Obama's Speech (New today, LOONG)

[Chardok]

I'm pretty sure he wrote it himself. I could be wrong, though.

No...I saw somewhere (Yahoo!?) that his writers worked on it from Saturday up until just before he made the speech. But that makes it more impressive that he could take something so fresh and deliver it as he did. Kudos, bigtime.

Just heard on cnn that he did indeed write most of it.

Hmm...I stand corrected, then...

[Revan's Fire]

Well, Countdown said he wrote most of it, so I'm sold. But I for one believe that most of all, it's Obama's unflinching resolve in this firestorm that will help him the most. He stood up for who he was as a person and what Reverend Wright meant to him, as opposed to what was the smart thing to do politically. I'm in PA, and I hope my fellow Democrats were paying attention, because Hillary has never come close to treating the voters like they're actual intelligent beings.

[Chris OFarrell]

"Some will see this as an attempt to justify or excuse comments that are simply inexcusable. I can assure you it is not. I suppose the politically safe thing would be to move on from this episode and just hope that it fades into the woodwork. We can dismiss Reverend Wright as a crank or a demagogue, just as some have dismissed Geraldine Ferraro, in the aftermath of her recent statements, as harboring some deep-seated racial bias.

But race is an issue that I believe this nation cannot afford to ignore right now. We would be making the same mistake that Reverend Wright made in his offending sermons about America – to simplify and stereotype and amplify the negative to the point that it distorts reality. "

Fuck. If the US don't elect this guy, then frankly my faith in the US population is going to drop to an all time low. Of course judging from the responses of some of the right wing religions morons on Spacebattles on this speech...

[Davis 51]

Of course judging from the responses of some of the right wing religions morons on Spacebattles on this speech...

The internet makes everyone seem louder.

This speech was amazing. Jon Steward was spot on when he said Obama spoke on race as if he were talking to "adults."

[Feil]

That was beautiful.

[Durandal]

This is the speech I'm going to be telling my grandkids about. Jon Stewart summed it up best tonight. "On March 18, 2008, a politician talked to Americans about race ... as though they were adults."

[irishmick79]

Just saw the speech on Youtube, and that was pretty impressive. It's nice to see a candidate take a potential negative against him and use it as a launching point to talk about something that matters. I just don't understand why more candidates on the national level aren't more adept at doing this like Obama did. Kerry was horrible at turning attacks around, and Bush's response to attacks has basically been, "I'm doing whatever the hell I want to do, so shut the fuck up." Seriously, how hard is it to find somebody who can eloquently neutralize an attack by turning it into something positive? It's politics, people! There's ALWAYS away to hook a negative into something positive. It's fucking Debate 101 for crying out loud.

Is the political environment seriously so fucked up and polarized that it takes a candidate with extraordinary powers to do on a national stage what a fucking high school kid can routinely do in debate class? Have we really sunk that far as a nation where our politicians are so scared shitless to speak their minds that we need a guy like Obama to come along and have the guts to say what's on his mind and put it in a way that connects with Americans? Hell, Obama was throwing shit down in that speech that he uses on the stump. How fucking hard can it be to pull of a speech like this, and why can't more politicians do it?

Don't get me wrong, it was a very, very good speech. Obama really killed it. I'm just pissed that it's taken this long for both polical parties to produce a candidate of his caliber - fucking HRC, John McCain, John Kerry, and the fucker in the white house (don't even get me started on him) would never have the guts to make a speech like Obama did today. They're to damned scared to admit to you that they're nothing more than careerist bureaucratic fucktwits who have no interest in actually advancing the common good and are solely out for their own political reputations and legacies. They're scared shitless of pissing off the wrong interest group or getting bad media play and fucking up their careers, and they avoid talking about real issues like race in any way they can to protect their image on these issues.

It's really sad to me that everybody is falling head over heels for a guy who just managed to speak about race candidly, in a real way. It shouldn't be such a big fucking deal for somebody on the national level to speak candidly about race. I'm glad Obama made the speech, but it fucking pisses me off that we've fallen so far in our discourse that just speaking candidly on race issues is touted as a real accomplishment, when we have real problems with race relations that our representatives (like HRC and McCain) have been too chickenshit to deal with for decades. It's sad to me that in this environment, it is a real accomplishment to speak candidly about stuff like race.

In the end, I guess I should be glad that the national discussion has shifted to racism at all. I'm not sure that President Clinton tried to realistically talk about race back in '98-'99, but at least he was willing to move it up near the top of his domestic agenda. Unlike W, who has been content to bury and ignore the issue as much as he can.

[darthbob88]

I love this man. I can think of nobody better prepared to lead this country than him, and if he is not elected, I had ancestors in Canada, so I should be able to go back quite easily.

At the risk of overlapping with Shroomy's shtick, I want his man-babies.

[CaptainChewbacca]

Its already being called "One of the defining speeches on racism in America".

[ray245]

Sadly, I've been to many forums and search for topic on his speech...there are still too many idiots around.

Some accuse Obama for being too un-politician and for being too HONEST...

Those words means I cannot vouch for the US to be generally sensible enough to vote for obama. Attacking someone for being too honest?

[Mange]

While Obama's speech was fabulous, I must say that this shouldn't come as a surprise to Obama considering some of the things that can be found on the TUCC website. Sure, it's a association fallacy, but still...

[Revan's Fire]

The greatest line of the speech? Hands down, it was:

Particularly a candidacy as imperfect as my own.

What? A politician who doesn't think that he's the greatest thing to happen to this country ever? (or she, because if there's anything HRC thinks, it's that she's the best thing to happen to America) I think that this line is overlooked, because more than anything else in his fantastic speech, it was this that caught my attention. His acknowledgement of his own fallibility.

[Zwinmar]

I am quite impressed with this speech, which says something, normally I cant stand the Democrats

[Big Phil]

Sadly, I've been to many forums and search for topic on his speech...there are still too many idiots around.

Some accuse Obama for being too un-politician and for being too HONEST...

Those words means I cannot vouch for the US to be generally sensible enough to vote for obama. Attacking someone for being too honest?

The good news is that only crackpots and morons argue on web forums

[Hawkwings]

The greatest line of the speech? Hands down, it was:

Particularly a candidacy as imperfect as my own.

What? A politician who doesn't think that he's the greatest thing to happen to this country ever? (or she, because if there's anything HRC thinks, it's that she's the best thing to happen to America) I think that this line is overlooked, because more than anything else in his fantastic speech, it was this that caught my attention. His acknowledgement of his own fallibility.

Yeah, that caught my attention too. It's definitely good to see that he recognizes and accepts his own weaknesses, and will freely confront them.

[Broomstick]

Is the political environment seriously so fucked up and polarized that it takes a candidate with extraordinary powers to do on a national stage what a fucking high school kid can routinely do in debate class?

Unfortunately, yes. It's been that way for a long time. I'm sorry it took you this long to see it.

It's really sad to me that everybody is falling head over heels for a guy who just managed to speak about race candidly, in a real way. It shouldn't be such a big fucking deal for somebody on the national level to speak candidly about race.

It shouldn't be, but it is.

You know, I'm old enough to remember the 1960's - granted I was a child, but I wasn't completely isolated from the world. I remember seeing people being beaten on TV for having the audacity to stand up and be counted as equals, even for something as mundane as sitting at the same table to eat in public restaurants. This is not something I learned about in a history book, I remember it. But no one ever talks about it! Not directly, it's always fucking whispers and asides and nervous glances. That's bullshit. It really is the elephant in the room.

The other problem, as I see it, is that somewhere around 1972 or 1974 we stopped making progress on correcting a lot of injustices. Yes, we should celebrate that we got rid of some of the most egregious shit, like institutionalized segregation in public accommodations but what has really been accomplished since? It's time to wake up and do some more work, even if that results in a few bruises and scrapes.

I'm glad Obama made the speech, but it fucking pisses me off that we've fallen so far in our discourse that just speaking candidly on race issues is touted as a real accomplishment, when we have real problems with race relations that our representatives (like HRC and McCain) have been too chickenshit to deal with for decades. It's sad to me that in this environment, it is a real accomplishment to speak candidly about stuff like race.

I agree - it should have happened long since - but it hasn't, not in my lifetime. Sure as hell not before then, either.

One of the more profound moments I had was when, in a long-running dispute with a co-worker, she blurted out "I don't like white people! I don't trust you!" Well, OK, that rocked me back on my heels for a minute, then I said "OK, you don't have to like me or my race - can we just agree to be polite when we have to speak to each other here at work?" Oddly enough, that worked. Sometimes just getting it out in the open is enough. I can accept that someone doesn't like me because of my ancestry - I can not accept that they don't respect me as a fellow person. It's the truth that all too often Americans (of any color) don't respect those who don't look like themselves. Solving the race problem doesn't mean everybody loves every body else - it's does mean according respect even to people you don't personally care for. I don't like what I've seen of Reverend Wright, but I'll defend to the death his right to speak his own mind. As Obama said, every side in this problem has legitimate grievances and genuine anger and resentment that we ignore at our peril. What we need to do is come to a place where white people aren't telling racist jokes when the black people aren't around, they're looking at stereotypes and saying "You know, I'm not black, but if I was, I'd find that really insulting". And black people need to get to a point where they realize that the whites who live in poverty and also struggle with poor schools and lack of opportunity need reassurance that black prosperity and success will not be purchased at the cost of holding someone else down. Those of us who speak English are going to have to realize that there are enough Latinos in the US now that Spanish is going to have a big impact on the American language, just as prior groups of large immigrants have affected our culture. Personally, I don't know what the big Asian-American issues are, which could certainly be called a failing on my part, but I do know the stereotype of them as super-smart and super-successful is highly toxic to many who struggle with the disadvantages any immigrant group, and any non-white group, face in the United States.

In a way, only Mr. Obama could make this speech - it would not carry the same weight if spoken by someone of less mixed ancestry.

And we HAVE TO face the race issue - in just a decade or two European Americans will no longer be the majority in the US, merely the largest minority. More and more American children are being born to parents of vastly different ancestry. The future does not look like Mr. Obama's mother or father - it looks like he does. We have to acknowledge that yes, that does frighten people, and we have to talk about why that causes fear, and how to get rid of continuing injustices that cause that fear.

[Simplicius]

I went to a talk today by a long-time Washington type who's got a book out on presidential leadership that has been sent to all the campaigns, etc. etc., in which he made a direct comparison between Obama and Lincoln in terms of character, in terms of leadership style, and in terms of potential. I was particularly struck by the comparison because it had never occurred to me to make it, and I was wondering what you all think.

[CaptainChewbacca]

I went to a talk today by a long-time Washington type who's got a book out on presidential leadership that has been sent to all the campaigns, etc. etc., in which he made a direct comparison between Obama and Lincoln in terms of character, in terms of leadership style, and in terms of potential. I was particularly struck by the comparison because it had never occurred to me to make it, and I was wondering what you all think.

I think that perceived potential is EXACTLY what people are all fired up about. We get the feeling that we can see this greatness coming in and we all hope its true and want to believe it is. Its like the rather famous exchange in the movie "The American President":

Louis (Michael J.Fox): People want leadership, Mr. President, and Rumson's the only one doing the talking. People want leadership, and in the absence of genuine leadership they'll listen to anyone who walks up to the microphone. They want leadership. They're so desperate for it that they'll swim in a mirage in the desert, and when they find there's no water, they'll drink the sand.

President Shepherd (Michael Douglas): Lewis, we've had beloved Presidents who couldn't find a coherent sentence with two hands and a flash light. They don't drink the sand because they think it's water. They drink the sand because they don't know the difference.

I think finally, FINALLY people are waking up and realizing what they COULD have, and what they HAVEN'T had for over a decade. He's got such broad appeal across all demographics, I really have no other explanation.

Of course, you put a man on a pedastal that lofty, he's GOING to fall. What's important is what he does after he hits the ground.

[Patrick Degan]

I went to a talk today by a long-time Washington type who's got a book out on presidential leadership that has been sent to all the campaigns, etc. etc., in which he made a direct comparison between Obama and Lincoln in terms of character, in terms of leadership style, and in terms of potential. I was particularly struck by the comparison because it had never occurred to me to make it, and I was wondering what you all think.

Whether Barak Obama proves comparable to Abraham Lincoln is something which will only be determined by future history. However, he is comparable right now to FDR in terms of his ability to inspire, and this is a very important quality of political leadership, especially in a democracy. It is something which has been lacking in our politics for a very long time now.

[Adrian Laguna]

I went to a talk today by a long-time Washington type who's got a book out on presidential leadership that has been sent to all the campaigns, etc. etc., in which he made a direct comparison between Obama and Lincoln in terms of character, in terms of leadership style, and in terms of potential. I was particularly struck by the comparison because it had never occurred to me to make it, and I was wondering what you all think.

It occurs to me every time the "experience" canard is brought up. Obama has about as much experience in public office as Lincoln had. The lack of experience did not hurt ol' Abe, because he was willing to listen to people who did have experience, even if he disagreed with such people. I think Obama has the same thing, which is good thing, as no leader can do everything on his own. Even Alexander the Great, the epitome of grandiose accomplishments driven by a single man, was dependent upon the skills of his retainers.

Though, as Degan points out, we really won't know until after the man has been President for a while. I do see a failure in the comparison in that Obama's wit is simply not on the same level as Lincoln's.

[Justforfun000]

This man actually makes me feel hope for the return of the greatness the US has actually deserved at times in the past. I particularly like the way that he speaks directly on the middle class burdens and quite squarely points a finger at the special interest Republican brand of bullshit Bush has espoused to further deepen America's richest pockets. He didn't even have to say it right out, he intimated it as if it was obvious which in reality it is.

If he doesn't end up being President in America, I'd love to snatch him for Prime Minister here.

[CmdrWilkens]

Flat out this has to be one of the greatest speeches of our generation. I think it sums up everything I wish I could start to say about race but couldn't. This is the opportunity to at least start a conversation, to actually air some grievances on the path to finally working together. I think Broomstick got it right in that we don't have to love each other but right now everyone is caught up in so much distrust and despair about race that it is only the slowing inertia of the late 60s that has enabled any progress. We are still fundamentally fractured and divided and THIS could, and hopefully will, be the starting point for actually talking about race in a way other than as a tool to divide. I hope for it and I'm unfortunately already cynical enough to worry that this won't be enough but I have hope in me that this can be a start, not the be all end all but at least a start.