Obama Delivers Remarks at the Associated Press Annual Meeting

And I want to acknowledge -- I think Ann Marie Lipinski is here as well, from my hometown newspaper, The Chicago Tribune.

I know that I've kept a lot of you guys busy this weekend with the comments I made last week. Some of you might even be a little bitter about that.

(LAUGHTER)

As I said yesterday, I regret some of the words I chose, partly because the way that these remarks have been interpreted have offended some people and partly because they've served as one more distraction from the critical debate that we must have in this election.

I'm a person of deep faith, and my religion has sustained me through a lot in my life. I even gave a speech on faith before I ever started running for president, where I said that, "Democrats make a mistake when we fail to acknowledge the power of faith in people's lives."

OBAMA: I also represent a state with a large number of hunters and sportsmen. And I understand how important these traditions are to families in Illinois and all across America.