I was disorganized enough to have missed Obama’s speech in Philadelphia this morning, nor have I read it yet. But here’s the transcript. More later…
Okay, this is later. First a couple of other people’s reactions to the speech. Here’s James Fallows of The Atlantic, Jimmy Carter’s chief speechwriter:
…as impressive and intelligent a speech as I have heard in a very long time. People thought that Mitt Romney’s speech would be the counterpart to John Kennedy’s famous speech about his faith to the Houston ministers in 1960. No. This was.And here’s the Rude Pundit, your basic tough audience, live-blogging from under his bridge:Will this defuse the Rev. Wright issue? Who knows what cable news will make of the speech. But it was a great moment, to which Barack Obama rose.
(Update: …I will correct the preceding sentence. It was a moment that Obama made great through the seriousness, intelligence, eloquence, and courage of what he said. I don’t recall another speech about race with as little pandering or posturing or shying from awkward points, and as much honest attempt to explain and connect, as this one.)
10:59: Damn. We’re not used to this sort of honesty from a candidate. Can’t compute. Cynicism circuit shorting out.11:00: Talking about Wright, he’s gonna hang the Reverend out to dry, says Wright’s comments present a “distorted” view of America. Whew. Thank god, the cynicism circuit can work again.
11:02: Oh, shit, now he’s getting Wright’s back. Saying that Wright’s a Marine who has credibility, intelligence, compassion. Shorting out again.
11:16: Addresses affirmative action and welfare anger and how politicians and the media have exploited those things. How the Reagan Revolution was based on it. The Rude Pundit gets an erection.
11:23: Brings up OJ, Katrina, Wright, says we can keep race as a divisive issue and “nothing will change.” This is the straightest talk this blogger has heard from a major presidential candidate in a very, very long time, maybe, truly, without hyperbole, in his lifetime.
11:27: “This union may not be perfect, but...it can always be perfected.” That’ll be the line that’s quoted endlessly. Like here.
Bottom line: that was a m______f___in’ speech by a m______f___in’ President of the United States. You remember what that’s like? No, not here either.
And here’s video of the whole speech.
Posted by Jerome Doolittle at March 18, 2008 12:23 PM
Somebody who grew up in the church would never forget that it was Daniel in the lions' den, so this speech proves Senator Obama was an adult convert. That aside, it was terrific. I would have lost respect for him if he'd thrown his preacher under the bus, like everybody seemed to be rooting for him to do.
And now we'll see what the sound bite specialists make of it.
Posted by: Joyful Alternative on March 18, 2008 6:32 PMExactly. He did not throw his preacher under the bus. But he did not explain why he still loves and respects the preacher after 20 years of listening to the sermons that would "make him cringed" (as Obama explained why he still loves his grandmother)? Is he trying to weasel out? why not giving us a straight answer? he is just another typical politician, a gifted one, in my opinion.
Posted by: myth on March 19, 2008 3:14 AMSo, Myth, you don't know anyone you've loved and respected for decades even though every so often they rear back and deliver an apoplectic tirade on FDR being worse than Hitler on account of the Potsdam Treaty?
Well, I do, and I suspect nearly everybody else does, too, and I wouldn't throw him under the bus to become president.
Then again, I happen to agree with just about everything Rev. Wright said in those "shocking" sound bites, and if I sat in the pew most Sundays no doubt I'd be regretting his retirement.
Posted by: Joyful Alternative on March 19, 2008 9:28 AMThis is a letter to the editor my mom sent to her local paper in response to Obama's speech. She doubts it will get published.
Throughout this long primary season,questions about who Barack Obama is and what he stands for continue to be asked. In his speech Tuesday,the answers began to surface. Clearly, he is both black and white, not just a "white man with darker skin" as some white people might have thought. He comes from both perspectives, both cultures. He claims both as his identity.
We are accustomed to instant sound bites and facile explanations. Obama asks, however, that we as individuals and as a nation, recognize our
complexity, own the "dark side" of our psyches. By acknowledging that he and his pastor are an imperfect mix of the good and the bad, he asks
that we also claim that as true for ourselves as well.
Television pundits discuss whether, with this speech, Obama has "put the race question to rest." Of course not. While he surely hoped to gain
some control over this story that threatened to derail his candidacy,his intention was to open up the conversation, not to abort it. Can we
as Americans begin to own our fear, ignorance and bias? Can we make room in our hearts and minds for opinions and cultural differences that
make us uncomfortable? Can we accept this invitation to take another step toward that "more perfect union?"