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March 18, 2008

Unprecedented, An Analysis

Barack Obama gave an eloquent speech today that will do much to quiet the increasingly polarizing debate about race in the Democratic contest. But more importantly, and more tellingly, he gave a deeply personal talk about his race, about his experience as a biracial American. And voters needed to hear it. Not because his biography is, in and of itself, the answer for these confusing times, but because, perhaps, only a person of his experience can dare all of us to be our better selves.

Anger, as he said, "all too often it distracts attention from solving real problems."

Obama's call today was not just for the candidates to tone down the use of race in the presidential contest. What he said was bigger than that. It was more authentic than that. He challenged people, of all colors and backgrounds, to transcend their deepest distrust of each other in the interest of progress. To redefine the conversation about race in America.

To blacks, he said, embrace your past, do not fall victim to it. To whites, he said, it is time to acknowledge that "what ails the African-American community does not just exist in the minds of black people."

Such an undeniably tall order, no? And yet, on gut alone, it felt reasonable, righteous.

"For we have a choice in this country," he said. "We can accept a politics that breeds division, and conflict, and cynicism. We can tackle race only as spectacle – as we did in the OJ trial – or in the wake of tragedy, as we did in the aftermath of Katrina - or as fodder for the nightly news. We can play Reverend Wright’s sermons on every channel, every day and talk about them from now until the election, and make the only question in this campaign whether or not the American people think that I somehow believe or sympathize with his most offensive words. We can pounce on some gaffe by a Hillary supporter as evidence that she’s playing the race card, or we can speculate on whether white men will all flock to John McCain in the general election regardless of his policies.

"We can do that," Obama added, "But if we do, I can tell you that in the next election, we’ll be talking about some other distraction. And then another one. And then another one. And nothing will change."

The usually unfailingly cool character seemed to wince as he recalled the bigotry of his own white grandmother, “a woman who helped raise me, a woman who sacrificed again and again for me, a woman who loves me as much as she loves anything in this world, but a woman who once confessed her fear of black men who passed her by on the street, and who on more than one occasion has uttered racial or ethnic stereotypes that made me cringe.”

But he explained that he couldn’t reject her for her feelings, much as he won’t divorce himself from the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, his longtime pastor. They are both part of him, as they are part of the fabric of this country. To denounce them would be dishonest, he seemed to say. The country’s history -- of slavery, of OJ, of Katrina and more – is what it is. How we move beyond those moments, how we heal those divisions is now up to us. Together.

Conservative pundits – maybe even white Democrats struggling to make ends meet in this faltering economy, who might also be stewing over the quick rise of this young, black politician – could dwell on Obama’s decision not to slam Wright. But if they do, they miss Obama’s point altogether.

“Race is an issue that I believe this nation cannot afford to ignore right now,” he said. “We would be making the same mistake that Rev. Wright made in his offending sermons about America – to simplify and stereotype and amplify the negative to the point that it distorts reality. The fact is that the comments that have been made and the issues that have surfaced over the last few weeks reflect the complexities of race in this country that we’ve never really worked through – a part of our union that we have not yet made perfect. And if we walk away now, if we simply retreat into our respective corners, we will never be able to come together and solve challenges like health care, or education, or the need to find good jobs for every American.”

His is a battle cry for a new generation.

(JENNIFER SKALKA)

Posted at 10:57 AM

Comments

Sorry, This doesn't answer the judgment question. Half the members of my church are threatening to quit because the pastor wants to start singing "contemporary" hymms. Either he didn't go to church much, or you did and tolerated Wright. The race speech gives a great view of an Obama administration: more racial politics. Yesterday was a great example of what America should be. Once a year, on St. Patricks's Day, the Irish are Irish. The rest of the year, they are Americans. Once a year, on Columbus Day, the Italians are Italian. The rest of the year they are Americans. Blacks seem to want to be blacks every day. If Obama had the guts to say, "lets not forget the past, but we've got to move on", I think everyone would support him. All I see is another typical, slippery politician.

flyover | 03.18.08 01:22 PM

How can he tell yesterday that he never heard him say anything controvercial and admit today that he sat infact did. How can he still call him like family member if he does not agree with his radical views. Will FBI not interrogate terror suspects family members even if they say they have disown him/ her? If that not true how can obama be of clear thoughts even after being associated to such a hate monger who lives in america but prays for its destruction. Has america and american media become so naive that a mere speech can let them ignore the real face of a shrewd politician, who was being prepared for past 20 years to put his calim for the highest post in the nation by putting up a spell of deception and lies. If yes than the american journalist should be ashamed oh themselves. In democracy press is the pillar that has the duty to serve the public in the interest of country and not in the interest of how sellable the storiline and the public figure is. I hope this opens up eyes of mainstream media awed by obama`s charm and they start reporting his unexplored ties to rezko. How can he claim to change washington when he is not even sure yet how much money that guy raised for him, as the figure changes everytime anyone challenges them. I wish GOD BLESS AMERICA AND GOD SAVES AMERICA FROM THIS SPELL!!!

arvind | 03.18.08 01:40 PM

arvind | 03.18.08 01:42 PM

Of course, he knows how to give a good speech! But he needs to be pressed about how he could not have known about these statements....did he live in a vacuum in his community? I hate to use the word "lying," but really, how could he be a member for 20 years and never hear any of the statements?

It's ok to disagree with his pastor, that can happen. I don't agree with my religious leaders all the time either. However, I would NEVER belong to an organization that preached what Wright did. I wouldn't just denounce, but I would withdraw my membership.

I used to be an Obama supporter, but not anymore!

LK | 03.18.08 02:22 PM

I am not a Democrat... but Obama still is preferable to another term/terms of the likes of Bill/Hil. Compared to Hilary, a vote for Ronald McDonald looks inviting.

ddneth | 03.18.08 03:01 PM

I am not a Democrat... but Obama still is preferable to another term/terms of the likes of Bill/Hil. Compared to Hilary, a vote for Ronald McDonald looks inviting.

ddneth | 03.18.08 03:02 PM

Another eloquent speech and some media is still under his spell! It is a speech that is at least 14 months late if not 20 years late! I am an immigrant and not white, I still don't condone this type of anti-American and hate-filled condemnation of America.

As an immigrant, I understand the pride of maintaining our unique values and romanticize our love for the original country and history. However, I also love this new country where it has given us many opportunities. Of course, we always find something to complain about a country, but there is line that one does not cross. Obama and his paster cross it!

Obama deeply believes in Wright's teaching as demonstrated by him subjecting his children to Wright's teaching for their entire life so far. Obama enables Wright to perpetuate this teaching of anti-white, anti-american to the next generation of his own family. So, all this talk of being a uniter is just hypocrisy!

Obama, once again, deflects the real question of his judgment on choosing to stay with this Wright's teaching for 20 years and how he is influenced by it by redirecting the press/people to the race issue; he is dangerous by saying that to denounce Wright is to denounce all the Blacks people. He is potentially setting the Blacks and White up for even more divisiveness.

I still want the media to demand Obama's resignation from the senate and withdrawal from the race. There is no place for a public offical who plays the race card to justify and support an anti-american at this extreme level.

vote4thebest, Morgan Hill/USA | 03.18.08 03:19 PM

The comments here saying such things as "I still don't condone this type of anti-American and hate-filled condemnation of America" are assuming that Obama does, even though Obama explained why he doesn't.

Also, those people have no understanding of what Blacks go through. Obama rejects that rage, but his speech explains the rage, and these posters don't accept either part of that, or they're just closed-minded to it.

cettel | 03.18.08 04:06 PM

No, I cannot understand what blacks go through. Affirmative action programs. Special preference shown in every segment of our society. White people have no idea what this is about. I have never kept a black person out of a job, refused to rent a house to a black or denied a black child admission to a school. I have been the victim of reverse discrimination in my chosen profession. I moved on and did well in another. No, I don't know what its like to be a slave, but neither does any living American black person. My great grandfather was a serf in eastern Europe. He was told where he could live, what he could grow, how much of it he could keep. His life was at the whim of the Count. He was told what relgion he could profess, even which language he could speak (not his native tongue), so he left there and came here in the late 1880s. When he got here, even though he could speak play six musical instruments and speak seven languages, unfortunately English not being one of them, his children were refused admission to the public schools. His kids did not get their own segregated school, they got sent to the coal mines at 12. I never once heard any member of my family complain or ask anyone for anything except a job. Blacks like Wright and Obama ought to get over this fantasy that all white people are rich and powerful and that there are secret "lets all get together and get the blacks" meetings. White people have enough of their own problems to worry about without having to worry about keeping other people down.

flyover | 03.18.08 04:50 PM

By these comments, it is obvious that some on here did not even hear the speech. The speech was not a condemnation of anyone but a call for everyone, black and white, to turn the mirror on themselves a bit so that we can all get past racial problems and focus on the tasks that currently face America.

mike | 03.18.08 05:39 PM

To "flyover" couldn't agree more.

It's OK for Rev(??) Wright to be angry and to continue the mantra of being kept down by the MAN due to his childhood years (which very blantant racism was around)and more recent incidents perhaps. It's OK for Wright to perpetuate stereotypes, but yet when his grandmother does the same thing (in probably a far lesser way), he "cringes??" What did he say or do when he first heard Wright say something along these lines... the second time?...third time? Oh that's right, he didn't because wasn't in the pews and he was running for office....now I get it.

If I sat with my children for one hour each Sunday and said the same things Wright did only from a "white Power" perspective, my kids would grow up to be racists. We now know what kind of kids the Obamas are raising and what type of President Barack "I am angry therefore I am not culpable" Obama would be.

Obama made his choice on who his pastor would be, and the type of person he would grow to be and the views he would hold. Either Wright has had a big influence on him and his views or he hasn't. But Obama never answers the question, other than to say we've been together for so long we're kinda joined at the hip now. Now that it's been brought to his attention, somehow he's stunned that America (in his view) can't get past it's racial history. Well, duh!!

His grandmother and mother are white, his father a Kenyan diplomat and he's going to lecture me on my so-called racial past and my (according to libral mantra) perceived inability to see past color...I don't think so.

MarkButter | 03.18.08 06:08 PM

I also don't need to be lectured by the pampered recipient of our Nation's generosity. I have worked since I was eight. I worked nearly full time in high school and got my clothes out of the school's lost and found. Worked the same in college and it wasn't Harvard. Two generations of affirmative action are enough. Yes, I read and heard the speech. Weasel words of a Chicago Pol who got caught.

flyover | 03.18.08 08:23 PM

What I notice is that finally the underlying resentment and anger at Barrack for being a young, intelligent man of a different race is coming out in the blog posts from his opponents. Months of pretend about his lack of experience or arrogance are finally over. Barrack told it like he sees it and now folks like flyover are letting all out too. It really is a question now of whether America is ready for Barrack. Are we a nation of flyovers, a constricted angry people unable to move into the future. Are we a nation of Obamas - ready to see what is common in each other and fight togeher for a "more perfect union".

Barrack is asking us each individually are we ready? Am I? Are you?

seth | 03.18.08 10:05 PM

Obama's Checkers speech. This speech is as 'eloquent' of a speech as Nixon's 'Checkers' speech was eloquent. Effective? Perhaps--time will tell. Eloquent? No. It was a needed speech in an attempt to turn around a messy, out-of-control story. Eloquent speeches, almost by definition, can't be about the speaker's attempt to save himself politically. MLK arguing for specific, direct changes to civil rights--that is eloquent. Obama distancing himself from Wright--while taking the ball off of Wright's 9/11 words (which were the most offensive, and not about race) and off of Rezko--was the goal. Not an eloquent goal, and not an eloquent speech.

The historical comparison is actually Richard Nixon in 1952, giving his Checkers speech when he was facing a major scandal and about to be obliterated politically. Nixon waxed on about family, espeically his daughter...Obama waxed on about his family, his grandmother, and his minister (who is still not one of his family members, no matter if Obama tries to claim he is). Obama probably doesn't want this comparison, but the goals of Nixon and Obama were the same. And the delivery (looking straight at the camera, trying to appear genuine) were nearly identical as well. The Obama 'Checkers' speech. It may have been effective given the swooning media coverage, but it is not eloquent.

Jeremy | 03.18.08 10:06 PM

Yes, "seth", I am so angry that I pay for two black children to attend private schools. I have helped put almost 40 black families into new homes. Ask them who is doing more for them, me or the black excuse industry? You confuse "disgust" with "anger". Was I angry when I was told by an employer, (off the record), "you are exactly what we are looking for, if you were black you'd have the job, but, you understand how things are". Did I let this anger fester? No, I moved out of a field I'd spent four years of college preparing for and moved into a field where I could manage my own fate. If this was a country full of flyovers it would be a lot more productive. It is time to move on.

flyover | 03.19.08 12:20 PM

I note that flyover said that "Blacks seem to want to be blacks every day."

Um, do they really have much choice?

Unless you look like a leprechaun, you can be Irish one day of the year. Unless you look like Marlon Brando, you can be Italian one day a year, too. How many people think of Frank Sinatra as Italian first, white second?

Bottom line is, you don't get edgy when you walk past an Italian on the street, 'cause he's just another white guy. But the black guy is always black, and you're always nervous. A black man might be Nigerian one day a year (if he's lucky), but he'll be black for the rest of it.

D | 03.19.08 12:57 PM

Religion is a personal choice. No one can tell anyone what he can and should believe. Who to disown and who not to disown. This is what is wrong with America now, people like you want to regulate everything. It is all so evident that Obama would have to attack the race problem so the Clinton campaign would stop trying to use it against him. Maybe you didn't like the words that Rev. Wright spoke out of his mouth, but I don't like the fact that Hillary and Bill Clinton were friends of the MacDougals and they were convicted of fraud. Now if we want to be fair we would consider the Clintons to be criminals also, especially since you claim Obama must share the same views as Pastor Wright. Let's be fair. Hillary Clinton has practice dirty politics for a long time and she has managed to avoid being convicted, but if we apply the same methods of credibilty to Hillary as you have to Obama, Hillary Clinton would have dropped out of the race along time ago. The media should be fair and not biased. I want to know what person in this world that does not have a person they are very close too that express radical views you don't accept, but you don't believe them either. He who is without sin cast the first stone.

Carol D. Durante-Spinner | 03.19.08 01:17 PM

I'm boggled by most of these responses. A quick glance into our legal system, health system, school system, shows a complete inequality between whites and blacks. Obama doesn't want anyone to apologize for slavery, or take responsibility for it. He just wants us to acknowledge that as recently as 50 years ago there was still active discrimination in this country, and the economic and social ripples of that reach forward into today. There are poor people everywhere, of every race. The real reasons behind poverty and crime and etc are cyclical -- a lack of resources and hope that leaves each new generation trying to climb out of that well. But statistically, the cycle of poverty is more pervasive, intense, and long-running in the black community, and that is because of how recently they were slaves, and how more recently they were still prevented from achieving true prosperity.

Before this gets you all defensive, remember: His central message was that fixing this problem doesn't have to be a the EXPENSE of ANYONE. Fixing this problem is actually one of the keystones to making America more prosperous. An educated and ambitious work force finds new challenges and new rewards. A stagnating workforce and lack of opportunity lead to ignorance and anger that weaken the country and economy. If we can really address racism, we unlock a vast, untapped potential, and everyone benefits.

As for Flyover -- you had a bad experience. No one can tell you that you're wrong to feel resentment or frustration for being passed over for a job because of the color of your skin. But what you felt could make you more sympathetic too. Because most black men can't switch jobs/careers to escape racism, reverse or forward or whatever. And if we could get clear statistics on it, do you really doubt that for every case like yours, there wouldn't be 100 or 1000 cases of systematic discrimination against blacks? Maybe I'm trying too hard to find a silver lining for you -- but you were given the opportunity to understand what racism feels like in a way most white people never will.

JP | 03.19.08 01:58 PM

I have two comments about the two issues at hand. The first comment about racism in America and the Second about Senator Obama's affiliation with Minister Wright.
First off let me start by saying that I have been a stark Obama supporter since the day he announced his candidacy. I have been criticized by many who question my loyalty to the Clintons and why I am supporting Sen. Obama. Many say that I am only supporting him because he is black. To that I respond in anger, because you are pretty much telling me that I am incapable of making a solid/sound intelligent political decision. I also, say, He is the best candidate in the Race. Many have said that I am in some way unfaithful and unappreciative to the Clinton's for all that they have done but I lost my respect for them as a high school student back when all of the allegations about Monica Lewinsky surface came out as well as the other imperfections of Mr. Clinton and Mrs. Clinton stood by her man. I am not holding a grudge nor am I unforgiving but I do not think that someone who cannot stand up to her husband for adultery and subjects her young daughter to a relationship that shows that you should stand by your man at all costs is not the person I want leading this country and is not the person I want representing me as an American.

1) As far as race in this country, I feel that Senator Obama's speech was necessary and long over due. I have not heard such a powerful message in my life from someone who is still alive and in the political position that he is in. He could have been just like everyone else and just hid under the covers or walked on eggshells but he said what needed to be said. He did what needed to be done for so long. There are many on this blog that claim that the are infuriated and don't want to feel like they have done something wrong, if this is what you feel then obviously you are guily of what he's talking about. The hidden and blatant racism that still exists in this country because people are too afraid to talk about it and deep down inside many don't want to change. I know that my statement will be unpopular, but the truth hurts. As Sen. Obama said, Minister Wright comes from a different time and place, he grew up in a turbulent time, when he was made to feel that he was less of a man/ citizen because of the color of his skin, not in some Third World Country, but in this Great Country of America. Although many will say that things have changed, African Americans are much better off than they have ever been, or slavery ended 200 years ago, get over it. I pose this question, how much has really change, yes I admit, it is illegal to lynch someone or murder someone and some of us are able to receive a higher standard of education and therefore are blessed with better jobs than those before us. But, it was just two years ago when a 16 year old female high school student in Texas was sent to jail for pushing a white woman. It was not even a year ago, when the gentlemen from Jena, Louisiana were about to spend the rest of their lives in jail over a school house fight that they did not start. To this day, none of the White young men who pulled guns on them in public or hung nooses to begin the incident have had charges pressed against them. While on the subject of schools, has anyone been to a public school in a predominately African American neighborhood and then left and went to one in a predominately White neighborhood? It's disgraceful that over 50 years after Brown vs. The Board of Education, I still have to send my sons to schools outside their neighborhood for them to be afforded the same education and facilities as others. If you think I'm over-exaggerating why don't you visit one of your local schools in the predominately, African American community and see the condition/year of the books, the quality of the teachers/staff, the condition of the buildings, the condition of the football fields and gymnasium. Stick around until school lets out and see the condition of the buses they are subjected to ride on. Then the next day, go to your local school in the predominately White neighborhood of your choice and see the difference. New books, fresh paint, new buildings, the best teachers money has to offer, state of the art football fields and gymnasiums. A vast difference. If you are ever in Houston, TX, why don't you check on Jack Yates and then go to Katy High school if you think I'm lying or over exaggerating. But enough on this, as I can go on and on, on this subject!

2)As far as him not cutting Minister Wright under the bus and totally disassociating himself, I totally disagree with the message but I know that you can't judge a man by a few sermons out of 20 years and his beliefs about Louis Farrakan. Just as Sen. Obama said, he knows not only the words that you and I hate but he knows the man that he and apparently, many others love. He feels that he is like family to him, then who are we to judge, I'm sure everyone on this blog has a relative that they see very often that makes racist, homophobic, or anti-semetic remarks. (Go ahead and deny it if you want but you know it's true). In my opinion, he would have been just like every other crooked and dishonest politician out there had he done that. By being honest and saying know I'm not going to disown my Minister/Uncle because it's the popular thing to do and it is what every other politician would have done, I feel that he did the best thing possible. For those of you who say, "how can he sit there and listen to that crap for 20 years and claim that he doesnt share these views?" I say, I have attended Windsor Village United Methodist Church in Houston, TX for 15 years now, I have heard my minister say controversial things about homosexuality (both good and bad), I have witnessed him pray for G.W. Bush's inauguration which I totally hated, and I have knowledge that he will be performing Jenna Bush's wedding, etc. I totally disagree with these things, but I know the man outside of the negative things. I know how he can uplift a community and give them a feeling of meaningfulness. I have seen him convert what some would stereotype as thugs into choir directors, videographers, choreograhors, and ushers. I know the man who has prayed for me and my family time, after time, in the wake of personal crisis. This is exactly what Sen. Obama says/feels about Minister Wright and although I disagree with what he said, I agree with his relationship with Sen. Obama. His views/actions have nothing to do with those of Sen. Obamas. You cannot judge a man by his friends, I don't care what anyone says. If this were the case, we would all be horrible people the day we were born! I also say, What Would God Do/ What Will God Do? Would he turn his back on Minister White/ Sen. Obama, would he send them to the fiery gates of hell? Not my God, My God is a Healing God, He's a Forgiving God and he would want all of us Christians to do the same. He would not judge Senator Obama's character because of what someone he is affiliated said/did, he would treat him as his on man and forgive anything that is wrong and show him how to make it right.

To those of you who say you will vote Republican if Sen. Obama wins the Democratic nomination I have a few questions for you: Can you truly afford the gas, can you truly afford the increased Interest Rates? Do you want your children/ grandchildren fighting a war that has been proven to be unnecessary over and over again? Can you afford these things? If so, please tell me what I am doing wrong, as I am a 25 year old, middle classed, college educated African American female. I am married, and have two sons. I make a decent living compared to others in my neighborhood, I'm pretty young and can't afford a huge expensive house, I live in an older predominately African American and Hispanic neighborhood. I work for one of the largest banks in America. I have a 401 K plan and had been saving in my personal savings accounts until this year when gas prices skyrocketed and my mortgage went up $100/ month. I would go out and try to get another job but with jobs being shipped overseas day after day, I need to keep my seniority. So please don't think that I'm just some Angry black women looking for a handout!

Crystal | 03.19.08 06:04 PM

I guess many are not going to vote for obama, right well listen to this we have had big bush and little bush now we can go back to the clintons , no bill won't be the leader he just be there and his wife will be the president and that will really be something cause than we can count on having someone in the office that is just like bush, so go ahead vote for her or the crazy man at least with obama we will be starting something new.

Helen | 03.20.08 02:06 AM

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March 18, 2008

Unprecedented, An Analysis

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