If Obama is so great and really about change, then why doesn't he decry the Imperial System? Why even mention Israel and Islamofascism at all in his "Race Speech"? There is a point to his doing so, most likely to help counter the "Obama is a Muslim" faslse meme that is spreading in Israel. So to counter it, he uses the "Radical Muslims hate us for our freedoms" false meme, and claims that it is profoundly distorted to believe that Israeli aggression plays a large part in seeding regional hatred towards Israel and the US (whom Radicals perceive as being the ones pulling the strings).

Maybe Obama really is smarter than his advisers, like they say. He seemed to let them get the best of him throwing that little nugget in his speech though. You don't really think he wrote it last night and hoped up and delivered it, do you? Every word was lorded over.

But this is what Obama means when he talks about repairing America's Image Abroad, and anyone who thinks that Obama is somehow antiwar or against using the tools of the Empire as part of his agenda, then they have a rude awakening coming:

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/964124.html

The night before speaking with Haaretz, Levine says he ate dinner with Israeli friends, one of whom asked him: "Would Obama be willing to use force to defend American interests?"

"I was astonished by the question. He's made it very, very clear, repeatedly, even in the speech that he made in 2002 opposing America's invasion of Iraq, which he gave basically to a group of pacifists. He said 'Let me be very clear. I'm not a pacifist. It's not that I don't believe in war. I don't believe in dumb wars.'"

Obama, Levine says, "fully understands that the greatest threat to Israel at this time is Iran, and that Iran's ability to obtain a nuclear weapon is completely unacceptable. He's made absolutely clear that his priorities with regard to Iran are to stop Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons, to stop Iran from continuing to support terror, and to stop Iran from threatening Israel's existence."

What differentiates Obama's approach is that he believes in a combination of "aggressive diplomacy" and a willingness to use force, Levine maintains. "He feels that if you have opened with aggressive diplomacy, it gives you better credibility with your friends, to help you to accomplish your objectives.

President Obama: Play good cop before you play bad cop, that way your friends don't think you are a dick.

President Bush: Just play bad cop, your friends can take their thoughts and fuck off.

He wrote this himself and delivered it so regally, so generously that I do not see how anyone could not be moved, even moved to tears. We deserve this great man after the 7 years of pure hell we have lived through. Vote for Obama.

i guess you need to read what i wrote again.

i never said anyone who doesn't support obama is an imbecile.

i said anyone who is capable of understanding the entire speech and still finds fault with it is a cold hearted son of a bitch. and i don't mean hair-splitting fault, i mean fundamental fault.

the sad reality is that a lot of the people who obama needs to win over lack the fundamental thinking skills it takes to fully appreciate the man, what he stands for, and what he said today. does that mean everyone who doesn't support obama is an idiot? of course not.

if hillary had gotten up and made a speech about feminism that was 1/10 as good as obama's, i would have applauded her. and i can't friggin' stand her. but i can admit when she does something well.

so for hillary supporters to come on here and try to find fault with what he said today, i can confidently say that they are either idiots or have some very deep-seated problems.

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.

Yes, indeed.

Independent of Obama or Hillary or McCain, are we ready discard the simple masks and deal with each other as more complex beings? Jury is out, but stay tuned.

Jane Minty: ""You don't agree with me. You are insane. Or stupid." If you don't remember, I mentioned I was fond of some portions. I just don't understand some of his supporters who get upset if I don't want to make out with the speech in its entirety."

I don't remember -- I haven't had time to go through the 300+ posts here. But I see you've belabored your point repeatedly, responding and re-responding on that single issue as if it is really so important.

I'll say it again: Trying to find fault in Obama's "grandmother" commment is incredibly dumb.

From Obama's speech: "Not just with words, but with deeds -- by investing in our schools and our communities; by enforcing our civil rights laws and ensuring fairness in our criminal justice system; by providing this generation with ladders of opportunity that were unavailable for previous generations."

He is speaking about healing the rift. But in his mentioning of Whites supporting increasing spending in Black communities and schools. There is a bigger problem here. This is not just about race. Class war is also what is going on. Poor Whites outnumber poor Blacks in this country by three to one. So what are the elite Whites going to do for the enormous problem of poor Whites and Blacks and Hispanics and Asian and ...

Thanks, salon, for giving us the text. I wish more people would watch, listen, or read the original source of an event or speech. If anyone missed the original, it's being replayed on CSPAN at 7 p.m. (Eastern time).