LIVE THREAD - Under Pressure, Obama Prepares for Race and Unity Speech

Fox News ^ | 18 March 2008

[SE Mom]

Barack Obama is preparing to deliver a major address Tuesday on race, politics and unifying the country after being hounded by questions about his relationship to a pastor whose sermons have been laced with anti-American invective.

In a speech whose religious significance could compare to one given in December by former GOP presidential hopeful and Mormon Mitt Romney, Obama may be forced to explain the philosophy of the 8,000-strong Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago, where the Democratic presidential candidate has been a congregant for 20 years.

In announcing the morning address, to be delivered in Philadelphia, Obama would not say specifically what he will discuss, but suggested he wants to cool down the atmosphere after incendiary remarks by his pastor, retired Rev. Jeremiah Wright Jr., blanketed the airwaves over the past week.

[MissMagnolia]

On CNN, white America doesn't understand black ways of speaking.

What we DO understand is that Obama's speech is the insufferably long equivalent of "depends on what the meaning of 'is' is".

[kabar]

How much allegience does Obama owe his pastor? What does he have to do to have Obama cut off the relationship? This is really not about Pastor Wright, but rather, the basic tenets of this church, which is demonstrably racist.

[katykelly]

He was talking about his granny.

[ari-freedom]

here’s another ‘simplified’ caricature of wright
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HfNEfEBYIZs

warning profanity at the end

[Tennessee Nana]

Rush has enough material for a month

LOL

[jdm]

LOL. Or this:

[Oliver Optic]

Yeah, this is not really his element ... he needs the adoring masses, the rock star atmosphere, to be at his best.

[MikeGranby]

> QUE the applause

Yeah, where did that come from? That wasn’t an applause line. It was as flat as the rest of the speech.

[Fishtalk]

He must a)know that his denials ain’t gonna fly or b)know that somewhere there’s a video of him at such a fine Wright sermon.

[ninergold3]

LOL - one of mine keeps burping and the other fell asleep.

Me thinks Obama should have stayed in bed this morning too - he is saying nothing that can help him (IMHO)

[lakeman]

must of been some honky messing with the mic.

[gridlock]

Applause!

People are so damn gullible.

[syriacus]

It would be a mistake to think we can just move on past this discussion. (i.e., I get to be the diplomat between the white and black communities in the US)

Disparities between black and "other" communities need to be fixed.

[mware]

Heck AG, he contradicted himself in the same speech just now. He heard the comment in the sermons but never heard him say a bad word about a white person.

Major Garrett is going to be all over this one.

[jdm]

Arrrgh. I hate it when I get post 666.

[SE Mom]

The speech text is up on Drudge- and at post # 228 on this thread.

[TomGuy]

Obama needs to address Tiger Woods’ purchase of a $65 Million home in The Hamptons.

[McGruff]

Some audio tech is going to be fired by the end of the day. The mike is terrible.

Oh I'll keep it positive too Barak. (positive you'll never win!)

[AGreatPer]

"What is the world coming to when a major Presidential candidate is using phrases like “gang banger.”"

Dahh, I don't know what that is, I'm white.

This is pathetic. I thought this guy had class. He had me bamboozled.

[over3Owithabrain]

a woman who once confessed her fear of black men who passed by her on the street

So did Jesse Jackson