the problem is that we have confused "spin" with "truth." In such an atmosphere, where race and racism are reduced to soundbites of tragedy, titillation, and outrage, it is impossible to communicate about what racism actually is and how it functions in our society.

That is exactly the point of Obama's speech last week.

And today you return to writing about just another soundbite today.

I'm not sure why you are doing this. There are many reasons one can criticize Senator Obama, reasons that deserve discussion. I can see them clearly. No one, for example, has discussed his stance on torte reform.

But your essay today seems just another way to make race and racism into a topic for discussion. As one character put it in the play "Six Degrees of Separation," you make it an anecdote rather than an experience.

So over the table I can say, "Wow, did you see that piece Joan wrote today! Boy, I thought I was listening to Fox News!"

My friend across the dinner table can answer, "No way! I read it and I thought it was courageous. How can anyone talk about their grandmother that way?!"

And we'll have a good topic for discussion that will help us to pass the dinnertime so we don't have to talk about the realities of our own lives.

We don't have to be intimate or take any responsibility for how racism and poverty function in this nation.

I suppose I wish you had written a piece in which you said, "That speech affected me, perhaps differently than it did others. So did Obama's statement the next day. This reminds me that racism is challenging for me, as it is for our nation. Let me tell you my experiences. What are yours? What can we do?"

In the end, this is not about Obama (or Clinton). It's about us.

Thanks for all you do.

With great respect,

Laura

P.S. I would love to learn about your experiences working against racism. I don't think I would ever want to make them into another anecdote for conversational fodder. I'd want to learn from them.

Amen.

Your piece is an eloquent article in its own right. I hope others read it and take the time to understand the nuances of what you write. Be we for Clinton or Obama, if we step back and look at this speech, and look at the thoughtful rhetoric Obama offers, we can grasp what the Democratic Party can truly be.

I support Obama,so I am prejudiced, I suppose. However, I clearly heard Obama sending a message to those who support him. Don't attack Clinton. Don't treat Ferraro as a pariaha for her comments -- know she is human. Remember we are all Democrats.

The beauty of this speech is that it sends a clear message that there are some issues more important than winning, and that the issues of the day are more important than which Democratic candidate wins the nomination.

Democrats have to stand for something -- courageously. They have to stand by each other, too.

Your words are beautiful.

Peace,

Laura

"She's not the orator Obama is, but while he was speaking about his decision to stand by Jeremiah Wright yesterday, while putting it in the context of America's often tragic but unfinished story of racial politics, I couldn't help imagining Clinton undertaking a similar risk, and laying out her own Iraq mistake in the context of her wider views about American security. It might be too late for a lot of Hillary haters, but who cares, really: The truth really does set us free."

Dear Joan,

I appreciate your point here. If the Democrats are to stand for something, then they must, indeed, be willing to stand by something, particularly their own mistakes.

This means not doing the politically expedient, but actually speaking the truth. Such a novel concept! We've gotten so used to the politics of "What will spin."

I've supported Obama in part because he seems to represent this new kind of rhetoric. And, as you note, it is a rhetoric that will politically make the Democrats strong and viable again as a party. (Now they are seen for what they generally are: a group of poll watchers.)

I would love to see Senator Clinton make the kind of speech you speak of (and along the way rid herself of a few advisors who seem to revel in divisive politics that are ultimately counterproductive, and which don't represent their candidate at all.)

I am an Obama supporter, but I would love to have a reason to find equal hope in Clinton, for I do admire her.

Thanks for your words.

All the best,

Laura