Internet Congregation Responds in Many Voices

"But who watches those services? Members of the church," Manatt explains. "Up until now, Wright was just preaching to the choir, quite literally."

Eric Rech, the middle-aged white man standing in the kitchen in his online video, is a Christian. But the 45-year-old comedian from Minneapolis has never been to a black church. A lifelong Republican, he caucused for Obama on Feb. 5. "I like the guy," Rech says of Obama. "I like what he has to say."

Yet after watching one of Wright's sermons on YouTube, he posted what he called "a very angry, very negative" video on Friday morning. In it, he turned Wright's comment -- "God damn America" -- to "God damn Rev. Wright."

For a father whose son, Dale, is on his second tour in Iraq, Wright's words "were just too much," Rech says. Still, he immediately deleted the video, saying, "I don't feel anyone should ask for the damnation of anyone." Instead, minutes later, he posted a video titled "Pray for Rev. Jeremiah Wright and Barack Obama," now viewed more than 9,000 times.

And shortly after Obama's speech in Philadelphia Tuesday morning, Rech posted another video, this one titled "Barack Obama God Bless You."

"I am so glad to hear that this man, Barack Obama, is saying things that people want to hear and that they don't want to hear," he says.

"I don't think I've ever seen a politician come out and say that, when it comes to racism, whites feel one way, blacks feel this way, and understandably so," Rech adds in a phone interview. "Now, what we have to do is really deal with it. Say what you think, let's talk about it."

Online.