Wright softens Obama stance in sermon

WASHINGTON, Jan. 19 (UPI) -- The Rev. Jeremiah Wright appears to have softened his hard feelings toward his former parishioner, U.S. President-elect Barack Obama, observers said.

In a sermon delivered Monday to attendees at Howard University's chapel in Washington, Wright -- who criticized Obama before the election for distancing himself from him after a 20-year pastoral relationship in Chicago -- instead praised him for making history, ABC News reported.

"He was able to do what nobody of African decent was ever able to do in the 211-year history of this country," Wright told churchgoers. "The Lord stepped into his story and gave him a new attitude."

In an interview with ABC after the sermon, however, Wright continued to voice anger at the network, which was the first to air clips of fiery sermons in which he denounced racism in the United States. The sermons were seized upon by Obama's opponents and prompted the candidate to break off his relationship with Wright's Chicago church.

"It was so unfair to my family and ended up hurting my daughter and it was unconscionable," he said. "ABC started a mess that was unconscionable."