Of course Obama was lying about his grandmother because he's evil incarnate. He is like Hitler, Jim Jones, Damien (the adult one in Omen 3) and Osama Bin Laden all rolled up into one. He is evil and dangerous.

Happy now?

apparently the new talking points are

1) He's still racist

2) He threw his grandmother under the bus.

3) Still just words.

4) He still loves Israel

5) What about the war on drugs?!

6) He Admitted It! He heard the speeches! HE ADMITTED IT!

the grandmother one is the most odd. His point is pretty obvious, even his grandmother, the woman who helped raise him (ahem...a biracial boy) said hurtful things, ergo we can all say hurtful things. Let's not forget the hurtful past but also let's not be prisoners of it. Let's focus on the good in everyone...like my grandmother, who helped raise me...a biracial boy.

seems pretty clear, stop being so obtuse.

As I read the speech, tears running down my face, all I could think was, "This is MY America. This is MY president." And I voted for Hillary in the primary...

"A man tries to move this country forward 20 years on racial issues

And half the posters here don't get it? Really? I'm starting to agree with others, our country doesn't deserve Barack Obama as a leader. Send him to England, or anywhere they actually appreciate good leaders."

Now WE don't deserve HIM? LOL, wow have some of us have really got this backwards. Anyway, yes if you think one pretty good speech from a politicain who is trying to put a scandal to bed is going to move this country forward 20 years on racial issues (btw, that's an odd selection of time) all by itself then you are going to prove those mysterious others right as well. Specifically, by proving that modern Americans are shallow and easily seduced by lofty phrases but are unwilling to do the hard work and make the hard choices to turn those phrases into reality.

..and when the general election comes around in November, it's Obama again for me.

I'm petrified that someone will, actually. There are an awful lot of assholes out there who are 100% convinced that he's a terrorist, and own guns. And black political icons don't have such a good track record as far as not getting murdered goes.

I feel queasy even writing about this. At this point, Obama is more than just a man; he's a figurehead and a cultural force, and if -- God forbid -- some tragedy befalls him, it would be largetype Bad. Many, many people would be enraged into insensibility.

I think I could keep it together, but my heart would be broken.

Did you not hear, or reqad, everything he said about his grandmother? He was very clear in saying how much she loved him and how much she had done in raising him. His point was that people have both good and bad in them...his grandmother, the Rev. Wright - and all of us.

I do not intend to vote for the guy, but I still love his rhetorical style. That was a great speech. I am sure the Clintonistas will find a way to keep fanning some flames with a whisper campaign, but it was a great piece.

Good for him for not throwing the reverend right under the bus in a moment of political expediency. Kind of reminds me of Harry Truman who was good friends with a Kansas Boss (named Pendergast, maybe?). Rumor was he was this guy's toady.

Early in his presidency the guy died. His advisors told him to stay away. He refused, saying simply that the guy was his friend, and went anyway.

Good for Obama for sticking by this guy while making clear he disagrees with SOME of what he said. He was making clear the differences in outlook based on generation and personal experience.

It was a very fair and accurate depiction of race in America, I think.

He likely will not get my vote, but he sure as hell has my respect.

A primer on racial relations for sixth graders. Nice Speech, Senator. However, Obama could not explain how he would allow a man who said "God Damn the United States" and the "U.S.KKK.A" to baptize his children if he didn't share these ideas. Empty suit Obama with his pack of lies and half truths will never be a President for everyone.

Since you've been bringing up the issue of drugs and incarceration repeatedly, I urge you to find (I'm sure it's on YouTube) a townhall meeting that Obama attended at a community college in Monaca, PA yesterday (Monday, March 18). I caught it on CSpan last night.

In response to a question on the huge number of incarcerations in this country, he gave a several-point, nuanced response - he talked about several preventive measures to discourage youths from crime, but two of his points addressed: 1) The normally racially charged topic of black men receiving more severe sentences for the same crime and (2) The effect prison was having on first time drug offenders

If you are so interested in the topic I strongly suggest you find and watch that to understand where he stands on those issues.

As for the topic at hand - very few people are able to rise above the imperatives of the moment and see an issue from so many points of view. Simply brilliant.

i see you're all too familiar with the latin maxim expressio unius est exclusio alterius, which means the expression of one thing excludes all others. it is helpful in some contexts, but not applicable here. you're not alone - so many posters here make the same logical misstep.

if you look at what he said in the speech, he is not running solely on the issue of healing the racial divide. rather, he "chose to run for the presidency at this moment in history because I believe deeply that we cannot solve the challenges of our time unless we solve them together -- unless we perfect our union by understanding that we may have different stories, but we hold common hopes; that we may not look the same and we may not have come from the same place, but we all want to move in the same direction -- towards a better future for of children and our grandchildren."

bringing people together, including people of different races, is the only way we're going to solve the problems you detailed.

and just because race has become an issue does not mean it's the ONLY issue.