listen to people – something that I think our current president hasn’t done – [and] get a diversity of opinion.” Obama also touched on one of his common themes of optimism and hope, and the unity he feels Americans actually have, noting, “The one thing I’m convinced of as I travel around the country is we have so much more in common than what drives us apart.”