Sunday Morning Segregation: Peggy Noonan & The Wright Stuff

The "Reverend Wright is Wrong" refrain has been repeated endlessly this past week as pundits on both sides weigh in on the racial and religious controversy that's rocked the Obama campaign. Martin Luther King, Jr. touched on this not-so-divine divide 45 years ago:

"We must face the fact that in America, the church is still the most segregated major institution in America. At 11:00 on Sunday morning when we stand and sing and Christ has no east or west, we stand at the most segregated hour in this nation."

Sunday morning in our household is, by contrast, the one time during the week when we suspend our secular segregation and tune in to the hot air from beltway blowhards on both sides of the partisan divide. On rare occasions, we even agree with an aside from George Will or a point made by Pat Buchanan.

But Wall Street Journal pundit Peggy Noonan literally gave us pause on Meet the Press yesterday when she responded to a question from Tim Russert about Obama's seminal speech so reasonably that we had to grab the remote, rewind, and relisten:

Tim Russert: Is Obama uniquely situated to talk bluntly to both the white community and the black community?

Peggy Noonan: Maybe he's situated to speak with a certain sensitivity. He's a black man. He also is white. He is both. That means he has experience of both communities, if that isn't too clunky a word to use. Let me take--say, Tim, I thought one of the most important things that he did in his speech was talk about racism even though he started with slavery, and that was a long time ago. He talked about racism as a generational problem, as a problem that had changed over the years. He said Reverend Wright came from the Jim Crow days, he came from another America, and he was shaped and misshapen by that dreadful cultural arrangement of Jim Crow.

Younger black people and younger white people do not have the same experiences. They have to understand each other, they have to mark their progress, they have to, on both sides, stop using the past as an excuse not to get along or, or not to change and improve. So I haven't heard anybody say that in, in politics in some time in America. I thought it was a real insight, really smart and the beginning of a wonderful start-off point for, for more talk.

Let me say something else, though. It seems to me, every time I look at a YouTube of Reverend Wright talking and doing his thing and saying his strange things, I notice two things. One is that the people behind him look bored. Another is that frequently, not always, but when they pan to the crowd, his audience looks almost passive, like we are receiving this, we're hearing this, we know what's going on. It seemed to me that in his statements, Wright was not just extreme, radical--we all know the words to say, because they are true--but that he was a throwback. He was old-fashioned. He himself was the voice of yesterday.

And I was wondering about the extent to which that audience and people like Barack and Michelle Obama know he is yesterday, and yet he has some wonderful things within him as a human being. I just throw that open as a possibility.

Upon hearing this, my husband Matt and I looked at each other in absolute amazement. To hear Noonan, a former Reagan speechwriter, give the kind of response that you'd expect from, say, Donna Brazile, was a minor Easter miracle, a resurrection of rationality after a week of crucifixion from conservatives.

Originally posted on TakePart.com.

Comments

[hoodrat]

Been trying to reach out to TRUTH - most people online seem to just wanna disagree. I am the product of the same era as Rev. Wright, and both Black/Hawaiian sides deeply hated. I learned my hate during the sixties, as an ARMY brat(few Black lifers were in military). Got worse when came back stateside - exploded in Marines when no one wanted to just be green. At almost 50, learned to control temper - except when blind ignorance intrudes on normal discourse. Thank GOD, my children aren't like father or Grandfather, who dearly loved his ARMY/Country, but didn't trust it. It doesn't matter the station in life, when you recognize TRUTH and COMMON SENSE speaking, you give attention. Life is change, something no person should be afraid of. Whether Obama becomes the nominee or not, as long as the yardstick of truthful dialogue lengthens I'll be satisfied. Over yrs., might not have agreed with all Ms Noonan said - but never heard a bald faced lie from her either.

[longislandlol]

We all have embarrassing aunts and uncles that come to mind--

[Abie56]

I'm not so amazed with Peggy Noonan's comments and am pleased to see Obama's words are having the desired effect. People are listening to the message.

[Montanamotor]

...and are beginning to THINK again - instead of listening to the (paid) pundits. So, there might still be HOPE - and the audacity of hope may not be an assault on reason any longer. :)

[peggio]

I also heard Peggy Noonan yesterday morning and was agape for a good ten minutes. Then I cried in happiness for the next ten or so. I've wanted to write her a letter of thanks for not playing the dirty little Republican gotcha game. Would that the Clintons, alleged Democrats would do the same. I have rarely agreed w/ Ms. Noonan but have always thought her to be honest in her commentary. Her depth of understanding was brilliant and her bravery in the midst of the current lunacy to speak with thought will make me anxious to listen to her rather than dismiss her as one more right wing loony. Pat Buchanan, on the other hand remains suspect in his new found devotion to Hillary Clinton. Sometimes he forgets that he's an independant now and not in fact working for the RNC.

[carcinoid112]

One would hope that people of every color/race/mix would understand that the past MUST be taught to children, if only to help them avoid the errors made then.

[ldvisavis]

Something I have not seen or heard yet"why is listening such a threat? Obama grew up estranged from his black father and raised by his white mother and grandparents. As an adult, why is it wrong to explore the reality of the black experience as it is perceived by that community? As he heard the pain, the fear, the sense of injustice, the real and the exaggerated claims that can be found in the black community (as everywhere"you know it is true) he developed a message that was very, very different. He did not espouse hatred; he called for unity. He did not seek to destroy, but to raise up.

When I hear people say Obama is not qualified to be president because he may have heard comments in church that question the actions we, through our government, take. We have had year after year of moral certitude and refusal to even ask if we are on the right path. Has that unquestioned certitude benefited the U.S. or the world in general? Are we that threatened by questions? If the questions are inflammatory, or completely wrongheaded does that mean we have to kill the questioner? Is it not possible to have empathy, and to say Rev. Wright, sir, with respect you are off-base? The world does not work as you fear, Rev. Wright. A better way is possible. We are showing you it is possible right now.

The idea that exposure to a skewed perspective means you cannot have a clear perspective is such a defeatist attitude. No progress would be possible with that mindset. I would be grateful to hear more courage, more dialogue, and more thoughtfulness as we go forward to make our critical choice for president.

[wayoutleft]

in that regard, it would be very constructive to coalesce around an especially clever and demeaning distortion of mccain's name- or some perjorative. chris cillizza (wash post) on matthews compared mccain's campaigning to the old cartoon character Mr. Magoo, who did uprorious things because he was old and blind. Mr. Magoo would teeter around terrible hazards avoiding them by chance as he ambled along mistaking everything, but always just avoiding mishap he wasn't even aware of. also Magoo's jim backus voice was very similar to mccain's. matthews and especially eugene robinson (wash post) thought the comparison was delightful.

[djelimon]

Oh, here's a new CNN article, featuring the full 40 minutes of "Goddam America", if you play it backwards he says "kill whitey"

If you play it forward, it says "Oppressors come in all colors" "Bill Clinton was an intelligent friend" "W was a dumb Dixiecrat" "God never fails, but governments do"

which way do you want to play it america?

http://ac360.blogs.cnn.com/2008/03/21/the-full-story-behind-wright%e2%80%99s-%e2%80%9cgod-damn-america%e2%80%9d-sermon/#more-448

[djelimon]

This whole Wright thing is a bunch of bull anyway. his sermons were decontaxtualized his point obscured.

If you listen to the sermons in their entirety, they are by no stretch of the imagination hate speech. The media is just giving bigots an easy excuse to hate Obama.

But don't take my word for it, check it out:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RvMbeVQj6Lw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QOdlnzkeoyQ

There's lots of other complete sermons on youtube and odeo. The picture they paint is of a good man speaking out in an usually frank manner against violence, hatred, and racism of all colours.

[vbond]

David Brooks is one thing.

Peggy Noonan is something else again.

Amazing.

[GAArmyWife]

You could tell she really appreciated what Obama had to say. I thought she was excellent on the show.

It seems to me that the intellectuals from both parties seem to really gravitate towards Obama's message.

[nepat]

FYI - Noonan was a Reagan, not a Nixon, speechwriter.

[huffkat]

Thanks for bringing that to my attention, error is fixed! I guess I was confusing her with William Safire, another relatively rational Republican (on occasion...)

[krisellyn]

Rationality? You obviously are an obamabot. She sounded like a paid commercial. Same as Chris Matthews this morning on MSNBC Morning Joe. This is the same man that homoerotically announced in a broadcast that hearing Obama speak sent chills up his legs. This morning, Chris Matthews sounded like he was briefed this morning by David Axelrod and came out like an avenging angel against Clinton. It was so Obama friendly that Mica asked him (after an akward, tense moment) if Chris was finally coming out and endorsing Obama.

Noonan is just another example of how bias has taken over our airways.

[1dogs2]

HuffPost's Pick

I was similarly stunned by Noonan's remarks. It made me wonder whether Obama's call for a new politics that focuses on solutions to the problems that beset our nation rather than on the distraction du jour has had an effect. In fairness, Noonan was never among the worst practitioners of the politics of personal destruction and has on other occasions provided interesting and thoughtful responses to serious questions. But her responses on Meet the Press are a high-water mark for fair comment.

In the interest of reducing the vitriol, if not of raising the level of political discourse in this country, I wonder if the supporters of both Clinton and Obama who comment on this site could eschew the use of belittling names for each other's supporters. Could Obama supporters stop referring to Clinton's supporters as "Clintonistas" and to the Clintons as "Billary"? I was offended by the latter term from the first time I heard it -- from an enraged neo-con back in 1992. Could Clinton supporters stop referring to Obama supporters as "Obamabots"? Could Democrats stop referring to Republicans as "Repugs"? Etc. Name-calling does not further any conversation or address any issue or even evidence linguistic cleverness after the millionth use of an offensive name. It reveals a mind-set that views politics as a game (or in more offensive examples, as a blood-sport) rather than as the most serious and consequential adult activity that Americans can participate in.

[seepee]

Your right -- preach you sermon to Rev. Wright (it was the flavor of a Madrassa speech)

[ldvisavis]

RE: "You obviously are an obamabot."

Tediously repetious name-calling, belittling what you do not understand, and simplistic categorization. Do you still think this is clever?

I continue to appreciate dialogue that springs from the Obama campaign and from most Obama supporters that raises the level of true intellectual engagement in important issues. I am sad, but not surprised, to see the type of bumper-sticker-deep vitriol spouted and espoused by others.

[Boris]

Do you understand that Noonan is a REPUBLICAN? Oooh, and name calling...gee whiz. To be called an Obamabot? Oh, golly, that really hurts. How can I face the day? Face it...Hilary is done and she is dragging down the Democratic party with her. If she cant be president, no Democrat will.

[desmirl]

Clinton: Wrong when she voted to authorize force in Iraq. Clinton: Wrong when she voted to authorize continuing funds for Bush's war in Iraq. Clinton: Doubly, Insanely Wrong when she voted for Kyl-Lieberman, authorizing a backdoor channel for Bush to go to war with Iran. CLINTON: WRONG FOR AMERICA - UNLESS YOU WANT ANOTHER WARMONGER FOR PRESIDENT.

[Livvy]

It is starting to sound like people on the right have a better chance of acknowledging when Mr. Obama says something insightful than Hillary supporters. That's pretty sad.

Personally I have found it hopeful that a number of people in the news industry have listened to the Obama speech last week and been throughtful about it. Its not as though they are endorsing him for president. What they are saying is he had something to say worth listening to and perhaps we might be able to elevate our sound bite journalism to actually thinking about it. I find this encouraging.