Right after the 2004 election, the "most trusted man in America", Walter Cronkite, emerged from retirement to pronounce American democracy dead. He said that we no longer have the critical reasoning ability to choose wisely between an overqualified candidate and a transparent nitwit. He then went back to sailing around the world.

I was raised in the midwest by rednecks, which is different from wolves in that they are smart. I escaped from there and only looked back enough times to know they never progressed beyond race resentment and proud, defiant willful ignorance. When I recently tried to Snope them about Barrack NOT being Muslim, they wouldn't even read it. I then asked them if his pastor's troubles proves that he isn't muslim and it was too hard of a question. These are good, well-meaning folks but it pains me to tell you that they are mean enough to enjoy sticking it to libruls without even considering that they are (always) voting against their own interests when they do. This has been thoroughly vetted in Europe (though taboo here) and they too have pronounced America dead of ignorance.

Could it have been different? Well like you perhaps I still mourn Dr. King and Bobby and am warmed yet chilled by the new Bobby. The power of redemption is a force unto itself but we may be beyond redeeming after such wanton slaughter is still not even recognized by brain-dead, soul dead and morbidly obese America. Europe sees the unheard-of phenom of morbid obesity as a metaphor - not even a pig is stupid enough to eat itself to death.

You cannot even counteract their vile slanders since they pirated every major talk radio station in the country and broadcast lies without challenge 24/7 on the top 3 signals in every city large and small. Witless Dems didn't even realize what had hit them, even after the country's top communications school (funded by the conservative Annenbergs) warned that talk radio was duping 50 million Americans and swung 5 elections. Given another chance in 06, Dems just gave ownership another pass, so ratings-clunker nut Dennis Miller (#77) is rolled out in 100 markets while ratings winner lib Ed Schultz (#6) is pulled down in a third of his markets by GOP-colluding station owners. The game is rigged, and the people are too dumb to save themselves. I wonder if it is too late to turn it all around. The rest of the world is unanimous that we are finished, yet enthralled with the very man who has the ability to turn it around. They wish they had a leader like Barrack.

Thank you, dear splinter group of "liberal" commentators who, like our beloved Blue Dog Democrats in Congress, always manage to seize just enough on a particularly toxic scrap of right-wing mendacity for the virus to slip unchallenged into our political mainline. Yes, it is Obama - with the truly diverse background, family, and past, and the decades to think more than a few idle moments about race - who has the "tin ear" about these matters.

-- DCLaw1

I'm exactly as black as Obama, and have roots that stretch much deeper into black America than the son of a Kenyan, so by your standards I suppose I've earned the right to comment.

I like Obama's speech, but can understand why other people would not,and can see why Walsh, or anyone else, would think of it as a miss. In fact, under different circumstances, it would have been one -- and before all this is over, might prove to be one still. Other people might not see things the way you do, and guess what? That doesn't mean they're some spineless "Blue Dog" (there's an ugly image), any more than the posts you've made in this thread make you a Koolaid swilling Obamabot (another ugly image).

But I did want to say, I do hope that we will get a full and public eating of crow by Glenn the day after the election. "Yum Yum," he must say, "I am sorry I doubted that nobility, intelligence and honesty would resonate with the American people."

That would be about the same time I might start thinking about de-expat-ing myself, after all these decades.

The Obama speech will go down as a great one, one of the best by an American politician in more than thirty years.

It's possible, if the speech gets enough play and fair analysis, it could alter the campaign dynamics. It could have more of an impact on ordinary voters than the handicappers are able to predict right now.

Whether it will carry him to a win in Pennsylvania, and then to the nomination, is a question.

Regardless, it won't be easy for Hillary Clinton or John McCain to attack it.

More importantly, neither Clinton nor McCain are capable of matching Obama's oratorical power.

He should wield it, giving no quarter.

Its funny you bring up cluster bombs...

"I don't think there is any nation that would not have reacted the way Israel did after two soldiers had been snatched. I support Israel's response to take some action in protecting themselves." (Barack Obama, August 22, 2006)

This was after Israel had dropped, by its own admission, over 1 million cluster bomblets in Lebanon.

I disagree with this. To be honest, I think that cluster bombs should be banned, and the U.S. is just as culpable for making and selling them as the Israelis are in using them.

I'd note that Obama didn't address specifically the use of the cluster bombs, nor did he say that such "action" as was taken was 'right'; only suggestng that such was not surprising or -- perhaps -- 'understandable'.

He may feel that cluster-bombing all of southern Lebanon was OK; but he didn't make any such specific sentiment clear here.

I personally think that attacking an entire country for two soldiers is a bit of overkill (and not the way the Israel used to do "business"; they had more subtle ways of dealing with such previously, before massive arms from the U.S. and such had made them the "big boys on the block" there). Not to mention, such a blunderbus approach is hardly likely to be productive in the long run either.

But FWIW, I think that Obama would seem to be more receptive to seeking alternative approaches, particularly compared to "Bomb, Bomb Iran" McCain and the RW/neocon folks of the Republican party.

Cheers,