The cynical part of me agrees with squalorholla: America does not deserve this man. His intelligent and nuanced views on things aren't easily digested by a society that wants things in high contrast, highly polarized "black and white."

Can your misogynist, ageist garbage. Who's fingers are you calling wizened? i'm probably younger than you. do you support obama to feel young and hip? Your divisive comments are in direct contradiction to the spirit of your injunction for us to all hope and breathe and enjoy the moment.

i meant gnarled. my fingers aren't gnarled. yours are.

if he'd mentioned the hateful comments about GLBT citizens that he allowed McClurkin and co. to spew on his Gospel tour. Sorry. Not convinced.

If Obama is the Democratic nominee he will lose with near Dukasis proportions. Why? Because Obama has made monumental mistakes in the campaign for which he cannot recover before the end of the year.

The speech was good, and I’m sure it reassured Obama supporters, but preaching to the choir is not going to win in November.

If Wrights comments were in isolation, then recovery could have happened, but unfortunately, it will be cast as just a part of the Obama narrative. The center theme against him will be that he doesn’t really believe in America.

Here’s a preview of the fall campaign TV add.

Opens with a blank screen, with narrative from “I have a Dream” Speech by Martin Luther King, Jr

“I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: “We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal.”

Text: Barak Hussien Obama could have chosen from many ministers who preach in the noble vision of Martin Luther King. Who did Obama choose?

Video: Clips of Wright’s sermons “Want us to sing God Bless America, No No No, God Damn America.” “The US of KKK”

Fade out and back to video of Michelle Obama, “for the first time in my adult life, I am proud of my country”

Fade to text: Shouldn’t the President of the United States be proud of his country?”

Fade out and back to picture of Obama standing next to Richardson and Clinton during the National anthem, where only Obama doesn’t have his hand over his heart.

Background sound during picture, “Want us to sing God Bless America, No No No, God Damn America.”

Various themes of this will play throughout the fall campaign, and they are beyond devastating, they are indefensible.

Obama’s response to his lack of experience, he was a US Senator for two years before running for President, is that he has superior judgment. The entire Wright affair calls this into question.

Dukasis went from a 30 point lead to being trounced, and turned from a successful governor into a tank riding mockery, Gore went from the reputation of being too honest and boy scoutish to being a liar who made ridiculous self serving claims, and Kerry went from being a war hero honorably serving his country and being wounded, into someone who faked injuries and did so only to advance his political career.

In all these cases the truth was to the contrary, and the Democratic candidates were painted in a way that was inherently wrong and unfair. None successfully managed to counter these attacks, despite the attacks being demonstrably wrong and lacking evidence.

What during the primary has lead anyone to believe that Obama will be able to fight off these types of attacks? Sadly, the ammunition he’s given to the Republicans is far more lethal than any of the above examples.

Page 3, paragraph 5:

"...we have no choice is we are to continue on the path..."

Page 3, paragraph 6:

"...the white man whose been laid off..."

I voted for Hillary, and I don't think it was a bad choice, but...

This was an amazing speech, and what really impressed me was that Sen. Obama demonstrates here incredibly sound, internalized, and nuanced moral judgement (unlike the occasional "blind faith" reaction I see in our current president and other) that's grounded in a sincere faith that he's worked for a long time to develop. It also shows that he's reflected on the issues facing americans, wants to put them front and center, and is able to deliver this whole message in a way that's politically palatable to the majority of Americans.

If Obama becomes the nominee, I look forward to supporting him in whatever way I can in the general election.

Why do you think he is being attacked so viciously as a bigot and the right are "backing Hillary"? That's what happens to those that are perceived as being against the Empire, they are smeared as Bigoted America Haters. They are scared that he might really be serious in the brief glimpses where he seems to really say what he thinks and some of those brief glimpses are perceived as being anti-warmonger and against the complete dominance of all resources on the planet by the military industrial complex. Better to be safe than sorry and go with Warrior Princess Hillary Clinton or Million Years McCain.

Hillary has shamelessly promoted McCain over Obama, a notion so vile, that it has horrified most Democrat faithfuls. Yet, at its root, is the Clinton / McCain relationship with the Israel lobby that seems to have a stranglehold in the US Congress, both the House and the Senate. The demonization of Islam in this country is analogous to the anti-Semitism that was rampant in this country not too many decades ago. And yet, we as Americans, have not raised our voices against this kind oc bigotry.

This speech holds the key to understanding why people think Obama is a progressive. He makes the argument of Thomas Frank in What's Wrong with Kansas, and Diane McWhorter in Carry Me Home: Birmingham, Alabama, the Climactic Battle of the Civil Rights Revolution. That argument is that we get sucked into arguing about race when the problem is elsewhere. Instead of dealing with race directly, we use jobs, affirmative action, welfare health care and other issues as proxies, and hide our fears and our shame from ourselves.

Obama calls for seeing the sources of the rage and anger that infects all of us, and dealing with the sources. If we do that, we will also deal with our own racist feelings, and maybe eventually get past them.