Obama's Race Speech Won't Make Wright or Race Go Away for Him

"There were early warning signals of the ugliness that could come....the message was that Obama was not exempt from a racial dig. That was also evident in the knock at Obama's Southside Chicago church, or to be more exact the minister at the church, Jeremiah Wright. He is an outspoken afro-centric activist on racial and social issues. The inference was that Obama's guilt by membership and friendship with him made him a closet radical and a race baiter."

This writer wrote these words in a column January 6. It was a no-brainer prediction that the Wright card would eventually be played hard by the media and milked for all it's worth. The inflammatory, provocative rants of Wright were well-known. Thousands within and without his church have heard them for years. His afro-centric tinged writings have been widely cited by black commentators. It was only a matter of time.

The only surprise was the timing. This writer expected that the Wright card would be kept tightly in the political deck and dumped on the political table by the GOP "truth squads" in the fall if Obama is the eventual Democratic presidential nominee. But then again why not dump it on the table now. The Wright rants are just too juicy, racially salacious, and media sensational to keep under wraps any longer. And since Hillary Clinton has been so trashed and demonized by much of the media, while Obama got a free pass, all the better to toss out Wright now. If Obama can be hammered with and tainted by the guilt by association tag with Wright that further poisons the Democratic Party well and makes the throngs of independents that are enthralled by Obama waver, maybe even rethink just who and what they're getting into by backing him.

But this writer didn't just make the prediction that the Wright card would sooner or later be used against Obama. He also flatly predicted the instant Obama stood on the steps of the Old Capitol building in Springfield, Illinois back in February 2007 and announced that he was on a history making quest to be president that two things would happen. The first is that the racial innuendos, rumors, gossip, hints, digs, and finger-pointing would be a subtle and tormenting subtext to his campaign.

The second thing was that he couldn't duck and dodge racial matters by simply pounding away that he and his campaign was about hope, change and unity. That was good campaign stump stuff but it is not the reality of race and politics in America.

Now we come to his so-called race speech. Obama did the obligatory sprint backwards from Wright's preachments and philosophy. The idea was not just to distance himself from Wright's views, but to get ahead of the curve and reassure the waverers and doubters about him that his hope, change and unity theme was still alive and well. The problem with this is that it won't quell the doubts.

He made the speech only under extreme duress, namely the beating that he took for his association with Wright, and his fear that it could wreck or at the very least be a horrible distraction to his campaign. As he correctly noted, the Wright speech(s) will continue to resurface and will continue to be a prick in his campaign's side. It won't open up any new dialogue on race that some commentators naively think will or should happen. Obama in fact told us why. He mentioned the O.J. Simpson case, and how the great racial discourse that the case supposedly ignited was grotesquely twisted, mangled, and ultimately botched.

But that doesn't mean race will magically disappear from the presidential campaign trail, or more specifically from Obama's campaign trail. These questions will still be whispered or shouted out whenever Obama's name is mentioned: Is America ready for a black president? Will whites vote for him in a showdown with two white males? Does he really have the experience (read intelligence and competence)? Is he patriotic enough? Is he black enough? Is he too black? Will he tilt toward blacks and other minorities in the White House? Will he be a yes man for (white) corporate interests? Will his election make race a dead issue in America?

This doesn't make for serious dialogue on racial problems, let alone point America in the direction of real solutions to them. This is mere momentary racial titillation. Obama's speech contained the seed for the racial discourse dodge when he spoke of the disparities in the criminal justice system, failing inner city schools, HIV/AIDS, and chronic and nagging Great Depression high rate of black male unemployment, the need for greater family supports only in the broadest of broad generalities. There was not the barest hint of any specific initiatives to tackle these problems.

The Wright issue and by extension race was forced on Obama. One eloquent and flowery speech won't make either go away.

Read more HuffPost coverage and reaction to Obama's speech

Earl Ofari Hutchinson is an author and political analyst. His new book is The Ethnic Presidency: How Race Decides the Race to the White House (Middle Passage Press, February 2008).

Comments

[athy]

It was difficult to believe anything Obama in his race speech.
There is a 'disconnect ' somewhere between reality and words. I found the race speech unsettling. It didn't quell my doubts either.

1- Obama devisive in practice, attended church for 20 years -and claims he renounces Rev Wright comments BUT maintains strong relationship with Wright. wHAT IS GLUE HOLDING RELATIONSHIP between Wright & Obama together. Are they co workers, golfing buddies, family members, neighbors, student/teacher, mentor/mentee, If bond based based on god's love- and Christ's glory...how could Obama it in pew for 20 years and not speak up if he disagreed with Rev Wright on issues. Is this how he will behave (not confront so as not to make waves) if he gets elected?
2- Obama hired Axelrod to run his campaign strategy.
Axelrod"s specialty is getting black candidates elected by causing "race issues" to pop up in each campaign.
http://www.tnr.com/politics/story.html?id=aa0cd21b-0ff2-4329-88a1-69c6c268b304
The New Republic, "Race Man" by Sean Wilentz.

http://www.thenation.com/doc/20070219/hayes
"Obama"s Media Maven" by Chrisptoher Hayes. 2/19/08 issue

3- The third reason I found it difficult to believe speech is
Ted Sorenson , JFK's top advisor and speechwriter is helping Obama write speeches.

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/Vote2008/story?id=4259093&page=1

"Passing the Torch: Kennedy's Touch on Obama's Words- Ted Sorensen, Legendary Speechwriter, Lends Support, Eloquence to Democratic Contender"By Susan Donaldson James, 2/8/08 ABC News.

[tomcj]

Earl Ofari Hutchinson is like a cow who holds Fundraisers for McDonald's.

His columns are always good for a laugh and he spares no expense when comforting the comfortable.

Well done, Mr. Earl!

[Citizenofreality]

Mr. Hutchison, I read your posts, I don't know why. I wish you and your candidate luck, both of you have proven to be highly effective at killing hope and the wish for a new day in this tired, beat up, divided country. I will dutifully pull the lever for your candidate if she wins the nomination, but I know that the kind of healing and newfound direction I saw in Obama's campaign will not take place. Pat yourselves on the back for being hard -bitten, cynical pragmatists, but history has shown that in order for meaningful change to happen that an ingredient called inspiration must be in the mix. You all can say "I told you so" if things work out in your favor in Denver but don't expect this person of mixed race to do anything more than my duty in the booth in November. My thanks to you for pointing out to me that I am just a starry-eyed fool and that this old world will stay the same no matter what I dream.

[audacitytocope]

I don't understand what people like Hutchinson and others want. If he had spoke about race earlier then he would have been playing the race card. If he did now, then he is under distress and just doing because he is forced to and not sincere. When is a good time for a black man who transcends race in a way that white people love to talk about race.

[NoGoodNamesLeft]

Here come the plans for this fall

GOP ad makers salivate at potential in Wright comments

"I think it's an obligation of any opponent to use this issue, to make Reverend Wright a centerpiece of the campaign," Rep. Peter King (R-NY) tells Newsday.

http://rawstory.com/news/2008/GOP_ad_makers_salivate_at_potential_0319.html

[bossjimgettys]

I've yet to hear one media bite from Wright that offended me or that I disagreed with. I am a 50 year-old white male who supports Obama, feels no particular pride in being caucasian and detests the Clintons. This is a violent, racist country descending into Christo-Fascism; I'm glad that someone like Wright still has the freedom to speak his mind, at least for the time being... "oh dear, an angry black man, let's run back to the suburbs and watch "Seinfeld" reruns with that hilarious Kramer until this whole "election" thing is over."

[snowcat]

yet another in a long line of Obama bashing articles by Earl Ofari Hutchison, so what else is new???

http://www.alternet.org/authors/3466

he doesn't even try to be impartial

[trkster]

Mr. Hutchinson,

Please read all of the other blog articles on Obama's speech right here on HuffingtonPost.com. Then tell me which articles, yours or the others, give you a feeling of hope.

[arthuride]

Only now are people seeing the Obama is a divider, not a uniter. No matter what words he uses, they resemble those of Bush--the village idiot who also declared himself to be a uniter--while hundreds of thousands were murdered and more are murdered every day in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere in Bush's quest to win increasingly obscene profits for Dick Cheney's Halliburton Corp. What little W has not destroyed of the USA, Obama will complete the destruction, and the USA will degenerate into a Third World Nation. Hutchinson is correct.

[BigBen]

Why did Obama not follow his wife and children when they all walked out of the Rev.Wrighht's church in Chicago in protest at his racist and anti American tirades. I don't know exactly the date of this protest but I feel that any loyal Americans in the congregation would surely not have sat through Wright's evil talk so unlike the speeches of the Rev. MLK. And if Obama did not follow why did he not lead the walk out?

[SEQUOIABISON]

You are correct, that wonderful moving speech will not make his critics like you go away. Nothing he can say or do will ever silence his detractors.

The Republican hit machine, which I consider you a card carrying member of, will never let up on their criticism of Obama because he is the antithesis of what they represent, greed, avarice, and war.

Obama has a new message for America lets start getting along and caring for each other and stop the war profiteering.

[drjay79]

The media are not at fault. Hillary is not at fault. This is Obama's. The great trend ,in politics, now to wear one's religion on one's sleeve makes his quilt by association a reasonable reaction.

[meanguy]

pretty clever, though, to deflect questions about a close and longtime relationship with a racist conspiracy theorist with a speech containing the subtlest of hints that WE'RE the ones we've been waiting to preach against...now the formula is: vote for obama or you're no better than bull connor or david duke

[Ginko]

It is just as wrong to preach hate in a White church as it is in a black church. This isn't about race at all, Obama is making it about race. It is about his poor judgement and his associations with questionable people. Its about him lying to us on national tv then today changing his tune. He is not ready to be President. IF he is nominated, we will lose in the General to McInsane and our country can not survive that.

[AjicNYC]

GO JON STEWART. Thats right. that how I feel.

Obama is DIVIDING us
stop him now.

This was Obama's Kitchen Sink
But he threw it at us.

[cocote]

What planet are you on?

It is clear that nothing Obama can say can satisfy people like ajicnyc or Hutchinson.

Hutchinson is right, in a way. NOthing Obama can say will make his race or his association with Wright go away for people who don't want it to go away. It's probably futile to try.

But Obama is right. There is legitimate anger in the black community. There is also understandable anger in the white community. We cannot pretend it is not there. So, acknowledge it, understand it, and then work to move beyond it. Peace, jobs, health care, the environment are not black issues, or white issues.

[Fergie13]

I never really held Sen Obama responsible for the words of Rev Wright. I do hold him responsible for the people he surrounds himself with, most especially in his pursuit for the presidency. I look at this situation and ask if his 'judgement' is as good as he says it is. The questions regarding Rezco were another flag to question his judgement, for in each experience (or awkward moment) he personally said that his judgement was off. Why will it suddenly be so fabulous if he is chosen president?

It was disappointing that in response to worries basically about Sen Obama's qualifications to be president he chose to give a lecture on racism. Millions have diligently and silently worked for many years to bring all people closer, and to even out the opportunities for us all. Those thousands of unnamed heros are the ones who made it possible for so many of us (including Michelle and Barak Obama) to succeed and reach wonderful successes. Our country is not perfect , there are still many conversations to be had and problems to be solved, but that was not the question asked of Sen Obama. It felt as though he was tossing in the 'race card' himself, maybe to help change the subject. Now I am suppose to vote for him BECAUSE he is black and will fix all the wounds of time? I thought we were suppose to vote by qualifications, not race or gender. My business is in downtown Los Angeles. The neighborhood looks like a crayola box we are all so different (my family does as well), and we are all friends, associates, and sometimes rivals. We have worked through many challenges, one of the biggest commuity tests being the Rodney King verdicts. I don't need a lesson on humanity or racism. I could use a more efficently run government, help for New Orleans and friends, affordable health insurance, and a zillion other little things. His speech was beautiful, but the presidency will require so much more than speeches.

[jdm58]

Very well put.