Can you imagine reading a speech as utterly honest, reasonable, unifying, and uplifting as the one given by Barack Obama this morning and feeling...anger and outrage. I can't either. If Hillary Clinton (or even John McCain) gave a comparable speech I'd be applauding them, not twisting the speech into something that fit my predisposition to distrust Clinton and McCain. Whether or not you support Obama, it was a great and important speech. Don't miss the message just because the messenger may not be your first choice for President.

A red telephone of selectively divisive bull$#it has rung.

Barack Obama has just answered it with unique grace.

Just as there's more to being patriotic than wearing a lapel pin, perhaps there's more to being "qualified" to be President than a candidate's "experience" in elected office.

This speech laid out a man's experiences as an American- all the ups and downs, the unique collections of people that make each of us who we are- and it demonstrates an awareness of how they parallel the experience of the nation as a whole.

Yes, maybe it was just a speech (, Senator Clinton).

But, that a man who can respond to what's been going this week by forming such a speech from those experiences AND is among the three people who will be our next President is a good sign for all of us.

Sometimes you hear something that makes you deeply proud to be an American. For me, this is one of those times.

Those of you who didn't like the speech - think of it this way. If you heard this speech given by someone with no dog in the fight - IE, a friend, professor, or someone you respect who IS NOT running for president, would it still be as 'offensive' or 'shallow'? Seriously? I'm not talking about the part dealing specifically with the campaign (IE, wright or Ferrarro, eg.) but the core of the speech - the actual discussion of race. This is how I interpret what he said:

1) Racism has caused vast injustices in American society, starting with slavery.

2) Understandably, black Americans have ever reason to be angry, upset, whatever. This doesn;t justify racism of any variety, but it must be addressed.

3) After a certain point, blacks/whites/Latinos need to move BEYOND anger towards a point of mutual understanding.

Obviously I am skipping over a lot of the subtleties.

But. . .

Obama just made a cogent and sound analysis of the problems with race in America - better than I can summarize here. Most of the criticisms are either on totally superficial aspects of the speech such as 1) His grandmother or 2) Throwing Hillary under the bus. Reading other criticisms, it's clear that the commentator didn't actually read the speech at all.

What are the flaws of his actual argument regarding race in America? Note that these are, perhaps, different than the criticism of Obama as a candidate.

It will be interesting to see how this speech is viewed ten years from now.

@ tbrandel:

Thanks for the clarification, but I still disagree with your point. The Clintons, esp. Hillary, have been subjected to the same sorts of lies and distortions... among them raised by the Obama campaign to portray them as racists. The cultural contexts of the 90s just make it more probable that people will believe anything vile about the Clintons, and to return to your original point, it is really hard to overcome these narratives, however false, once they become part of the received wisdom.

@ auntie cairo:

"The Republicans have successully turned politics into an emotional - rather than intellectual medium - and they get some people to vote based on reactions to trumped up issues, rather than on reality."

Well said.

Hey, if you want to call getting Obama elected a movement, knock yourself out. Perhaps a movement with a small m at best but let's not kid ourselves and try and compare it to the Civil Rights movement.

I think most people ignore you because you are so far off shore, floating in your own silly world.

You mean the real world? The reason people ignore him is the same reason they ignore the silly world he is floating in. It makes them feel bad so they would rather relax and live in the American Dreamworld, we were are all #1, everything we do around the world is awesome, justice is evenhanded (i.e. criminals deserve what they get and if you don't do anything bad you have nothing to fear schtick), and everyone who disagrees with what we do should be bombed or subsidized as we maintain and expand our Empire of 800 bases around the world and an always expanding prison system and police state at home. We kill civilians with missiles in Somalia when they, oops, accidentally missed their terrorist target and hit the house instead, but that never happened and is of no consequence. American missiles killing civilians in other countries never happen, they don't do body counts.

And if Prisons are a symptom of poverty, we seem to be getting a whole lot poorer now that more than 1 in 100 Americans are in a cage.

None of it ever happened. Ignorance is bliss.

Obama asked a question in his speech. Will we continue to allow trivial issues distract us, or will we say not this time? If judging from the many comments I've read on this site and others, the answer is we will continue to be distracted. So all you democrats get used to saying President John McCain. We had our golden opportunity and we blew it. We are so divided amongst each other, there is no way in hell either Obama or Hillary will be elected president this fall. Doesn't matter who the nominee is, we will not win.

Don't be distracted by the frustration of the naysayers... you'd have to be pretty obtuse not to recognize that this was a significant moment, and for those not into the idea of Obama, I'd imagine they're now a whole lot more worried about the challenge THEIR preferred candidate faces, having seen the man take a potential slip-up and turn it into possibly the strongest moment of his campaign so far. Come on people... this is not only formidable inspiration we're seeing, but formidable politics.

For maggieb, I wonder how you think you can change that which you cannot acknowledge? I loved my grandparents dearly, but they were racists. I am not defiling their memory by speaking the truth. I pray my grandchildren are more enlightened than I am, and should they be, I pray they have the courage to speak the truth about that enlightenment, even if that includes referring to their grandfather's lack thereof for illustrative purposes... hmmm... MUST put that in my will... " I hereby permit and encourage...."

As for Hillary not getting her "Free Speech", when she makes a speech this good, and manages to articulate an inspiring vision that blows everyone away, she'll get the coverage. At some point one has to ask, of the two, who so far seems to react best under pressure? Who keeps their cool and ups their game? Who inspires? Who is a leader?