Obama's Speech

[DawnCt1]

That's the same reaction I have when I hear some of the venomous, bigoted, and hate filled things that spew from some of the Fundamentalist Evangelical Clergymen and Lay People, and I hear some people giving it a pass.

But you don't go to those churches. I don't go to those churches. It wouldn't matter to me if my church wasn't affiliated with the UCC but it is. It is not the kind of rhetoric I ever hear from my pulpit but it certainly gives me pause. When I pledge again, I will direct all funds to my local church and exclude the UCC.

 

[Geoff_M]

Over the last few months, I've become more an more a fan of the Politico web site and find it to be rather even keeled in reporting the "sport" of politics. On that site is a rather good write up of what Obama said... and didn't say. Here's the first few paragraphs:

Speech doesn't pander; does it explain?

Barack Obama spoke calmly and reasonably Tuesday about a subject that often lacks both calm and reason in America: race.

Obama’s speech was temperate and built on logic, not fiery or built on passion.

It was meant to be calming. It was a speech that attempted to connect the dots of race in American history from slavery to Jim Crow to black anger, to white fear, to, ultimately, the hope of reconciliation.

Where it was strongest was in appealing to the better angels of the American spirit: the notion that we can all come together.

Where it was weakest was in explaining the very reason for the speech: how the inflammatory, even repugnant, comments of Obama’s pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, are understandable.

Wright, who has been Obama’s pastor for 20 years, has said America had brought on the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 — “America’s chickens are coming home to roost” — and that “We started the AIDS virus.”

Without citing such statements specifically, Obama sought to explain them, though he first condemned them. Speaking in slow, measured tones, Obama said Wright used “incendiary language to express views that have the potential not only to widen the racial divide, but views that denigrate both the greatness and the goodness of our nation, that rightly offend white and black alike.”

But, for the first time, Obama admitted what he previously had denied: that he was present when Wright had made some of his outrageous comments.

“Did I ever hear him make remarks that could be considered controversial while I sat in church?” Obama said. “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.”

Obama did not say, however, that he had ever expressed his disagreement to Wright or in any way attempted to get Wright to moderate or change his views.

Instead, Obama said Wright was “more than snippets of those sermons that have run in an endless loop on the television and YouTube.”

Obama mentioned once again that Wright was a “Marine” and “has studied and lectured at some of the finest universities and seminaries in the country” and has spent his time “housing the homeless, ministering to the needy, providing day care services and scholarships and prison ministries, and reaching out to those suffering from HIV/AIDS.”

Obama also said, in effect, that some white people simply don’t get black churches.

(More)

 

[punkin]

I didn't find anything scary in the speech, although there was a bit too much scripture for my taste. I'm curious, did you read all of it?

Not the speech but the fact that you said it could heal anger and disappointment. It's a political speech by a candidate in hot water. That's all it is.

 

[robinb]

Not the speech but the fact that you said it could heal anger and disappointment. It's a political speech by a candidate in hot water. That's all it is.

Did you read the speech?

 

[punkin]

Did you read the speech?

Yes, it was very well crafted, but I really was not moved by it.

 

[Chloe'sMom]

Now Pastor Wright is being compared to a child molester. I guess because comparing to a group that lynched and terrorized wasn't enough.

I brought up the Molester thing - I wan't comparing him, it's just the only scandal my tiny life has.

~Amanda

 

[Chloe'sMom]

If at the time of your marriage, you knew he was a molestor. If when he baptised your children you knew he was a molestor. And if every year you gave a considerable amount of $ to support his teachings, and praised him publically over a 20 year period....then yes I would hold you accountable.

Well that's that.

~Amanda

 

[disneyaggie]

I am not convinced he is sincere. All I got out of the speech was that he was trying to cover his political hiney.

 

[eclectics]

But you don't go to those churches. I don't go to those churches. It wouldn't matter to me if my church wasn't affiliated with the UCC but it is. It is not the kind of rhetoric I ever hear from my pulpit but it certainly gives me pause. When I pledge again, I will direct all funds to my local church and exclude the UCC.

My point was the "discrepancy" that some things that are said from the pulpit are subject to. They can either be condemned, ignored, or accepted at the whim of the observer. Hardly a fair playing field.

 

[frndshpcptn]

I read the speech word for word.

I thought it was very eloquent.

I also thought it was a speech by a politician that was made to address an issue that is damaging his repoutation is the mass marketplace right now.

I agree with some of what he said and disagree with some of what he says. I think black people are NOT the only people in this country who feel like victims sometimes. I think that racism does exist - but so does Anti-Semitism, Anti-Islamism, etc. There are lots of "isms" that make up the world in which we live. It doesn't give anyone a free pass on anything.

I think he knows the feelings of his pastor and he's known them for a while (based on his line about hearing controversial remarks in the pulpit). Perhaps he uses those remrks as a way to spark conversation about the issues among his family and friends. Perhaps he just nods his head in agreement and secretly wants to "stick it to the white man."

I don't know - and unless any of us are Obama - no one can say for 100% sure that we know what's in his heart.


It may be real. It may be a smart strategy developed in his "war room" by a coalition of smart people to keep his momentum going in spite of his association with his chosen pastor.

You just have to decide what you can believe and go with it.

 

[robinb]

Yes, it was very well crafted, but I really was not moved by it.

Hmmm ... well then I don't know what to say to you. I guess I'm not scared but disappointed. I thought it was an amazing commentary on race relations: past, present and future. In any case, my comments were meant for tinkerdorabelle which was why I included her name when I talked about healing.

 

[dejr_8]

Are you kidding -- if he gets elected and doesn't live up to Wright's expectations of what he should be .. I'm sure Wright will cast him to the curb and label him a sell out or "Uncle Tom" just like he has to Condoleeza Rice, Colin Powell and Clarence Thomas.

No I am being serious. Remember that Colin, Condi and Clarence have an R on their back which makes them a target.

 

[Laura]

I don't agree with Obama on a single political issue but I see how his election could be very good for America.

Doesn't Obama's election to POTUS immediately disarm people like Rev Wright? How can people like him claim that the White Man controls American when a Black man gets elected President.

I realize that it is an oversimplified argument but isn't there some truth in it?

No I am being serious. Remember that Colin, Condi and Clarence have an R on their back which makes them a target.

I think you are right; in his speech Obama addresses the fact that some blacks see racism as intractable, particularly those of a certain generation. I've heard a few times that some blacks believe whites would never ever vote for a black candidate. They see themselves as stuck, whereas I, a white woman, don't see them that way. Having a black person as POTUS tells the black community that the barriers can be broken down, that they are crumbling. We may not be able to completely eradicate racism, but it can be rendered relatively powerless.

 

[va32h]

I think black people are NOT the only people in this country who feel like victims sometimes. I think that racism does exist - but so does Anti-Semitism, Anti-Islamism, etc. There are lots of "isms" that make up the world in which we live. It doesn't give anyone a free pass on anything.

When did Obama say that blacks are the only people in this country who feel like victims sometimes?

Obama is a black man and the speech was a response to comments made about black-white relations by a black pastor. That's why the speech was about black-white issues. It was a speech about who Obama is and the issues that surround his candidacy. And those issues are not anti-Semitism or anti-Islamism.

 

[frndshpcptn]

When did Obama say that blacks are the only people in this country who feel like victims sometimes?

Obama is a black man and the speech was a response to comments made about black-white relations by a black pastor. That's why the speech was about black-white issues. It was a speech about who Obama is and the issues that surround his candidacy. And those issues are not anti-Semitism or anti-Islamism.

He didn't say that.

To me, the words his pastor spoke and Obama's defense of the racial strife black people face in America today infer that sentiment. And, that's just my opinion.

 

[agentpleakley]

No I am being serious. Remember that Colin, Condi and Clarence have an R on their back which makes them a target.

Oh yeah -- how could I have missed that -- -- only black democrats count

 

[va32h]

He didn't say that.

To me, the words his pastor spoke and Obama's defense of the racial strife black people face in America today infer that sentiment. And, that's just my opinion.

But why would you expect Obama to discuss anti-Semitism or anti-Islamism or any other "anti - ism"? The subject of the speech was racial tension between blacks and whites because black-white tension is the source of the current controversy because Obama is black. If Obama was Jewish and had to speak to the remarks of his rabidly anti-Christian rabbi, I'd expect him to discuss the history of anti-Semitism, not black-white relations. So why expect him to bring up all the other minorities on the planet who have a reason to feel victimized?

 

[bsnyder]

\


I expect that most pastors do those things for their communities. The difference is they don't preach such hatred at the pulpit. I can tell you that if my priest spoke that way I would find another parish to attend, and financially contribute to. Obama could have done the same but he didn't. That speaks volumes to me, I don't want a President that supports that kind of hate with his pocketbook.

Not to mention subjecting his young, impressionable daughters to views that Obama himself called:

incindiary language" and "views that denigrate both the greatness and the goodness of our nation; that rightly offend white and black alike...

And some of what Wright said, like about the AIDS virus, goes beyond offensive to blatant lies.

That should at least raise some flags for every parent willing to consider casting a vote for him.

 

[frndshpcptn]

But why would you expect Obama to discuss anti-Semitism or anti-Islamism or any other "anti - ism"? The subject of the speech was racial tension between blacks and whites because black-white tension is the source of the current controversy because Obama is black. If Obama was Jewish and had to speak to the remarks of his rabidly anti-Christian rabbi, I'd expect him to discuss the history of anti-Semitism, not black-white relations. So why expect him to bring up all the other minorities on the planet who have a reason to feel victimized?

Because if his campaign is centered on transcending the current views - as well as hope and change, I'd hope he would take this very public moment as an opportunity to address the bigger picture issues of "ism's" in this country and not only at the micro-level of black vs. white.

There are a lot of Americans who don't fit squarely in one of those two categories.

 

[dejr_8]

Oh yeah -- how could I have missed that -- -- only black democrats count

It does seem that way doesn't it !!!