Gotta run, but had to comment on your Cuyahoga Cty story (where I live). Check my letters history and see what I've written about this, starting from the day after the Ohio primary. Esp. note that one of the Plain Dealer's executive editorial assistants, a right wing nut who routinely harasses gays and makes hay about global warming, gloated on March 5 that he was now a member of the Democratic party. It was obvious that he himself voted for Hillary. Anyway, I've been waiting for someone to thoroughly investigate this story--Ohio had the perfect storm of an open primary with an already-decided Republican contest. I'm glad to hear that Olbermann or somebody over at MSNBC might be looking at it.

how will this speech impact the stupid people?

And I'm not convinced that delivering a powerful, erudite, history- and fact-based speech will get through to them. They need sound bytes, not long passages. They need pictures, not words.

I'm hoping that they get their sound bytes from CNN, MSNBC, the Today Show, The View, et al. I know FOX and Rush and Hannity will spin this negatively, so their base won't be moved, but of course those voters were never in play. A lot of the "stupid people" (it's not the best phraseology, but for lack of a better expression...) (and btw I know a number of them--they're not bad people; they just lack education and/or independent thinking) will catch some of the analysis of the speech, and mostly it's going to be positive--of the tingling-up-Chris-Matthews'-pants variety. Anyway, that's what I'm hoping for--the trickle down effect.

it would be foolish to think that hillary doesn't know that her strongest base is not in danger of being recruited for mensa. she knows this very well, and has crafted a campaign designed to appeal to them. i don't fault her for this - you have to play to your base.

The fundamental difference bt the so-called analogous situations of Ferraro and Wright is that Hillary's "unreigned zealous supporter" (Ferraro) HELPED Clinton, while Obama's "unreigned zealous supporter (Wright) HURT Obama. I bring this up to agree with your above statement. Their protestations notwithstanding, Hillary was connected to Ferraro in this way: If Hillary wanted Ferraro not to be on TV for four days rebelliously spouting Archie Bunker rhetoric, then Ferraro would not have been on TV for four days spouting the rhetoric. It's that simple. Hillary understood, even as she gently chastised her friend's "misguided enthusiasm," that it was pulling voters in. The same is not true for Obama, whose misguided friend bled voters in droves.

Obama: Vote for me because of who I am.

Clinton: Vote for me because of what I've done.

I don't think this was a "vote for me" speech at all. He was responding to a brewing catastrophe in the media. I have begun to worry that this racial tension in the Democratic Party is going to open up another chasm of racial divide that many of us hoped was over or at least waning. I think we need Obama--because of who he is and what he's done--more than ever.

This is the family that cared for him, this is the woman who housed and fed and clothed him when he wanted to stay in Hawaii when his mother moved back to Indonesia. He would not be where he is today without this family.

Wasn't that precisely his point? I mean, isn't that the entire point of his speech? That family and friends are complicated, multi-layer individuals who do or say some bad stuff along with the good? Wasn't the white grandmother who spouts racist stuff just a counterpoint to the black preacher who spouts racist stuff? He's saying that he loves them both in spite of their flaws. You made his point for him.

About this:

Regardless of what his grandmother may or may not have said or done, was it REALLY necessary for him to taint her like that, drag her through the mud that he has been wallowing in?

Two things come to mind

1. I bet he ran it past her before giving this speech. I can't say for sure, but I'm willing to bet he did. I bet he had her permission, that she's sort of more enlightened now and admits to her past narrowmindedness and agreed to let him air her sordid past to make the point. Just conjecture.

2. What mud? I keep hearing about how Obama has done all this bad, racist mud-slinging, but all I have seen is him respond to other stuff. He hasn't really initiated mudslinging in my view. Could you offer examples?

The great uniter went after Ferraro again for a comment she made 6 weeks ago to a minor newspaper.

First of all, I don't agree with your "went after" characterization, but are you kidding me? ARE YOU KIDDING ME? If Ferraro had made just that one comment six weeks ago and apologized graciously (ala Samantha Power) and left it alone, THEN what you say would make sense. You forgot the whole last week of bellicosity, her appearances on nearly every talk show in existence, reframing her original "comment" in even more inappropriate terms and rebelliously challenging anyone to disagree, all the while collecting votes from soft racists under the watchful eye of Senator Clinton, who could have stopped her at any point.