RECENT POSTS
- Oprah, Health Care Lobbyists, Among Recent Visitors to White House
- An Obama Thanksgiving Menu, with an Extra Serving of Pie
- White House Thanksgiving Traditions: Broken and Observed
- Obama, GOP Air Differences Over Jobs, Economy In Thanksgiving Addresses
- White House State Dinner Party Crashers
- Obama to Lay Out Emissions Goals in Copenhagen
- Free Bird
- The "Good" War
- The Presidential Planner
- Under the Stars, Obama Toasts India’s Prime Minister
MONTHLY ARCHIVES
« Previous | Main | Next »
Three Smart People Talk About Obama's 'Race' Speech
March 18, 2008 4:49 PM
Shelby Steele:
“I thought in the end he did not take responsibility for being in someone's church for 20 years, being close to that person -- I thought he evaded that.
“Barack Obama is what I call a bargainer. He's someone who gives whites the benefit of the doubt, who flatters them in a way by saying, ‘You're not racist and I'm going to trust that you're not,’ and that makes him popular. Challengers on the other hand are like Al Sharpton and others who actually challenge the system all the time. One of the reasons Barack Obama is so popular is because he's not a challenger. When he has a relationship with a minister who clearly is a challenger, who is a protester who was been anti-American in many of his remarks, that's the worst bind someone like Obama can be in because his success is based precisely on not doing that kind of thing.
“I think Barack Obama has to become himself, he has to tell us who he really is, what he truly believes. When you talk about anger, you talk about ‘whites want this’ and ‘blacks want more,’ where are you in that? What's your position on affirmative action? What principle are you reasoning out of? We just need to know a lot more. He's a great descriptive speaker, tells us our problems but we need to know more about what his principles are.
“He's vulnerable because he is not well-known and has worked in many ways to be kind of invisible. So as we see more aspects of who he really is as we did this weekend with his minister then he's going to have to stand up and be more frank about what he believes and what direction he would actually take the country. When he says ‘change’ what does he mean by ‘change,’ ‘hope’ what does he mean by ‘hope,’ what can we expect from him on these issues?
“He’s done a little too much of fashioning a space for all the different constituencies in America. He needs to let us know what he really thinks and run on that -- make a politics of that.”
*
Donna Brazile:
“Senator Obama had to walk a fine line of disavowing the comments of his pastor while explaining to America how he found his faith by joining that community.
“People are trying to look into Senator Obama's heart and see if there's any of Jeremiah Wright's sermons lurking around his soul. And I think what he put into context today was that his heart and his soul are made up of not only his experiences as a member of that church but a young man raised by his white grandparents, and someone who had to come uh into his own by reconciling all of the various pieces as he said of America in him. Today he laid out the puzzle and I think it fits that Senator Obama is a candidate that is trying to bring the country together based on where we've been but also where we should go.
“I think Senator Obama showed the American people exactly who he is what he stands for and why he's running for president because he had to explain in a few minutes American history -- the long and perhaps difficult journey that the country has gone though to get to this moment. And the moment is of course whether or not America is prepared to accept or reject Obama based on who he is and what he stands for but not because of the color of his skin.
“Senator Obama was able to disavow the comments without having to rebuke the human being that Jeremiah Wright is. I thought he went out of his way to explain Jeremiah Wright the person but Jeremiah Wright the preacher may never be explained enough to some of seen Obama's critics.”
*
Richard Norton Smith:
“This was not a focus group speech, this was not a sound bite speech, this was not a spin-doctored speech it sounded like a speech from the heart. it sounded like a speech that had been a lifetime in the making, and I suspect it will reverberate for a very long time to come
"If Barack Obama becomesPpresident of the United States it will probably be dated to this speech. This was only secondarily a speech about Rev. Wright...this was really a speech about us, about our willingness to be challenged by a presidential candidate to deal with some painful unaddressed issues of race and class.
“It's also a challenge to the political process about what kinds of campaigns we want to run. Are we going to deal with tough long-standing issues or are we going to be distracted and let wedge issues and talk radio define our democracy?
“It wasn't a reassuring speech to be sure, it will reassure many Obama supporters and why they're attracted to him in the first place. But it seems more it was a speech challenging us and we all say we want to hear from presidential candidates and ultimately most never do.
“This was a speech about asserting moral authority, about bringing difficult moral as well as economic and racial conundrums before the public, and that's the essence of leadership.”
-- interviews conducted by ABC News' Avery Miller
- jpt
March 18, 2008 | Permalink | Share | User Comments (221)
You can follow this conversation by subscribing to the comment feed for this post.
When I was growing up I was taught that hate and discrimination, pigeonholing, stereotyping, being judgmental, had no place in society. I was taught that simply listening to a friend say such things and not speaking up and reminding my friend that such speech is not productive would be just as bad as having said the same words. I was taught to speak up against hatred, because if we are to remain silent then we accept it and we allow it to build up. That was a long time ago, in a different country.
Are American children not taught to speak up against hatred? Was Barack Obama not taught to speak up? Sometimes a child, innocent, not yet having learned wrongness, can teach his parents. Should we not speak up more to people who might listen to us? Don't just cringe, speak up!
Posted by: Roger | Mar 19, 2008 10:33:20 AM
God Bless our Troops and let them fully complete their Victory in Iraq!! on this one front on the Terror War on us!!
Posted by: spock | Mar 19, 2008 10:24:16 AM
God Bless our Troops and let them fully complete their Victory in Iraq!!
Posted by: spock | Mar 19, 2008 10:23:19 AM
Tiffany - First when did he say that, he also said he never heard any of the speeches, and then two days later said he was at some but did not pay attention. oh and by the way if Obama was not there at the GD America speech, WHY was the Secret Service there protecting him??
got to wonder!!
Posted by: spock | Mar 19, 2008 10:21:52 AM
Obama has said he desires to bring the country together and change the things that have caused us to suffer economically. He has said he believes if we could work together to form a more unified nation of people and work together to bring about this change, it can be done. I believe he can help us do that as president as he has stated by providing proper medical insurance, improve the educational system, and end the war in Iraq..etc.
AS president ...I believe that he can...
However I heard it said on a Cable TV news station just yesterday and read it on the blog this morning that if Obama wanted to do the right thing, to show his sincerity to the country regarding the Pastor Wright comments, he would change the Pastor Wrights heart, you know; I don’t think that he can do that. I really don't agree with what was said, but and if that needed to be done, I know that Obama is not the one to do that. Obama is not Jesus... Nor God...only Jesus Christ changes the heart of man or did you not know that? This Easter holiday is a good time to take note of that IF YOU DON'T.
Posted by: jh | Mar 19, 2008 9:56:48 AM
I'm confused-what does everyone think he lied about? He said he was not in the church at the time of the G.D. America statement and he has proof. Obama did acknowledge he heard OTHER statements he didn't agree with. I think we need to focus on the real issues. Today is the 5 year anniversary on the war in Iraq and you people are focused on a pastors sermon. What does that tell you about America? Let's get real.
Posted by: Tiffany | Mar 19, 2008 9:25:35 AM
THE OBAMA TIMELINE OF LIES
posted by justme819: Mar. 19, 2008 - 4:17 AM EST
March 18, 2008–Obama stated:
“I have already condemned, in unequivocal terms, the statements of Reverend Wright that have caused such controversy. 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 – just as I’m sure many of you have heard remarks from your pastors, priests, or rabbis with which you strongly disagreed.”
”I can no more disown him than I can disown the black community.”
March 14th–Obama stated this:
“uh, none of these statements are ones that I had heard myself personally in the pews. uh, o-one of them I had heard about after I had started running for President & I put out a statement at that time condemning them."
March !8:
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.
March 14:
uh, the other statements were ones that uh I just heard about while we were uh wh-when they started being run on fox and some of the other stations.
March 18:
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.
March 14:
uh, and so they weren’t things that I was familiar with. Once I saw them I had to be very clear about the fact that these are not statements that I am comfortable with. I reject them completely.
March 18:
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.
..
March 14:
Had I been sitting in the church at the time they were spoken, uh, I would have be-been absolutely clear to Rev. Wright that I didn’t find those acceptable uh… and if I had thought that was the tenor or tone on an ongoing basis uh of his sermons then uh yes I don’t think that it would’ve been reflective of my values or uh of my faith experience.
March 18:
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.
March 14:
There-there-there, no no no, uh, wai-wait there I-I-I didn’t know about all these statements. I knew about 1 or 2 statements that ha-had been made. And as a consequence, as I said, if it was just 1 or 2 statements then that’s not something that would lead me to distance myself from either my church or my pastor.
March 18:
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.
"I can no more disown him than I can disown the black community."
then it can still validly, etc., be stated that one does not have a a mentor/spiritual advisor for over 20 yrs. without sharing the same views!…Obama`s refusal to ‘disown’ his Pastor strongly suggests that`s the case here!
but perhaps the larger issue here is that while Obama`s preaching togetherness, he goes to a church who`s Pastors preach racial, anti-American garbage...and who preach a separatist, 'Black Only Value System'', which is as divisive as can be...even Obama`s mentor, etc., the Rev. Wright, stated that it`s a separate but = black theology!
and what`s this use of the word ‘disown’…doesn`t Obama know that`s RACIST…but against black people…
and why did Obama compare his white Grandmother to the Rev. Wright?!…i guess he`ll say/do anything to get votes!
just another dirty, lying, scheming, and hypocritical politician…i have one more word for Mr. Obama - BUSTED!!!
The timeleine shows Obama's MO to lie to the American people. Totally unbecoming of a Presidential candidate. Obama can't be trusted. His support is fractured and his numbers are dropping.
Obama is UNELECTABLE.
Posted by: USVet | Mar 19, 2008 9:11:03 AM
You can come out the closet now! It’s not a Obama/Jeremiah Wright thing, it’s a race thing. RACE to the White house
I was looking for information on Obama’s speech that I am hearing so much about. I was led to this blog. Though I have never had a reason to do this before, I must add my comment. I was wondering why Obama found it so necessary to make this speech yesterday. I know now that if for no other reason, it was to show us as a people who we are...really who we are and to bring attention to where we have been, where we are now and most assuredly where we are going. Is there really any hope? WE haven't changed, though it is time for change, will we ever? It is obvious that there is still so much work to do in the (heart)s of America. This land of freedom of speech...religion...free to judge...and hate… real hate that come out at times like this where we can freely and openly share our biases. In our closets , on blogs, where no one knows who we really are; what we really feel, only who we pretend to be in our offices (work places) neighborhoods and even yea! at church. This is where you can really feel free to share your true feelings. This is a safe/nice place to be where you can say what you really mean and spew out all the derogatory remarks one after the other, one to another. . No one would know the better. How convenient this is. Think about who or when you have heard or read something someone said about this country; a leader, a particular kind of race; that you didn't agree or did agree with? Be honest was Jeremiah Wright the first? But because of the connection you did not quit your association with them; it could very well have been in your own household. I feel it would do us so much more the better to stop entertaining ourselves with hate, prejudices and destructive rhetoric and get on with the mending of a broken economy etc.
Oh! But as I began this blog, I was wondering about Obama’s speech…now as I have been on this blog, read the many derogatory comments, I understand what Obama was saying? I understand so very well, and I also know that those who are looking out to destroy this candidate by his association with Pastor Wright and others and not judging him on his own merits (that got him to be the Senator in the state of Illinois), was not going to vote for him in the first place and are now have found a legitimate reason to safely and openly vote against him or/and hinder him successfully campaigning for presidency.
Posted by: jh | Mar 19, 2008 8:52:00 AM
The term "anti-American" is usually used by the American establishment to discredit and, not falsely - but shall we say inaccurately - define its critics. Once someone is branded anti-American, the chances are that he or she will be judged before they are heard, and the argument will be lost in the welter of bruised national pride.
But what does the term "anti-American" mean? Does it mean you are anti-jazz? Or that you're opposed to freedom of speech? That you don't delight in Toni Morrison or John Updike? That you have a quarrel with giant sequoias? Does it mean that you don't admire the hundreds of thousands of American citizens who marched against nuclear weapons, or the thousands of war resisters who forced their government to withdraw from Vietnam? Does it mean that you hate all Americans?
But there are many Americans who would be mortified to be associated with their government's policies.
Posted by: Samiam | Mar 19, 2008 6:45:24 AM
I think Obama should have stopped attending his church a long time ago. I also think that we all should have stopped watching Seinfeld reruns because of Kramer's racist tirade.
Posted by: Frank | Mar 19, 2008 6:31:43 AM
It doesn't matter what you would do if you were in his situation, it only matters what he did. Take it or leave it.
Posted by: Cal Bear | Mar 19, 2008 6:21:42 AM
When independent- thinking people (and here I do not include the corporate media) begin to rally under flags, when writers, painters, musicians, film makers suspend their judgment and blindly yoke their art to the service of the "Nation," it's time for all of us to sit up and worry.
Arundhati Roy
Posted by: Phillip Stephens | Mar 19, 2008 5:52:33 AM
Obama made another speech.
In his speech he told how his grandmother's (that raised him and was white)racial and ethnical stereotyping made him cringe. Then why was it fine with him when his reverend made racial and ethnical ramarks about white people? And what true American would stay in a church that condemed and hated America, to the extent of saying "God D__ America? He went to that church for 20 nyears?. And this person waants to hold the highest office in the country he has been condoning hate towards.
WAKE UP AMERICA! We are a country of many colors and ethnic backgrounds. We are proud of that. I am American. It doesn't matter the color or race. And to condone MY country being badmouthed is unexceptable.We have freedom of speech but I would walk away and not look back. I sure wouldn't join in become part of and stay with it for 20 years. And then try to use a speech to cober up my true way of thinking. Given a choice even a republican is better than a man only interrested in one group, and worse must in some way agree with his reverend about America or he wouldn't expose his children to the hate sprewing from that reverend.
Posted by: Nancy | Mar 19, 2008 3:40:56 AM
The pundits were out in full force praising Obama's speech today and it was hilarious when they compared him to Bill Clinton. Someone should verify, Obama didn't piggy back off of one of Clinton's old speeches.
Posted by: mona | Mar 19, 2008 3:12:31 AM
Obamas good friend Oprah says when some one shows you who they are believe them. Obama has lied again, and yet those willing to sacrafice on the altar of Obama still won't believe who he plainly is showing us who he is. A liar with poor judgment, and not at all who he says he is. How can a Pioneer of hope and change be listening to and have as a mentor someone so old school as Pastor Wright? With the same old lets blame everything on the white man speeches of racism and hatered. if Obama really was a Pioneer of hope and Change he would have changed his Pastor to some one with a message that promotes peace and unity and equality all the things that pastor Wright obviously does not. OR is it all just simply political positioning join this popular black church in Chicago where he needed the black votes to be Senator and then when your campainging for president and need the white votes sell your Pastor down the river and distance your self from him. Is it the same political positioning as the Ohio/Nafta/ tell Canadian officials he really doesn't mean it? Or one of his advisors telling another government that he really doesn't mean he'll pull out of Iraq right away.Or when he didn't really mean it when he agreed to piblic funding and has since changed his mind. Or how he really didn't mean to do a dumb thing with his land deal and Rezco. PEOPLE he IS SHOWING YOU WHO HE REALLY IS YOU JUST DON'T WANT TO SEE IT.
P.S. I'm not republican,democrat or independant just neutral and observing this charade
Posted by: Donna Canadian Observer | Mar 19, 2008 2:56:03 AM
It was a good speach but in the mans own words"I give a good speach".The point was why did Obama sit for 20 years in a church that da*ms America, says that whites concocted HIV as a tool for genicide against blacks. Gives an award to Farakhan,that basiclly gives him a big high five for spreading racism.In the 20 years of being at that church Obama could have used his gift of speaches,vision of unity and changed the congregations anti American views and white hate, he could have brought the unity he says he would bring to america as president.Instead he sat in the pews and said amen.This wasnt about racism in the campaign,if it was he wouldnt be ahead in delegetes.The speach was a way to change the focus away from Wright and Obamas choice to stay in that church.
Posted by: girlinvt | Mar 19, 2008 2:53:06 AM
Maxy Samy - I realize you are an Obama supporter and that is fine. But, you really do need to read his speech again. I don't think trashing everyone who does not share your opinion is exactly what he had in mind. Name-calling and referring to non-Obama supporters as ignorant is just not what he is espousing. If Barack Obama were standing right in front of you, he would tell you that unity does not come from that kind of invective. If you want to support him, do him the honor of listening to his message.
Posted by: presto | Mar 19, 2008 2:36:40 AM
nicole, your analysis of the obama sleight of hand speech is right on target. re the media pundits calling it brilliant, despite its obviously not being so - i think they actually believe their so-far-successful efforts to push this guy will continue to succeed and he will end up in the white house. and i think they are already salivating at the stories and books they will write and the millions they will make off of it. so painting today's speech as akin to king's i have a dream speech is just part of their (fictional) first draft. (and, of course, they also think writing this stuff will help get him elected).
interestingly, i think they'd end up with much better books/stories if they portrayed it accurately - stories of someone's self-destruction tend to sell better.
Posted by: so saddened | Mar 19, 2008 2:29:43 AM
Is there anyone Senator Obama did not placate in this speech? So everyone should be really happy with it. Except, maybe, for Geraldine Ferraro who was dumped into the same pot as a ranting racist. But she doesn't matter much. She's an old woman. Another old woman who doesn't matter much is Grandma. But she won't complain. This speech was finely-crafted and well delivered. It did exactly what it was intended to do. It was a political masterpiece. Hello Mr. President.
Posted by: presto | Mar 19, 2008 2:27:09 AM
smart people commenting (article title). i'm a smart person too. here's my comment.
obama pulled sleight of hand. he tried to, and probably succeeded in, change the subject from his own association with and support for wright and his anti-american rantings to a general discussion of racial relations and how he's the guy to help us fix them. very good sleight of hand. lots of pretty pretty words. lots of people bought it. i don't.
Posted by: so saddened | Mar 19, 2008 2:18:57 AM
Post a comment
