Even before Rev. Jeremiah Wright's fiery sermons became a YouTube sensation, Sen. Barack Obama's campaign treated his former pastor like a crazy uncle who shows up at family functions with a wild tie and mismatched socks.

When questions about Mr. Obama's relationship with Rev. Wright emerged earlier this year, the candidate responded with a much-lauded speech on race in Philadelphia. Without denouncing the minister personally, Mr. Obama suggested the anger his former pastor expressed was a product of an older generation's struggles against racism. It was a deft move, but it didn't fully address the concerns of his critics who wondered why the senator didn't just leave the church.

Now Rev. Wright has sought a greater public spotlight -- in an interview Friday on PBS, an address Sunday to the NAACP and an appearance Monday at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. Without missing a beat, he expressed outrageous and ignorant opinions, including the idea that the government created AIDS, that black children have a different way of learning and that criticisms of his sermons were really veiled attacks on the black church.

Yesterday in a hastily called press conference, Mr. Obama denounced Rev. Wright unequivocally.

"His comments were not only divisive and destructive, but I believe that they end up giving comfort to those who prey on hate, and I believe that they do not portray accurately the perspective of the black church," Mr. Obama said. "They certainly don't portray accurately my values and beliefs. And if Rev. Wright thinks that that's political posturing, as he put it, then he doesn't know me very well."

Some will fault Mr. Obama for waiting to push Rev. Wright off the stage. Others will consider it unseemly that he denounced his former pastor at all.

The truth is Rev. Wright has been indifferent to Mr. Obama's political vulnerability. His rhetoric is embarrassing and self-aggrandizing at a time when Mr. Obama is reaching out to voters of all colors and faiths. Many continue to equate Rev. Wright's views with Mr. Obama's, so their break was inevitable -- and necessary.

Yesterday Mr. Obama made what is undoubtedly a painful public gesture. In a contentious race for the Democratic nomination, the senator has removed Rev. Wright from the list of sins that can be held against him.

Despite the break, Rev. Wright won't disappear from public view. He'll continue to be a tool for Mr. Obama's foes.

Jesus once said a man's enemies will even be members of his own household. Mr. Obama will probably shout amen to that.