Proof of a New Kind of Politics
Hillary Clinton has long argued that Barack Obama is so new to politics, so utterly untested, that he is likely to be destroyed by a Republican attack machine that only she has mastered. Because most polls show Obama consistently defeating John McCain, Clinton's only electability argument lies in questioning Obama's capacity for defense.
But the exposure of Jeremiah Wright's inexcusable comments, and the racial divisiveness they have engendered, has provided Obama with an opportunity -- the chance to be profoundly tested and to prove his readiness.
The speech delivered yesterday morning was a masterpiece. For all the praise Obama receives for his symphonic rhetorical skills, it was its content, not its delivery, that moved the audience.
Obama spoke of race in a way that no politician has, confronting its history and the depth of its impact. He illuminated the timeline of injustice that has robbed so much from the black community, but made sure to empathize with working class whites, few of whom have reason to see their race as offering any advantage. He cast himself as a uniquely capable steward, a man from both backgrounds with membership in both communities. He was honest and open, compelling and eloquent, all while addressing wounds that can be traced to our founding.
It is of little surprise that a number of commentators have compared the speech to "I Have a Dream," perhaps the only other speech of its kind. In 1961, Martin Luther King, Jr., speaking to the AFL-CIO, assured us that "the arc of the universe is long, but it bends toward justice." After Obama's speech yesterday, it is hard not to imagine that arc bending on a forty year timeline, from the words of Dr. King through the candidacy of Barack Obama.
Obama proved that his capacity for leadership is profound. What was viewed as a potentially fatal political problem only days ago has become the master stroke of his candidacy. It was a speech full of answers, not just about his relationship to Reverend Wright, or the state of race in America, but about the kind of new politics we can expect from his presidency. More than just a new way of legislating, Obama is professing a new kind of leadership, the kind that acts for and expects much of its people, the kind that is willing to confront issues that would be otherwise ignored. It is about this new conversation of race, and the other new conversations to follow.
His speech also serves as proof that, contrary to the claims of the Clinton campaign, Obama has a dramatic capacity for political defense. Little more than twenty four hours ago, Obama faced a seemingly impossible political crisis, one some had suggested could be fatal. With a single speech, he clarified his relationship to Reverend Wright, appeared especially presidential, and began a discourse on race that may be the first next step in the evolution of race relations. It was artful and honest, with near perfect pitch. Could there be any skill one would prefer from the candidate in their corner?
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This is going to make Obama even stronger. I'am glad that he made that speech yesterday because it show just how strong a person he is.
Rush A. Limbaugh and Sean A. Hannity are talking about all the things Rev. Wright was saying in his church as bad but what about all the hatefulness they dictate to the American people every day. You know not one damn thing is said about it. So in my my oppenion this is just as bad if not worst than what the Rev. Wright has said in his serman. Rush A. Limbaugh, Sean A. Hannity, Fox news, and all of these so called talk show host need to be off the air because of all the hatetrid that they spew out everyday. It just makes me sick.
Now I do agree on what the Rev. Wright said in his serman but not everything. What bothers me is the talk of all the black people that are in prison. The way I see it is that if these people were employed with good paying jobs they would not be in prison. When people are working you find that the crime rate drops. Gives you something to think about. When I see all of the thing that come out of China or some other it makes me sick because that is product that could have been made here to keep people off wellfare and the crime rate down. The good old USA is all about money though and thats why just about everything is made overseas at about 1/3 the price and yet we pay the full price.
By the way I am a 62 YO white male and I say GO OBAMA.
listen to this description of obama's church (4 minutes) especially if u think that its a hate-filled church
http://www.npr.org/templates/player/mediaPlayer.html?action=1&t=1&islist=false&id=88552254&m=88552237
i think the speech was awesome and it made me teary on a couple of occassions.
HuffPost's Pick
Much will be made of the Zogby polls conducted from Mar. 13-14 and released yesterday. They showed the damage done by Fox Noise and the MSM torturously analyzing Rev. Wrights words. The polls show Obama's lead on Clinton evaporating. That's why we got the speech.
But there is more to this than the effect on Obama. The same poll shows that both Clinton and Obama have slipped against McCain. A perfectly predictable result of negative campaigning. It is a double edged sword. It shows that what hurts one candidate hurts the other as well and the party in general.
Obama gave a great speech. It will go a long way toward undoing the damage done by Fox and its proxies, heralded as it is being by both right and left. This is the thing that Hillary attempted to frighten people with, that Oabma could not fight back. The jury is now in on that. Not only did he fight back, he did so in a way that frightens Republicans more than anything in the world, by making people think.
He has raised the bar on our politics that had been sliding inexorably into the gutter for a generation. Too bad he had to do it now, because if the American people respond, the Republicans have now seen what he’s got and will not go there again.
Polling in the next few days will resolve any question about the impact on voters. The Zogby poll will give a nice yardstick for the impact. We will see if Americans have a collective brain after all.
I get a kick out of the various permutations of the argument that we can't do this or we can't do that because those big old bullies on the right are going to say bad things about us and make us cry.
That's essentially the argument Sen. Harry Reid and Rep. Nancy Pelosi have been parroting as their excuse for failure of Congressional Democrats to carry out their electoral mandate.
And, it seems to be essentially the argument Sen. Clinton is making when she says Sen. Obama lacks experience in dealing with demagoguery. Seems to me Sen. Obama has dealt with Clinton campaign demagoguery adequately, but not perfectly. He seems to be a quick learner, however, and so far the bullies haven't made him cry.
HuffPost's Pick
after yesterday's speech, Obama has now given about three (that I can count) different answers to the "what did you know and when did you know it" question.
During the interview with Keith Olbermann ob Friday he was asked if he had heard any of these types of statements before they came to light publicly. He said 'Frankly No'. Then Keith asked him when he bacame aware of these types of statements. He said 'recently'.
Later that night Anderson Cooper asked him the same question and he said he became aware of these statements just before starting his campaign. That's over a year ago. Is that "recently'?
In both of these interviews he denied hearing "these particular" statements personally in the church. And, denied hearing about "these particular" statements from other church members. In fact on Anderson Cooper he said if he had been aware of "these particular" statements earlier, he would have quit the church. But, he decided not to because the Rev Wright was on the "verge" of retirement anyway. THis was over a year ago, The Rev Wright just retired. Obama seems to have a problem with the parameters of time. He uses the terms recently and on the verge to describe events that are more than a year away.
In yesterday's speech he admitted that he had been in the church to hear "controversial" statements that he didn't agree with. But, I guess that wasn't "these particular" statements as he was so careful to word it on Friday. "These particular" statements is beginning to sound like what the meaning of "IS" is...
Does this all sound like "Change you can believe in" or standard political double speak?
I thought it was the best speech I have heard live in my lifetime ... it was sophisticated and nuanced and intellectually honest and factually correct ... I too heard Bucannan this morning and it turned my stomach ... I am appalled that people cannot think and cannot think critically and cannot escape the hyperbole of sound-bytes ...
The rumors of his revival have been greatly exaggerated. :)
Voters may well decide: Nice speech, but race really isn't my biggest issue this year.
*HILLARY"
And the rest of us will just have to wait and see if he pulled this drowning baby outta the water.
Ann,
Can you step out of your sub-partisanship for two minutes in order to recognize that this was an important speech - not for Obama - but for the country as a whole? While you're busy pushing your candidate, you risk missing out on the meaningful events in this race, and you also risk slipping further into a dogmatism that will consume your ability to reflect upon yourself with any measure of honesty.
Calm down, Dylan, and save the hyperbole for another day. Obviously that speechwriter is one helluva pro, but this isn't "a new kind of" anything.
How do we know? How about the Congressional Record, viewable on-line at http://thomas.loc.gov.
All of these candidates are, after all, standing Senators.
So... forget the siren-song of people who want to sell you a Savior... man or woman, black or white. No matter how warm-and-fuzzy it makes you feel, it's only a warm-and-fuzzy feeling and that isn't what will rescue this country. You are just being told what you want to hear.
"Obviously that speechwriter is one helluva pro..."
"that speechwriter " = Barack Obama who wrote the speech himself
I could tell I was reading history, too. (I heard the speech later that evening, on the Internet.) And then I listened to the news channels and the pundits, who tried to pick it apart like buzzards going after a carcass. When I heard Pat Buchanan this morning say that Barack Obama could not speak for working-class white people in Pennsylvania, I just shut off my TV. I am sick of all of them.
Let me start off by saying I'm a lefty and a former Obama supporter. I was really for him and still believe him to be a briliant politician, but I cannot support a man who spent 20 years choosing to listen to hateful speeches and was so inspired by such a hateful man and denies ever hearing the reverend say any of this. Lets not forget that Obama made this speech as a politician for political motives and if you think different you are being very naive. If he had made a speech like this before the Reverend scandal it would have had more meaning I believe.
It was indeed a stirring speech. Let the cynics beware.
I may get fired because I have not been able to work since before his speech was made. THAT is how deeply it has moved me.
I could vote for Hillary, to be honest with you ... but not this time.
anybody can give speeches. Barack has only given speeches.
There are some unanswered questions
--It took 20 years to realize whatever speeh he gave
--He took his kids to hate filled sermon. What happens to the hatred that is fed to them
Barack is
Anybody can give speeches? Where's Hillary's gender speech? Oops. I forgot. Hillary opposes the use of speeches for practical purposes.
Can you please spell correctly and use proper grammar I cannot understand what you are saying ... no doubt, it is something pretty awful ... but, I would like to listen anyway
Why is it you and so many other take a few seconds from a couple of sermons and decide that every sermon, every week for 20 years was somehow hate filled? We saw on ABC last night, for the first time I've seen some other footage of Wright that showed him taking a very different approach. Even the worst of the Wright comments were not what I would call "hate" so much as "anger". Not my cup of tea, but understanding where it comes from it doesn't colour my opinion of Wright, let alone Obama who has been the poster child for coming together and unity, and clearly comes at issues from a very different perspective from that of Wright.
I am a 61-year-old white woman and, though I find some misinformation (e.g., regarding AIDS) in some of Reverend Wright's words, I find nothing egregiously offensive in these minute-long soundbites (out of thousands of hours of preaching). I don't know how anyone could dispute the fact that we did drop atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki "without batting an eyelash", killing tens of thousands of people who were as innocent as those killed in the 9/11 attacks. There is also truth in the idea that our foreign policies and methods of getting our way have caused millions of people around the world to actively dislike us. After 9/11, there were several books by scholars and journalists dealing with this fact and no one accused the authors of being traitors, even though many rightwing pundits railed against the information contained therein. And how is it possible to deny the presence of a white elite in this country, or to deny that Senator Clinton is a part of that elite? As for Reverend Wright's detractors, it would be interesting to know how many of them have actively served their country in the armed services, as has Reverend Wright.
A few isolated comments by Rev. Wright do not make him a racist or a hate monger. These comments were wrong, but they do not represent the whole of the man. These comments represent less than 1% of the sermons given by Rev. Wright. So Obama did not take his children to hate-filled sermons.
I guess anyone can give a speech. But can anyone give a speech that transcends race? or moves people to tears? can anyone give a speech that asks people to reach deep into their hearts and admit that maybe they themselves have had racist thoughts? or that they know and love someone who has had racist thoughts? No, not just anyone can do that. But Obama did.
Obama is more than just pretty words. He has honor and integrity. But importantly, he has plans for this country. Check out his website before you dismiss him. Whether he is the Democratic nominee or our next President or not, Obama is a great man. He will be a leader who inspires others to greatness. If Obama loses, our country loses.
I can't imagine listening to Obama's speech and not being moved (unless you work for Fox "News"). God, it's been a long long time since I heard a politician sound like a statesman. Can you imagine how America''s image in the world will rise when we have a president like Obama? Watch out Wen Jiabao, Putin, Chavez - you can't match this guy!
even bill oreilly, joe scarborough and pat buchanon liked it. they are still haters but they liked it a lot.
hear, here. i agree. i sat there watching the speech, streamed over the internet, and cried. the speech was at once cathartic, edifying and comforting.
i knew i was witnessing history.
It was a good speech, while it did not make me cry it did make me think which is something the rabid right try to avoid as much as possible. They are much happier just repeating the brain farts of hate mongers like Rush and Hannity.
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