Barack Obama's speech on race this morning was remarkable for a number of reasons, not the least of which being that near-nominees don't discuss race with such frankness and nuance. Of course there's a reason for that.
Here are a few other amazing things from the speech: "I can no more disown [Jeremiah Wright] than I can disown the black community." or "[W]e do need to remind ourselves that so many of the disparities that exist in the African-American community today can be directly traced to inequalities passed on from an earlier generation that suffered under the brutal legacy of slavery and Jim Crow."
We'll hear these sound bites again, likely packaged with the famous Jeremiah Wright video clips, with perhaps a sprinkle of Mrs. Obama's thoughts on her national pride and patriotism thrown in. Obama and those closest to him hate America, we'll be told, and blame the country for the black community's problems. Obama knows this is coming -- he's said he expects outside groups to use things like Wright's comments in campaign attack ads.
He knows what's coming and he handed his opponents some heavy cudgels with which to do their dirty work.
It was, in a sense, a challenge to voters: Don't buy into or reward these sorts of attacks, let the old-school pols cherry-pick sound-bites and take a nuanced, careful examination of race and cast it in -- if you will -- stark, black-and-white terms. Be bigger than that. Join this discussion honestly and maturely.
To be clear: It is possible to raise criticisms of Obama or his speech without being racist or taking his comments out of context.
For some, nagging questions remain. 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.
This nods to -- and tries to inoculate against -- the possibility of more Wright videos surfacing, with Obama sitting in the audience. There are legitimate issues surrounding what is required of those who aspire to national leadership when facing toxic hate speech. When Clinton supporters warn about Obama being untested, this is what they're talking about.
Obama's speech this morning is one we will read and hear for years to come, regardless of what happens in the next few months. But he is still in the middle of a campaign -- time will tell whether voters accept his challenge or whether we remember the speech as a great moment that gave his rivals the means of his political downfall.
Read more HuffPost coverage and reaction to Obama's speech
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Posted March 18, 2008 | 06:04 PM (EST)