Curb Your Enthusiasm Meets Barack Obama
On Tuesday, this son of Eastern European stock drove into Center City to bear witness to a speech about race delivered by a candidate who described himself in his remarks as "the son of a black man from Kenya and a white woman from Kansas."
Rep. Patrick Murphy (D., Pa.), the product of Irish and Italian ancestry, had invited me as his guest to hear Sen. Barack Obama. He also offered the possibility for me to conduct an interview with Obama for use on radio. That chance prompted my producer, a Mayflower-bred, Harvard-educated, Main Line mom, to offer to carry the sound equipment and drive us to the event in -- what else? -- her Volvo.
Immediately after the speech, lunchtime added to the bustle of the block at Eighth and Race, where I stood with my bald white head and my BlackBerry. Meanwhile, my lily-white colleague sought to retrieve her Cross Country wagon. Unfortunately, in her haste to exit the parking lot, she scraped an immaculate SUV in the adjacent space. (Her defense: She herself was on the phone, responding to a request from Fox News for me to react to the speech.) When I went to inspect the damage on the other vehicle, I took note of the Puerto Rican flag hanging from the rearview mirror.
A parking attendant responded to the fender-bender. He was a black man wearing a bow tie and speaking with an African accent. I heard him tell my WASP-y producer she couldn't leave the lot until his manager arrived. While she was handling this development, I saw a Latino man with close-cropped hair and low-hanging jeans cross the lot and upon seeing the damage to his 2007 Suzuki, he was instantly anguished. "Manny" (as we later learned he was named) was understandably upset to learn what had happened in his absence.
An hour earlier, I'd been watching Barack Obama. Now, I was caught up in an episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm with more metaphors than I could keep track of.
I'd walked into the National Constitution Center thinking like Howard Baker: What did Barack Obama hear from Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr. and when did he hear it? I wanted to know what kept him coming back to the pew after two decades of toxic diatribes, and I wondered whether he was really taken aback at seeing the now-notorious YouTube clip of Wright, whether he'd been present for that sermon or not. After all, he had disinvited Wright from delivering the invocation at his campaign announcement for some reason.
I exited the speech thinking that if I ultimately do not vote for Obama it will be for reasons other than his minister.
What I found most refreshing about the speech was Obama's willingness to give it at all -- a totally unmuzzled talk about race. He spoke with customary elegance, in stark contrast to the angry rants of his pastor. How ironic that this powerful orator has been undermined not by his own words, but by those of his pastor, and some of his critics. He has managed to distance himself from the angry extremists to his left and right, using something more than just grandiose language: substance. The transcript is definitely recommended reading.
His speech noted the reality of America's history of racial inequality, but also the legitimacy of some concerns of the white middle class. And he made admissions. ("Did I know him to be an occasionally fierce critic of American domestic and foreign policy? Of course. Did I ever hear him make remarks that could be considered controversial while I sat in church? Yes. Did I strongly disagree with many of his political views? Absolutely...")
Perhaps most important, Obama made clear where he believed Wright had been wrong:
"The profound mistake of Rev. Wright's sermons is not that he spoke about racism in our society. It's that he spoke as if our society was static; as if no progress has been made; as if this country -- a country that has made it possible for one of his own members to run for the highest office in the land and build a coalition of white and black; Latino and Asian, rich and poor, young and old -- is still irrevocably bound to a tragic past. But what we know -- what we have seen -- is that America can change. That is the true genius of this nation. What we have already achieved gives us hope -- the audacity to hope -- for what we can and must achieve tomorrow."
A point well taken. How can America be so fundamentally unfair and racist if one of Wright's very congregants is now positioned to capture the Democratic nomination for president? As Obama said, "I will never forget that in no other country on Earth is my story even possible."
Two blocks away after the speech, the lot attendant with the African accent returned to tell the WASP woman and the Puerto Rican man not to worry because his manager was en route. Sure enough, within a few minutes, a natty BMW pulled up and out popped "Mr. Tran," the Asian supervisor who had come to sort out the unfolding drama. All parties spoke civilly, cooperated, and parted company with handshakes all around. Which reminded me of something else I'd heard that day:
" . . . [W]e may not look the same and we may not have come from the same place, but we all want to move in the same direction -- towards a better future for our children and our grandchildren."
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Why does Michael Smerconish assume that the angry words of Mr. Obama's pastor are off the mark -- in substance or tone? Why does he find a soothing truth in Obama's elegant words about the legitimacy of some concerns of the White middle class?
What exactly are those concerns? Please list your weary woes and cares. Go ahead and lay your burdens down, brother. But if you're really looking for CHANGE, you gotta know it won't come as a calm, quiet, polite discussion. The revolution will not be YouTubed.
I'll say this -- if Smerconish is put off by all those angry words, I'd hate for him to hear the jokes.
While I often fantasize over the image of masses of the middle class storming Washington pitchforks and torches in hand, I am inspired by Barack Obama. I read the transcript and subsequently listened to Obama’s speech. Lord, how I want that man leading our country. It’s time.
I am horrified by the idea that religion could stop this optimistic progress. In the words of Reverend Wright, “God Damn America.” He’s right… Look at us!! Who among us has never damned what they perceived as injustice?
If Obama loses this election, I’m afraid I’ll have to sharpen my scythe and head to D.C. along with poeticjustice4all.
Start making your travel plans
Smerconish, I heard your offer these same thoughts on talk TV. I've got to say I am sometimes more impressed by your cynicism than your candor. And that perception, coupled with you taking the trouble and appearing to mean what you say hear, gives me reason to believe that even the most hard boiled of us harbors a core that is still most moved by reason and civility.
Good story, Michael, and good post. Thanks for the invitation to think . . . though it seems some of the commenters showed up here unprepared.
You know when you look through these posts its quite obvious that there’s no new thinking here. There are no minds that are open or that can be still enough, being in the present to make a thoughtful decision, pliant, unprimed by the conditioning of the past perpetrated by the subtle manipulations of corporate owned MSM and it’s hidden agenda.
The die is cast and on some level we all know what is about to transpire if we are still the nation that has at it’s heart the ability to adapt, to change, to transcend what we are in the aggregate presently. Mr. Smerconish wrote a thoughtful post amidst all the hub-bub and “noise” of ones daily life of disparate thoughts concerns and distractions. In spite of his predilections, his tendencies, he spoke to truth. His mind appears to have been still and in the present and I admire his forthright commentary.
Very well said TMAN. You have a FAN.
many respectful thanks, Herrington
I work with a "colorful" group of people at work and I know exactly what you mean. I think it's great.
Whether your voting for Barack or not, if you listened to or read his Philly Speech and can honestly tell me you weren't touched, I feel sorry for you.
The last three lines of my previous post were cut off:
"Consequently I Fear that Barak Obama may Fake Out his Faithful...and Fool us all...
But then our other choices are HRC, the Queen of Hyperbole, and McCain the Delusional"
Some Choice...NOT.
This is one of those times that anarchy looks like a good option.
Great story.
Here's a less happy anecdote:
I was watching a movie the other nite from 1991... In one scene, a young black man who was being interviewed suddenly went off about Whites putting AIDs in the drinking water in poor black neighborhoods to kill them off...If I hadn't heard Rev. Wright (Wrong) tirade, I would have said that the writer/director had one ugly and hateful imagination...
Which gets back to the original reason forSen.Obama's speech. I was pleased to see that he was more restrained ;than usual in his delivery, refraining from invoking that preachifying style that most of us who are not of evangelical persuasions find so ridiculous, to the point of offensive...
Offensive because it employs a cadenced speech pattern that is used to foment fervor, and was the rhetorical technique used by Hitler to dupe the German people into following his horrific agenda... Because, when a high fevered pitch is going strong, people are liable to buy into anything...even the idea that millions of Jews should be (or weren't being) exterminated, or that whites brought AIDS to the black communities to eradicate them....
(Nevermind that AIDS originated in AFRICA and HAITI among black populations...)
>>>Fomented Fervor Fans the Flames and Forgets the Facts...
Nice quantum leap...comparing the cadence used by those with 'evangelical persuasions' to the 'rhetorical technique used by Hitler to dupe the German people'.
What's wrong with some of you people?
Wow.... paranoia runs deep! Into your life it will creep. Starts when you're always afraid, step out of line, the man comes and takes you away!
(Nevermind that AIDS originated in AFRICA and HAITI among black populations...)
You realize it is a medical impossibility of a disease originating on two different continents separated by an ocean. While _sections_ of Africa (remember it's a CONTINENT, not a country and AIDS is NOT widespread on the continent only particular countries) and Haiti have suffered much more from AIDS it does not mean it originated there. More people in the third world die from Western diseases like smallpox than people in the Western world due to disparities in medical treatment options.
Thanks, Michael.
Here is the issue that you fail to notice - Michael......
#1 Barack Obama would have never addressed this issue unless it was a political necessity for him after his ministers rant
#2 Barack Obama has played the race card to his benefit from the beginning where the race issue was his to manipulate
#3 Since he has not championed this issue on a national stage we find it disingenuous at this point #4 An honest discussion on race would include input from everyone - not just the media and AA's.
#5 A majorty of the white population were not at an age to remember the civil rights movement and have seen many examples of minorities overcoming to achieve great things.
The voters will have an opportunity to speak to this issue in the primaries and general election, therefore having an opportunity to participate in this "discussion" Barack wants to now have.
more desperate bumble-headed attacks on our eventual nominee. really dumb. guess you're going to vote against him to prove the point that racism doesn't exist. makes a lot of sense.
This is a perfect example the illusion of a "conversation" does not exist. Thanks for the opportunity.
No, it's actually people like you who use ad hominem attacks on people that let racism continue to be an issue in this country. It's YOUR wrong-headedness that allows ignorance to flourish in this country.
I won't vote for Obama because I believe his politics really suck (do a little in-depth history on his elections for Illinois legislature and US senate and you'll understand what I mean) and his credentials, as far as I'm concerned, are not worthy of POTUS.
That said, race plays no part whatsoever in my opinion of him. However, his association with Wright types and Farahkkan types bother me because of their divisive language against whites of which I am one. Why is it ok for him to have these people molding his psychology?
Obama didn't run as the "black" candidate. His agenda to run wasn't based on a race and discrimination. He is a black man, a fact that our population has not failed to recognize - how is that manipulation? His coalition is vast and deep. He is not a "champion" of race issues - implying that he should be tells me he should be a "typical black politician" in your eyes. His speech basically invited EVERYONE to think and particpate in how race and discrimination impact them - he left no one out of the discussion, just the opposite. A majority of the white population knows a lot about racism, discrimination, and this divide in our country - whether they want to talk about it or not. Barack didn't open up the discussion, and I'm sure he would rather focus on the original reasons he decided to run - the war, health care, education, etc. The race card was first put out there by Bill Clinton in South Carolina when he tried to "remind" people that Barack won only because he was black. Until then, it wasn't a focal point of the election. Afterward, it's become the main focus, unfortunately.
Barack is not a black man although he now says he is. He is a bi-racial man who was raised by a white family. He now has been chosen by the African-American community to be identify as "black." When at the beginning of this run for presidency, there was those who said he was not black enough. At least Tiger Woods is honest about race, when asked if he was Black, he said he is a product from two cultures. He never chose one race over the other;Barack did.
no he becomes the "black politician" when it is convenient for him. What is it that you, Wright and Barack want from this "conversation"??????????
On #1 I think you miss the point that this speech went much further than it had to, if his only aim were to distance himself from Wright's remarks;
On #2, I'd like some examples of "Obama playing the race card from the beginning." I certainly haven't noticed it
On #3 I think his candidacy itself is a form of "championing the issue." Further, if you're a black candidate who doesn't want his candidacy to be just about his race, you must concede it's clear why he hasn't put the issue front and center.
On #5, they've also seen plenty of examples the other way. The point here is, rather than dismiss Wright as a crank, there's something to be gained by acknowledging that his perceptions didn't arise in a vacuum; there are legitimate reasons for his anger, and it's worth understanding those reasons.
Michael Smerconish listened with open mind and heart to what Obama had to say. He gets it
In contract, check out Pat Buchanan’s recent blog, A Brief for Whitey, which fails to mention any part of the speech that conflicts with Buchanan’s ideologically driven point he wants to make. Maybe Buchanan didn’t take the time to understand the speech of which he writes – if not, shame on him. More likely, he is being intellectually dishonest and his blog is a first-hand illustration of the point Obama made that “talk show hosts and conservative commentators [build] entire careers unmasking bogus claims of racism while dismissing legitimate discussions of racial injustice and inequality as mere political correctness or reverse racism.
Great post, Michael. You proven here what I've been telling my friends for years: "Not ALL Republicans are (insert invective)." Seriously, along with Jon Stewart's (The Daily Show) "Obama's Write Response" followed by the "Open Discussion" with Larry Wilmore, you've pointed out that if we can reasonably expect anything to flower from Obama's ground breaking speech, it is us who will have to tend the seeds he planted. [Obama-Webb '08]
WOW Michael Smerconish.. I become a fan of yours more and more as I read your articles...
This is WHY OBAMA is such a breath of FRESH AIR ..... He reminds us that we really are in this together... No matter who are. He has been consistent from the day we all met the guy...
Thanks for a great article... !
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I was tempted to respond negatively to some of the other posts, but decided I like it here better. Thanks for a great article and the reminder that though we have distances to go and things that still need fixing, we have made progress. I'm so grateful for our multicultural mix. I love the different thoughts and backgrounds and tastes in our mix. I love the colors and the flavors and the music of our mix. And I really, really love the Food of our mix. Give me some Jamaican jerk, Indian curry, Thai food, pork adobo, carne guisada, kalua pig, polish sausage, apple pie and New England boiled dinner. Give me the tastes and sounds and colors of America!!!! How I love her!
You and sometimes Andrew Sullivan give me hope that the divide can be bridged and Americans can unite and get some positive stuff done in the future.
This is an article that will go unnotice because it speaks the truth. Thank you Michael...incredible piece. Brought tears to my eyes...
Great article. Captures what Obama brings to a "t". Thanks.
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