Posted on 03/19/2008 6:28:05 AM PDT by Oshkalaboomboom
Last August, during an appearance before the National Association of Black Journalists, Barack Obama was asked whether he'd lead the nation in a "conversation about race" if he were elected president. He demurred, suggesting that Americans were more interested in having a president who would fight terrorism and economic decline than one who acted as therapist-in-chief.
It was a pragmatic response from the man trying to become the nation's first black president. He'd never win over substantial numbers of white or brown or even black voters if he seemed overly focused on America's racial divide.
But the issue of race has, of course, swirled around his campaign from the beginning. It has manifested itself oddly — in early questions about whether he was "black enough"; patronizingly — in Bill Clinton's attempt to ghettoize him after his South Carolina victory; and forthrightly — in frequent references to the "historic" nature of his candidacy. Given the reality of race-consciousness in America, how could it be otherwise?
So the day had to come, sooner or later, when the issue of race claimed center stage. And so it did, propelled by some of the more intemperate, scripturally challenged and offensive remarks of Obama's former minister, Jeremiah Wright.
Obama may have wished to avoid this moment, but when he found he could not, he handled it with courage and candor and grace. If this controversy was the first major test of Obama's leadership skills, then he passed easily, delivering a speech that was true to the essence of his claims about his candidacy.
He has built his campaign on the belief that American voters are sick of being manipulated by demagoguery, tired of being swift-boated. His speech in Philadelphia on Tuesday was for those voters, those discerning enough to embrace complexities, savvy enough to see past sound bites and wise enough to reward truth-telling.
"Race is an issue that I believe this nation cannot afford to ignore right now. ...The fact is that the comments that have been made and the issues that have surfaced over the last few weeks reflect the complexities of race in this country that we've never really worked through — a part of our union that we have yet to perfect. And if we walk away now, if we simply retreat to our respective corners, we will never be able to come together to solve challenges like health care or education or the need to find good jobs for every American," he said.
Obama might easily have handled the moment differently. He might have simply used Wright for his "Sister Souljah" moment, as Bill Clinton used inflammatory remarks by the black rap artist to signal to whites his rejection of black extremism. Obama might have referred to his white grandmother only as a campaign-safe caricature — loving, kind and endlessly tolerant. He might have omitted any reference to the legitimacy of black anger, which frightens many whites.
But he refused to pander or offer safe, poll-tested bromides.
He repudiated Wright's remarks — "[Wright] used incendiary language to express views ... that denigrate both the greatness and the goodness of our nation" — but he didn't disown Wright. He noted that his white grandmother, who, he said, loves him dearly, sometimes uttered racial stereotypes that made him "cringe." And he acknowledged the legitimacy of both black anger and white resentment.
It's possible Obama placed the wrong bet. His sort of politics may be well-loved by editorial writers and civics teachers but ill-suited to winning presidential campaigns. Straight talk and tough truths may have no place on the stump. It may be that campaigns are still won by those willing to kneecap their opponents with vicious ads and ugly rumors. Voters may prefer focus-grouped slogans to uncomfortable facts.
But it certainly was encouraging to hear from a politician willing to take his chances with a pander-free hour at a difficult moment in his campaign. It doesn't happen often.
Hannity and Rush need to view this video - this is the “O” man himself, addressing a meeting of ministers - thinly veiled warning about the “Quiet Riots” that are simmering under the surface?- like the “Quiet Riots” that were already simmering before the Rodney King Riots...
He needs to explain that one...
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
She probably spells it "hippocracy."
She's one of the biggest race hustlers in the country.
I was intrigued by the phrase “ridin’ dirrrty” and I wanted to see what it meant so I looked it up on Urban Dictionary, and it turns out it doesn’t have many sexual connotations, outside of one related to riding double on a motorcycle.) It means driving with guns or illegal substances in the car. Wright didn’t even get that right.
My point is, Obama is the one that’s riding dirty. He’s driving along, obeying the speed limit, pretending everything’s ok, all the while with a pound of racist demagoguery stashed under the seat.
Sorry but that doesn't describe this greasy clown's momma pleasing smooth-talk.
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
Some say that in the 1960's we had MLK and we had Malcolm X. One was nice, one was scary. It was easy to have people flock to the nice one, because that was a way to repudiate the scary one.
Obama is a twofer: He's really nice -- articulate and clean. He's transcending race and he's all about hope. But at the same time, he regularly drops hints that if you don't pick him as the next president, there's gonna be some big trouble in your future. He says it with a smile. But he's threatening us.
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
If you don’t vote for me I will start a civil war.. hmm yeah thats the ticket... race riots for votes....
Told Ya...
Well now, I guesses I mus' not be smaht enuf or savvy enuff to preeshate this here speech, mizz Tucker.
Amazing Al-Qaida uses the same tactic in pitting the Sunni and Shite against each other fomenting sectarian strife...
So Obama/Osama has learned alot from his master...
“intemperate, scripturally challenged and offensive”
How bout LIES miss Tucker ... All the LIES that Jeramiah is spreading and how Obama just sat there and did nothing to correct.. All the Lies that Obama is conditioning in his children so that they move forward in the Hate America mold... So by Obama’s own admission he sat by and lent credence to the lies.... What kind of courage and leadership is that?
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
His speech in Philadelphia on Tuesday was for those voters, those discerning enough to embrace complexities, savvy enough to see past sound bites and wise enough to reward truth-telling.
—
The condescension drips...
Apparently Ms. Tucker is incapable of discerning the complexity of thought required to understand how utterly deceitful her hero’s speech showed himself.
Headline should read: “Obama shows race under fire.”
Here is what the Wash POst said about Obama.................I would think the Atlanta paper would remember MLK and take his words.............
In Philadelphia, Obama attempted to explain Wright’s anger as typical of the civil rights generation, with its “memories of humiliation and doubt and fear.” But Wright’s problem is exactly the opposite: He ignored the message of Martin Luther King Jr. and introduced a new generation to the politics of hatred.
King drew a different lesson from the oppression he experienced: “I’ve seen too much hate to want to hate myself; hate is too great a burden to bear. I’ve seen it on the faces of too many sheriffs of the South. ... Hate distorts the personality. ... The man who hates can’t think straight; the man who hates can’t reason right; the man who hates can’t see right; the man who hates can’t walk right.”
Barack Obama is not a man who hates — but he chose to walk with a man who does.
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
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