"No man or woman working in this country should be poor" ~~Barack Obama, Feb. 2008
This plays in Pa, Ga. S.C. and any other state in the country. Conservatisim is in flames, it has led to gut level self preservation and enlightenment. Stagfllation is causing everyone to seriously examine their own bottom line.
What the pundits do not want you to know, mother nature is causing the evangelicals to abandon Republicans in droves, Wall Street is crying for the return of regulation, people are losing their homes while trying to borrow enough to provide a college education for their children and everyone wants the same healthcare as their elected officials.
While what is happening in my own circle of friends does not represent a scientific poll sample, I do see change coming. Two long time Republican friends of mine (both are white racist males) are voting for Obama. For them, the color of his skin has nothing to do with their own bottom line.
John Nesbitt, author of Megatrends, said whatever is going on locally, is going on nationally.
If my personal experience is any indicator, Obama wins!
Racial Unity: How Will It Play In Pennsylvania?
Racial Unity: How Will It Play In Pennsylvania?
Carlotta Cooper
The issue of race is front and center in the Democratic primaries right now thanks to several recent events. Prompted by a need to more deeply explain the Rev. Jeremiah Wright's fiery rhetoric and his thoughts on the subject of race, Senator Obama delivered a reasoned, eloquent speech in, appropriately enough, Philadelphia, the "city of brotherly love." His call to overcome the stalemate in terms of race where we find ourselves now in America is well taken.
As reported elsewhere on the Huffington Post, Obama appeared on ABC's Nightline and reflected on the possible political impact of his landmark speech:
Obama believes giving a speech on race was necessary but concedes that it is a politically risky move. By embracing race and bringing it out in the open, he admits that he could be perceived as "the race candidate."
"Absolutely," he said. "And so, hopefully this is something that we have talked about, we've lifted up, it will spur discussion, like Robert Kennedy's wonderful metaphor, "ripples of hope." You know, you throw a rock into a pond and those ripples will go out. We don't know where those ripples will go. I have no idea how this plays out politically. But I think it was important to do."
Caught up in another five weeks of fierce campaigning against Senator Hillary Clinton before the Pennsylvania primary on April 22, how will this gloves-off discussion of race affect the voters? In Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Harrisburg, and the more rural T-zone of Pennsylvania, will Pennsylvania voters welcome the glare of national attention turned to race in their state? Or, are they more interested in a looming economic recession and lost jobs? Are pocketbook issues, perhaps understandably, more important to them right now? And, what about the Iraq war? The Allenton Morning Call has a list of the war dead from Afghanistan and Iraq who hale from Pennsylvania. (I lost count at over 150 dead because President Bush was on CNN telling me how well the war was going.)
One part of Senator Obama's speech which has not been remarked upon very much is his mention of white anger. I think we heard a little white woman anger from Geraldine Ferraro a couple of weeks ago when she contrasted her position as a woman running for VP, something of a token 20-plus years ago, to Senator Obama's wild success now, running as a successful presidential candidate in his own right.
Here are Senator Obama's words this week:
In fact, a similar anger exists within segments of the white community. Most working- and middle-class white Americans don't feel that they have been particularly privileged by their race. Their experience is the immigrant experience - as far as they're concerned, no one's handed them anything, they've built it from scratch. They've worked hard all their lives, many times only to see their jobs shipped overseas or their pension dumped after a lifetime of labor. They are anxious about their futures, and feel their dreams slipping away; in an era of stagnant wages and global competition, opportunity comes to be seen as a zero sum game, in which your dreams come at my expense. So when they are told to bus their children to a school across town; when they hear that an African American is getting an advantage in landing a good job or a spot in a good college because of an injustice that they themselves never committed; when they're told that their fears about crime in urban neighborhoods are somehow prejudiced, resentment builds over time.
Like the anger within the black community, these resentments aren't always expressed in polite company. But they have helped shape the political landscape for at least a generation. Anger over welfare and affirmative action helped forge the Reagan Coalition. Politicians routinely exploited fears of crime for their own electoral ends. Talk show hosts and conservative commentators built entire careers unmasking bogus claims of racism while dismissing legitimate discussions of racial injustice and inequality as mere political correctness or reverse racism.
If you live in an area, as I do, where graduating from high school is a cause for celebration, where many whites don't have college degrees, and being a mechanical bull operator is a possible career path, (I saw that in the paper this week), there is the kind of anger and resentment that Senator Obama discusses. Not necessarily toward blacks in particular. But toward anyone who has more or who is perceived as trying to take away what you have.
This resentment doesn't rise to the level of wearing sheets or burning crosses, thank God, but it affects people's thoughts and ideas. It shapes their attitudes. In a similar way, Senator Obama discussed the attitudes of some people in the black community who have been affected by events in the past.
No one can erase the past. I think Senator Obama and others of his generation wisely realize that leaders like the Rev. Jeremiah Wright are leading people astray when they emphasize the things that divide us. It's the present and the future that matter now. What's important are finding the things that unite us -- things like improving the economy, ending the war in Iraq, improving education in the United States, and providing health care for all Americans. Those things should apply to all Americans, regardless of race.
Now, how will Senator Obama's speech play in Pennsylvania? To the extent that the discussion focuses solely on race, I think Senator Obama will be harmed. "Race" as a topic will single him out as "the black candidate" and alarm some white voters. The mechanical bull operator will not be happy or interested much in that message, I'm guessing. The voters will view him as someone who is trying to upset the status quo and take something away from them. That mechanical bull operator may be very glad to just have the job he's got. He doesn't want to talk about somebody else's problems. He wants to hear how he can get a better job.
In a general election, the issue of race will hurt Senator Obama even more. Perhaps to offset this possibility I've noticed that the Obama campaign has had several old white guys on TV today speaking as Obama surrogates. That's probably a smart move, but I don't know if it will help. Can Obama talk about other things besides race now? Or, will he be solely defined by this one subject? I think the voters in Pennsylvania (and the other upcoming primary states) will want to hear about other subjects close to home. If Senator Obama can't gain traction on other topics it will give a decided advantage to Senator Clinton.
As a subject for national debate, Senator Obama's speech was uplifting and insightful, even inspiring. We should all thank him for his words.
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I would give Sen. Obama credit for this kind of SPEECH if he had made it when he didn't HAVE TO!
It was as political as any speech because it was made for political reasons-
he did not STEP UP TO TALK ABOUT THE OBVIOUS RACE ISSUE UNTIL HE WAS FORCED TO BY CIRCUMSTANCE!
That is not eloquence or leadership, that is POLITICAL- and that's what so many of us have been saying about his nuanced and hedging campaign- NO REAL CANDOR OR AUTHENTICITY- just PRETTY WORDS used to cover a lack of substance and grit necessary for the Presidency in these perilous times!
I think he is a potential leader. I think he has possibility as he and his family MATURE, BUT
he is NOT ready yet to be the fighter he will need to be against this fascist agenda of the Republican thugs and cronies like Liebermann, et al!
What about "female" rage in America? Does anyone care about this----------or as usual-----is it only about blacks or more specifially, black men?
Women in America today earn 25 percent less income than a man in the same job in every profession.
America has the highest incident of rape than any other country in the world. Every 15 seconds, a woman is beaten to a pulp in the good-ole-USA.
Women are 51 percent of the population, but we only have one woman on the Supreme Court------you know----that legal place that punishes companies for paying women less because they don't have a penis.
By the way, blacks are 12 percent of the population, but because of all their diligence, racism is a dying disease, while sexism is still alive and well as evidenced by this presidential race.
Just so you know, women, both black and white, used to be slaves. Our oppression began in the cave and unfortunately, continues today, mostly because women have been trained not to talk about.
Remember the days when we were not allowed to own property, work, or vote. We either got married and learned to please our husbands no matter how many times they cheated on us or beat us, or we worked in a saloon as a hooker, or we starved. No, we didn't have to pick cotton---we were just sex slaves. What fun.
GO HILLARY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The problem here is that this attitude seems to ignore the specific candidate - any woman will do! As a woman, I'd love to see a woman in the White House - but not any woman. Laura Bush is almost as experienced as Hillary - would you vote for her?
Think beyond your sex. Live life beyond your reproductive organs. Sexism exists, yes, but voting the wrong woman into the White House won't help your cause. She seems to wish she was born a man and spends a lot of time trying to act like one.
I had no idea how much "female rage" I was carrying until Edwards left the campaign and I had to decide between Hillary and Barack. The more comments I read from Obama supporters, and the more I listened to Air America programs I used to love, and to TV commentators, some of whom I had liked in the past, trash Hillary in ways that came straight from the Republican playbook, and were both sexist and ageist, the stronger my Hillary support became. Yes, she made a mistake on the initial Iraq vote, and Obama made a speech that was correct. However, I hadn't been particularly impressed with what Obama did once he got to the Senate, and her proposals for health care, education, and other important topics were actually more progressive, in my opinion. So it wasn't "just a woman thing." But Barack Obama appears to be completely unaware of the many thousands of his supporters who post and spew comments that should offend him, the father of two young daughters. They are apt to find their sex more of a problem than their race. They will likely grow up knowing that they can never be president because they are women!
If Obama would make a major speech about sex, and particularly about what happens to women once they are past 50, and be as truthful, thoughtful, and inspiring as he was about race, I don't think it would drive his supporters back to Hillary, but it would certainly make a difference in my eyes, and the eyes of thousands of women who are used to working hard in politics, and who are now turned off and dispirited. Because of the Obama candidacy supporters, I am not running again for central committee, I am not going to state convention, I don't attend political functions because I can't stand the tone of the anti-Hillary talk, and I no longer listen to Air America or Keith O.
Will I vote for him? Yes, of course. Will I continue to walk my three precincts? Yes, but not with the joy and enthusiasm I wish I had. Can the Democratic Party do without me and all the rest of the "old women?" Maybe. I hope the young people will be out in force, and will continue after the election.
According to what I read, although I find it is buried deep, along with everything else about the "other half" of Obama's heritage, his mother, a white woman, was exactly the kind of person that many of us know among our women acquaintances of Hillary's age -- strong, determined, never ceasing in her pursuit of an inspiring vision. I think that HIllary and she could have been friends. Every word from the mouth of many of Obama's supporters trash women just like Obama's mother. By not speaking up to these people, he repudiates her memory, in my opinion.
I have four adopted children who are biracial -- white and African American. I know something about that struggle. I know that if you look like Barack Obama, as he is said, you have no choice in which of your two sides you choose. I don't blame him for his choice. Our racist society dictated it. But men do not have to become weak to celebrate the role of their mothers, and to remind others of the struggles that women go through and the many years it takes before you can really come into your own as a woman. Let's hear that speech about your mother, Barack, and about strong women everywhere, and about what they deserve.
It's interesting, from my point of view, Hillary has been the liar using tactics straight out of the Karl Rove playbook. She has made a huge issue of her vast experience but upon close examination, it's pretty clear that she has very little. But, that doesn't stop her from making those claims loud and clear.
She couldn't bring herself to simply declare that Obama isn't a Muslim - she had to leave that door open in case she might get a vote or two from someone so uninformed. It was dishonest and manipulative.
She, like the other candidates, agreed that Florida and Michigan would not count - it was punishment - and now, she's crowing about how Obama should get behind new primairies - as if he is responsible. More self-serving manipulation. She and Bill really do believe that the rules don't apply to them and they can change them when necessary to their cause. I don't like this "ends justify the means" mentality - just more from Bush and Co.
Her campaign has been in disarray - she promptly threw her campaign manager under the bus. So much for loyalty. I also took this as an example of how it's always someone else's fault. Get rid of them!
She has run her campaign as dirty and disgusting as "W". When she's cornered, she tosses in a diversion. Like "W" winning comes first, and at any cost. Honor, integrity, transparency are meaningless - it's all about winning. Like "W" any claims made really mean the opposite - experience means she has none, transparency means she is opaque.
We've lived with 8 long years of Bush and Co. Her conduct has given a glimpse of what a Clinton presidency would be like - more of the same.
There are great women who really are experienced for the office. Honest, steadfast but they're not running. And because of race, we might be denied a truly great president in favor of the first (mediocre) woman in the Oval Office.
If the many "mechanical bull operators" (white I assume) are described are the predominant voters in the USA then we all have to wait until this "archetype" of personality is better educated, less-repressed about himself, less self-indulgent, and becomes a great common man. Until that time the common man/woman will keep voting for an ordinary politician such as McCain or Hillary. However, just maybe "this common man/woman" is not as "ordinary" in the bad sense of the word but has enough strength to vote without letting the primary instincts dictate his/her actions.
Pennsylvania has always been in the win column for Clinton. So, this minister news will not change the outcome. As James Carville, a Clinton supporter, stated, the middle of Pennsylvania is like the white part of Alabama. I agree with that. Many in the Pennsylvania middle would rather lose thier jobs and houses than vote for a black man who may assist them.
Now the only question is will the media dismiss the Clinton win on primary night by stating that Clinton was expected to win this all along because of the demographics just like it dismissed the Obama by stating that he was expected to win Mississippi because of its demographics. I seriously doubt it. It is possible, that the media needs to do a racial check on itself.
Mr G.W. Bush used race against Mr J McCain to get the GOP nomination , so we know race talk works when it is used against an opponent .
Unfortunately our media is controlled by a few large international companies that also control our government and any one talking about change must have the door closed to them .
Mr Obama so far is the person most of the public want as their executive officer , but the powers that be do not . The Romans and the Greeks wrote messages on the walls of buildings and held open forums to influence the public . "The life of Emile Zola" is an old movie every one should see to understand how the public was "brainwashed" in to believing and doing things they would not normally do using information that was not completely true .
We can be made to believe almost anything they want us to believe with control over all of the information we get in our daily lives .
The time has come for Americans to make good on their professed ideals. Throughout our history there has always been some distraction or another that allowed us to pledge "liberty and justice for all" but practice less liberty and little justice for some who were darker and different. NOT THIS TIME! I am proud to be an American because of our avowed ideals; I will be prouder still when we make good on them.
Economics, security, health care, whatever, let us first do the right things. Then and only then should we turn do doing thins right. "We are confronted primarily with a moral issue. The heart of the question is whether all Americans are to be afforded equal rights and equal opportunities, whether we are going to treat our fellow Americans as we want to be treated." Our failure to have done so for so long, has sown and provoked the anger expressed by Reverend Wright. Let us act now to make this a thing of the past and make progress toward a more perfect union. For our children, our country and our sacred honor.
I certainly hope you are wrong. I would like to think that even working-class white voters will respond to a call their better angels.
Why does it have to be racial? Was Obama right? Are we all turning our heads away from the truth? Shouldn't this election be about change? We know what we have been doing ain't working! I am voting for an American, one who will lead us in a different direction, no more business as usual! Democracy is threatened by Greed! The Elected few don't follow the will of the people. Don't make this a black vs. white election. Make it what it is, a change vs. business as usual. Hillary wants change but only the names will change. Obama has big dreams but with congress not being able to change. i don't think he can get any where. Health care, the economy, the war. which matters to you more? I'm not black, or female but, my vote will go to the best chance this country has had for change since JFK. Vote your heart not your party lines. Vote American.
Your post makes clear that you are are not ruled by race and that's the way it should be. It is unfortunate that there are still those who are ruled by the color of one's skin, one's sex, sexual orientation, religion and a whole host of ways to easily define others. Can people change? Of course. Will they? That remains to be seen. Personally, I think the "meathead" vote will never support a non white candidate. They may vote Hillary in the primary (at least she's white) but then vote McCain in the general (hey, he's a man!).
I am an Asian American woman so my perspective might be different from yours. I can't help but consider race, the effect that race has in pretty much any situation. I'm not defined by it, but I know it can always be a factor. I am an Obama supporter, not because he is of mixed racial parentage, but because I believe him to be, as Bill Richardson said today, a "once in a lifetime leader". America's been depressed for some time now, hope and dreams of a better future may be more important to the American psyche than anything else. Hillary did some damage to herself when she mocked those hopes and dreams. She won't change a thing - she's invested in things remaining the same.
It will be interesting if the most transparent candidate ever releases her tax returns. She and Bill have become quite wealthy from their lives in politics. They came to Washington with outstretched palms and scooped the money in.
She's not experienced, she's an insider. One and one half terms in the Senate and Laura Bush could match her "experience". She just keeps saying she is more experienced and that, dear people, is just another lie. As I woman, I find her an embarrassment - maybe someday we really will have the chance to vote (with pride) for a woman. This one finds herself in this position for one reason only - and his name is Bill.
I am a passionate Obama supporter who thinks he can be the greatest leader of my lifetime. I am sad about the events with Pastor Wright because as much as I and other enlightened Democrats see Obama's brilliance in dealing with the issue, I fear there are many others (mainly repubs and working class dems) who are still left with the idea that Obama's "mentor" is an extremist who preaches angry sermons about blacks being victims. While I hope I am wrong in this I think the only way to reach these people (and at the same time silence the hateful right-wing witch hunt about black preachers) is for Pastor Wright to come forward (on Oprah or 60 minutes perhaps). He could explain his background and talk about his struggles as a black man during segregation. He could talk about the Christian and religious aspects of his ministry and explain how he came to know Obama. And finally, wouldn't it be wonderful if he could admit that he too was touched by Obama's speech and recognizes that his past angry rhetoric (preaching as if the country were "static") is no longer helpful and productive in the black community. He could show that Obama is now his "mentor" and demonstrate what a truly amazing leader Obama will be for this country. I think something like this would turn this whole thing around and truly further the discussion that Obama has started. I welcome your thoughts on this.
I have been an undecided Democrat in Pennsylvania, but I am leaning even stronger towards voting for Senator Obama next month. Neither candidate is perfect for me personally, but I am coming to believe that Senator Obama is perfect for our nation in this time and circumstance. I am not black but I am Métis, which means I have both Native American (Cherokee) and European roots. On one side of my family tree, my ancestors were forced out of their lands, often dying or being killed in the process; on the other side one grandparent once did ride with the KKK one night back in the 1930s. So, yes, we have had and do have all kinds of people in our nation.
Furthermore, I grew up Catholic and was Catholic until I became a young adult. Then I rejected the central doctrines of that church. I was able to take the best of my childhood religion and reject that which I could under reflective analysis no longer agree with. I believe that Senator Obama (and the other candidates) can do the same.
From everything I have read, that one video is not reflective of the whole fabric of Jeremiah Wright's ministry. I recommend reading coverage of him by the Los Angeles Times.
The Gallup Poll released today was completed before anyone had a chance to absorb Senator Obama's Philadelphia speech. How many polls have been turned if not upside down at least sideways in actual election outcomes? We still have a month until the Pennsylvania primary. Give it time.
Obama is toast in Pennsylvania!
You don't live in new york. if you did you can't vote for Hillary. we in upstate have many reason.. Jobs, and stagnating economy what little there is left!
Obama's preacher has managed to bring this country 30 years backward with his racial slurs.
Where do you get your info that Penn. is a klan state Nommo? What concerns me more is Obama's ties to his cousin Odinga! Then there is the Donnie McClurkin and Larry Sinclair issue. Not enough attention from the media!
Why not throw Rev. Meeks, Rev. Jackson, Louis Farrakhan & EVERYONE that said crazy things & blame it on Obama. This is getting totally stupid. Please, America! Give me faith in people's brains again!!!
CARLOTTA UNITY ? By making GRANDMA the scapegoat in the speech !! Obama didn't get brainwashed by GRANDMA to hate America--white people or jews-----he got brainwashed for 20 years by Pastor WRIGHT there is NO comparison between loving Grandma and loving Rev Wright.
To believe Obama NEVER heard these words is to believe you didn't hear Ms Obama say she FINALLY liked the USA cause they are supporting her husband for PREZ. leads me to think she is just arrogant.
About time the blacks listened to Bill Cosby --- he has all the right answers to the problems---not Pastor Wright preaching hate. Or used as a mental MLK who never preached like this Wright fellow that Obama admires so greatly. You ARE who you hang around with.
"About time the blacks listened to Bill Cosby"
Hahaha, that is so 2004.
Actually, it's past time people like you stop dictating to Black people what our priorities are supposed to be, and who all 250,000 of us are to collectively listen to.
janmB, you are certainly filled with hate. You are so disappointed that Hillary is behind in this race that you will say and do anything hoping to smear Obama and lift your candidate to victory, but you are only making both you and Hillary look small and petty.
I am a Pittsburgher, and what disturbed and angered me the most about Obama's pastor was the awful rhetoric regarding the USA. God "damn" America, the inference to September 11, the KKK America. Those phrases pissed me off. I have worked for a black attorney in downtown Pittsburgh, and yes we are different in many respects, including color, but all of our hearts do beat the same.
My father was in WW II, stationed in France and then Germany, my father-in-law was stationed in the Pacific in WW II, my husband was frozen for many months in the Navy because they thought that the Navy might have to go into Vietnam, my very good friend's son died in Iraq, so please don't tell these brave men God "Damn" America when they fought for Wright's right to be able to say those brutal remarks.
What pissing me off so extremely is that BO sat in those pews week after week and listened to this BS. Let his children hear this rhetoric, yea, that we change the next generation's view of the U.S.
Not God "Damn" America but God "Damn" you Barack.
It takes courage to be President of the world's greatest country, and if BO can't stand up to this as*hole of a pastor and tell him this is filth coming from his month, how in the hell can we expect him to stand up to the likes of Cuba, Venezuela, Iran, etc.
So please spare me your praise for Obama's speech and place it where it is deserved with the likes of my father.
Hillary is one tough lady, mentally, and she difinitely has my vote. She will carry Pennsylvania by at least 10 points, if not more.
"What pissing me off so extremely is that BO sat in those pews week after week and listened to this BS."
No,I don't think that is what "pisses you off" at all.
You don't know what he heard in those pews week after week, since you've never set foot in that church. You've heard a weeks' worth of repeated snippets of 3 sermons, from a person with a 30 year history of preaching.
I bet you didn't even bother to research what "Jeremiah Wright" has actually said over those 30 years and just accept what you've been told over and over, the past few days.
Have you spent time in a black church? Did you actually listen to Obama's speech Tuesday? Obama repudiated those remarks. He placed into context both black anger and white anger on the issue of race. He went far beyond the immediate political issue (being swiftboated with guilt-by-association comments of a man he clearly disagrees with), and addressed the issue of unity of the races, something you firmly believe in.
If you believe Hillary Clinton to be the better candidate, that's one thing. But you can express that without having to tear down Obama for his association with his former pastor.
It's the Allentown Morning Call (not Allenton) and this is interesting sidebar:
http://www.mcall.com/news/local/all-votersite0320-cn,0,3264202.story
Seems there's a privacy flaw in PA voter registration site and it had to be shut down...just
days before registration closes.
BTW not clear from this post that this blogger actually lives in Pennsylvania. I grew up in SW PA and can remember people burning crosses as late as 1977...
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Posted March 19, 2008 | 11:11 AM (EST)