Well, I voted for Sen. Clinton in the California primary in part because of the disgusting sexism that has been directed against her, in part because I didn't see too much difference between she and Sen. Obama ideologically, and I thought that her experience would enable her to accomplish more in office, and in part because I had not been convinced of Sen. Obama's sincerity.

His speech on race has changed my mind.

I have said repeatedly that I will be working for whomever wins the Democratic nomination.

What Sen. Obama's speech has changed is my enthusiasm for him.

I couldn't help being impressed by his thoughtfulness, but also his courage and integrity.

Contrast HIM with George Bush. Or with Dick Cheney -- who wants to overturn the D.C. ban on handguns - unbelievable!

And perhaps Obama's ability to inspire people with his rhetoric will compensate for his lack of pragmatic political

experience.

So, Mr. Greenwald, I've sent emails to both Sen. Obama and Sen. Clinton strongly suggesting that they spend half of their time pointing out problems with McCain rather than with each other, but they haven't responded. Perhaps you could do so?

Because.....if Sen. Obama is nominated, the right will pull out all the stops to tap into the deep racism that exists in this country.

For a long while, they assumed Sen. Clinton would be the nominee, and they have pulled out the stops to tap ino the deep sexism that exists in this country.

I hope and pray that Sen. Obama is right, and the country IS ready for a change.

We've got to elect a democrat.....the war, katrina, the war,

our civil rights, the patriot act, the environment, global warming, etc. etc. etc. ad nauseam, ad infinitum.

Susan McGee

Taranto to Carpinelli, later the same day:

I am more than happy to correct or extend the record if I have erred, but I must tell you that nothing you have written here convinces me that I am mistaken to hold the opinion that the Center for Public Integrity is a liberal-left group. Formal nonpartisanship is no guarantee of fairness or detachment, and merely stating that you have no political leanings does not make it so.

Can you give me some examples of work your group has done that runs against type – i.e., that someone who does have a liberal-left agenda might find objectionable?

Glenn, as much as I love your analyses, the comparison between Dukakis and Obama is strained. Dukakis failed because it was easy to portray him as a douchebag, or at least douchebaggish. I just don't think Willie Horton had all that much to do with it.

Obama clearly is not a douchebag, and with this speech he demonstrated with shocking clarity that he, and only he, has the ability to inspire this country in 2008 -- and Lord knows most Americans are craving us some inspiration these days. I mean, who wants to turn on their TV or radio and hear Hillary or McCain droning on about political crap when they know they could be hearing Obama saying something that makes us feel like a Great Nation again? I'm serious. This is the reason Obama will win, and win big.

for realizing not only the courage, truth, power and dignity of Senator Obama's speech, but for allowing that there are many in this country who will not. I am enclosing the same letter here that I am using in response to all articles on the speech.

Thank you again.

Start letter:

I am a 51 year old white woman who has spent virtually all of my life in Philadelphia and its suburbs. I have seen the subtle discrimination ever-present in this part of the country, on a personal level with a black male and a Chinese male friend. It hurt me to the core of my being to watch how differently we were treated, eventhough both men were white collar professionals. This does not begin to count the multitudinous blatant acts of racism we all experience every day of the year, ad nauseaum.

What Senator Barack Obama did today, by giving a speech written not only from the heart, but also from his personal and professional experiences is too important to blithely let pass. His speech brought me to tears on two occasions and I believe it will go down as one of the greatest speeches concerning the race issues given by either a politician or activist of the early 21st century.

For those of you who cannot understand the complexities of the racial differences and misunderstandings present in the United States, I suggest very strongly that you read the transcript of the speech and view the video. You will be watching and reading the words of one of the bravest politicians since FDR. If you were an Obama supporter before and have since changed your mind and decided to vote for the other choices, please, for you sake and the sake of every right thinking person in this great land, do your homework and realize that the bravest candidate for any office in this country is Senator Barack Obama. We owe it to ourselves to pick up the gauntlet he laid down and work together to raise this great nation back up to the heights it once soared. This is not the job of one man, but of everyone who lives in the United States of America and calls him or herself an American.

End Letter

During the 1952 campaign, Governor Stevenson gave a speech to supporters in Boston. After he finished, a woman in the audience approached him and said, "Mr. Stevenson, you have sound positions on all the issues. You'll get the vote of every thinking person in the country." He immediately replied, "Yes ma'am, but I need a majority."

1) I have been willing to back either Democratic candidate up until now; this speech gave Barack Obama my vote and my support. He had the wit to realize he had nothing to lose by speaking a little truth. He'll never have the people who won't (at least grudgingly) respect this speech -- so he dismissed them.

2) An old quote from Pb @ Balloon-juice: "During his 1956 presidential campaign, a woman called out to Adlai E Stevenson ‘Senator, you have the vote of every thinking person!’ Stevenson called back ‘That’s not enough, madam, we need a majority!"

Sen. Obama won't say something this idiotically arrogant during his campaign. He is not the 'next' Adlai Stevenson. The Democrats lost in 2004 in part because they ran an Adlai redux candidate whose disrespect for the wit and ability of Americans was sadly obvious. Obama is not one of these fey scions of the old upper class -- which is why he has a fighting chance of winning.

3) Oomoex is correct about Sen. Obama being a smooth, practiced and winning-focussed politician. And yet... the man can speak like this when he feels the need to. That's also why he has a fighting chance of winning.

4) Readily stated contempt for the 'average' guy is one of the characteristics tells of people whose formal education has outstripped their real, native abilities. For 2 years now I've found Glenn Greenwald to be far less dismissive of the 'average' man's capabilities than most of his detractors. His stated ambivalence about which way the American public will break on this issue did not display any of the mediocrity-fueled contempt that gushes from them whenever the topic of 'human nature' comes up.