One Must Show Up to Heal Racial Divides
By NoQuarter on March 18, 2008 at 10:12 AM in Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Tavis Smiley
While Barack Obama has dodged and weaved his way through the the politics of race — pretending he never heard the hate-filled, anti-Christian, racist remarks of his pastor for 20 years — Hillary Clinton has actively sought out African Americans:
LOOK at who shows up. From my February 23, 2008 story, “This is Ignore-The-Blacks “Shrub” Behavior, Barack“:
You’ll recall how, for years, President Bush has “shined on” invitations to speak at the annual NAACP convention, only this last year finally addressing the hugely influential, historic national organization. Now Barack Obama is “shining on” the national “State of the Black Union” founded by Tavis Smiley, and being carried LIVE on C-Span today. It is not insignificant that Smiley chose New Orleans for his annual gathering.
Who is the ONLY candidate — Republican or Democrat — who accepted Smiley’s invitation? Hillary Rodham Clinton, who speaks live to the group in a few hours, reports CNN. …
… I’m listening now, and it’s truly fascinating — they just introduced major Hollywood director Jonathan Demme.) Barack Obama? CNN reports that Obama declined and offered to send Michelle, but Smiley told him that sending a surrogate is not enough and turned him down. Obama said he’s too busy campaigning in Texas and Ohio to bother with the national convention on black issues. That “bamboozler.”
CNN International sums up the controversy in “Obama takes heat for skipping State of the Black Union“:
STORY HIGHLIGHTS:
- Sen. Hillary Clinton is the only major presidential candidate to accept invitation
- Sen. Barack Obama told organizers he needed to focus on his campaign
- Talk show host Tavis Smiley: It’s a missed opportunity on Obama’s part
- Smiley tells Washington Post he’s gotten angry e-mails, threats for criticizing Obama
By the way, Tavis Smiley has been subjected to extraordinary attacks and pressure for daring to support Sen. Hillary Clinton. I read about it at MyDD, and am glad that CNN repeated the story today. …
Read all of “This is Ignore-The-Blacks “Shrub” Behavior, Barack.”
Obama’s speech today is just that, a speech, lots of words some well written by some professional speech writer. But you can find how calculationg, disingeneous and sleazy they are in simple paragraphs. An example: it preposterous that Obama in his speech, just as some in the media have done (latest example Gwen Ifll last night on the News Hour)
mention Ferraro (directly or indirectly) and Wright on the same sentence,
on the same breath. It is outrageous.
Here is Obama’s paragraph on this:
“On one end of the spectrum, we’ve heard the implication that my candidacy is somehow an exercise in affirmative action; that it’s based solely on the desire of wide-eyed liberals to purchase racial reconciliation on the cheap. On the other end, we’ve heard my former pastor, Reverend Jeremiah Wright, use incendiary language to express views that have the potential not only to widen the racial divide, but views that denigrate both the greatness and the goodness of our nation; that rightly offend white and black alike. ”
Obama and the media need to be called on this: of course the idea is : “well they had Ferraro I have Wright, we are even , end of story.”
Ferraro’s comments might have been “offensive” to some… (not me)
But Wright’s are a whole different lot and to even mention both on the same breath is disingenenous, very wrong, and quite dangerous.
Of course Obama’s full text of his speech appeared in the HuffPost; part of Obama’s network family.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/03/18/obama-race-speech-read-t_n_92077.html
I couldn’t agree more.
But could someone (Susan?) PLEASE move up the fact Wright called Hillary a bitch? I have not seen that discussed anywhere nor have I seen that section of the video played.
That has nothing to do with black or white. I would like to hear Obama explain that one, please.
He gives a great speech, and the media (as I sit here right afterwards) is fawning over him. I remain unmoved. I aleady know all about the racial problems and continuing injustices, and we have a long way to go, but I still know little new about the man. What I did pick up is that he admitted that he had heard Rev. Wright say outrageous things whereas before he denied that. Did he call him on that? Did he tell him in no uncertain terms that these remarks were unacceptable? Did he face the accepting churchgoers chanting in agreement? I could not have tolerated such comments. Sorry–I have just been talked out. I do not smell unity.
Oh my gosh, it seems you beat me to it! I was probably typing it to send it and you got finished before me! Great minds and all that.
What about his children being raised hearing these kind of things? What do they grow up believing?
I wanted my son to grow up as color blind as possible and if I did one thing right in raising him, that was it. I never, ever would have allowed him to be exposed to the kind of hateful speech that Rev. Wright gave. It definitely would not have reinforced the message that I was trying to teach at home.
So what are BOs children learning from that church.
On CNN last night a republican strategist made a good point, what would MLK think of Rev. Wrights sermons? I don’t normally agree with many of them, but I couldn’t help but nod my head.
I agree that his speech addressed a topic of racial divide that I would have heard from Jesse Jackson 20 years ago – not today. While there are still inequities regarding African Americans to have us believe that race relations have not progressed over these many years is just not true. He also seemed to take the old path of blaming white America for Black America’s problems. That won’t work anymore.
He almost entirely ignored the two major problems coming from Wright’s polemics. One is anti-America and the second is anti-Israel. He barely brushed over both issues.
He has been dishonest with us about Wright and so why should we believe him when he says that he does not agree with the ranting of Wright? If he did hear this ranting why did he not leave the Church as Oprah did?
As a supporter of Israel I cannot ignore the horrible anti-Israeli preaching by this pastor or ignore the anti-Israel advisors that Obama has with him.
I believe what he implies in his speech was that “He” is the historic figure to solve all of our racial woes.
So he teaches his own children this garbage. He assists in the distribution of this garbage by contributing both in cash and name dropping Wright’s name to the right people in the right circles to further his profits and further spread the word of hate against whites in this Country.
In turn, Wright offers him his version of a million man haters to come after Hillary and to rile the African American community to vote along skin color because …
“God Damn America!” “Hillary ain’t never been called a nig&3!” And Bill Clinton is responsible for the crimes committed by three time offenders.
This was said just DECEMBER of this past year folks. This is how Obama’s section of the black community is working to unify our country.
And so then, who started using the race card first?
But he wants to claim the mantle of inclusiveness and healing of American’s racial divide?
Talk about hoodwinking!
It would have made a difference if he gave this speech years ago and then left. Now, he’s only doing it because his back is against the wall. Media loves it. I don’t like telepromptered speeches. It was passive-agressive and over written. The perfect victimization speech. I can’t wait until all the pretty little parts are pulled out. I’m sure they will leave out the part where he sneaks a slap at Clinton by tucking Ferraro in to the speech.
One of the things that really stood out for me is that, a few days ago he said that he never heard comments like that and today he is saying that he did hear them! So did he have a sudden memory that in fact he did hear comments that are racially divisive in the last few days, don’t think so. I find this to be a very basic dishonest moment. I think he changed his tune because it’s my understanding that a number of AA ministers were getting ready to “go off” on him. BO is going to say whatever is politically expedient for him to say. Wonder what else is going to come down the pike that he said he didn’t and then says he did.
My guess it the article that says he was in the congregation nodding his head to the sermon discussing white racism and white America is true and that just the date is going to be shown wrong. A lot of the sermons are taped. It is possible he was not asleep through all of them.
He is a liar……you can put lipstick on a pig…it’s still a pig.
His first inclination is to lie. His second inclination is to lie some more. His third inclination is to lie even more. And then if he is sure you got the goods on him he changes his tune. There isn’t a thing that comes out of that man’s mouth that I can believe. He needs to go. He is an embarrassment to Illinois and the USA.
He’s too good a liar. When Bill claimed he’d not had sexual relations with that women, he was obviously lying through his teeth and there was a family reason so it was also forgivable. Obama is really a terrific liar, and the next day he can say something else and sound equally sincere. This isn’t a skill he should have let us in on.
I listened to Obama speech and read the full text.
He united people alright. But he united the black voters against the white voters.
And he said, we are the good one here white folks. If you want to be good, join the club. Otherwise, you are one of the racist people who abused the slave and create this racial intension.
So in the end he achieved what he claimed to do. He united the black and white voters.
So long y’all
I’m not sure whether it’s Steve Clemmons TheWashingtonNote, or the BurntOrangeReport.com, or Josh Marshall’s TPM Empire, but someone referred me to this blog to read about Iraq and foreign policy matters.
But I haven’t been able to find much of it. Just a lot of talk dividing the Democrats between She Said’s and He Said’s.
I’ll set a reminder to check back again in January 2009. You can now commence calling me a troll or some other names.
I like this site because it gets fiery. Try Talkleft. They are well moderated and very civil.
Y’all,
Larry wrote a piece called ” pink lipstick on a big pig” dated March 16th, try that.
Upshot?
Some of us think Iraq is a smaller part of a larger asymmetric war.
Bush, Cheney and Smilin Jim don’t get it.
HTH.
Have a good day.
BlueInTexas,
Perhaps you have somehow missed that we are in an election cycle for the leader of the world’s most powerful country, we are fighting a ground war on two fronts, we are fighting many other wars under the radar, our economy is going to hell in a Wall Street shopping bag, and a totally inexperienced, possibly corrupt, disingenuous politician is on the verge of becoming the Democratic nominee for POTUS.
I’m not feeling real “secure” about that prospect, or about the prospect of 4 years of President “Let’s Take a Stroll Through a Baghdad Market” McCain.
This is a security issue.
How about ‘gratuitous hermetic jerk’?
Obama gave a wonderful campaign speech today motivated by political expediency rather than an sincere desire for racial reconciliation.
Up to now, anyone who named the obvious about Obama would be accused of playing the race card. Up to now, Obama ran fast and furiously away from his blackness. Yet, he passed up a prime opportunity to discuss these issues and solutions for racial injustice in American when he declined (for the second year in a row) an invitation to attend Tavis Smiley’s State of the Black Union.
This event today demonstrates again the Obama campaign’s skill at race-baiting for political gain. This time they adeptly exploited the self-inflicted Wright controversy to achieve their aim. Hereafter, anyone who questions Obama’s judment regarding his relationship with Wright is playing the race card.
Masterful.
I see, sometimes, things I consider ordinary, or mediocre, praised as exceptional. It’s like an Overton Window. What is the baseline for excellence, even for a troll, say?
Apparently not much.
The Obama campaign’s expert use of race-bating.
I dunno, I guess it depends on your point of view.
It’s mediocre, simplistic. To me, anyway.
With an intelligent press, it would be a big yawner, right?
To explicate, with an intelligent press, Obama would just be another kook.
The press sold his shit, for reasons having nothing to do with strategy, and everything to do with a false narrative, selling the mediocre Obama like they did the mediocre Madonna, or Britney Spears.
THAT is why Obama received traction, his charisma, not his message, or his strategy.
In fact, isn’t it his very use of race that is bringing him down, now?
I am not sure anymore how anyone takes anything in this country. I have been surprised by some in my own family. But that would not be the first time. I have had to learn to live with Bush supporting, Ann Coulter reading, Limpbaugh listening right-wing family members for years now!
But instinctually I thought he was shrouding himself in the radical black history of the Panthers and Farrakhan (sp). I noted that he mentioned he came from a black African father in a strong voice and a white woman in a tone relegated to afterthoughts.
He did the same when he spoke about his white grandmother saying racist things that made him cringe. Though later he mentioned how much love there was between them? Did he mean that particular grandmother?
He threw her under the bus the same way he was throwing Ferraro under the bus to save his hide and that of J. Wright. Justifying/equating the ugliest sermon I have ever heard with his ignorant and probably long dead grandmother’s most likely generational epitaths and a valid criticism by a political female leader.
See those two white racist white women? That’s why its okay that I here and now support a racist view of whites.
Now lets hold hands and I will lead you to the promise land! Where there are no white leaders! Where blacks don’t ever, ever go to war and fight! Where we will all be treated as equal! Even the white bitches!
Siiiiimple Piiiiimple!
Obama states: Despite the temptation to view my candidacy through a purely racial lens, we won commanding victories in states with some of the whitest populations in the country. In South Carolina, where the Confederate Flag still flies, we built a powerful coalition of African Americans and white Americans. Seems Obama forgot the 4 page memo about keeping race in the forefront, and where is that campaign worker today Sen. Obama?
Obama said: We can pounce on some gaffe by a Hillary supporter as evidence that she’s playing the race card You did pounce and you did it with a vengance Obama!
Was your wife’s remarks over the “Fairy Tale” turning it into a racial remark a gaffe? No it was a deliberate and calculated injection of race to abort the issue from your stances on the war to the color of your skin!
Senator Obama, I rea your speech, I read it many times and all the words you used were simply “Just Words” divisive words for the most part! You calculatedly used your race to define yourself! You gave no clarity in the fact you are a member of a congragation that is a family, who talks constantly, and you may not have heard some of Wright’s preaching directly, but you cannot deny hearing them second hand! Yet you did nothing!
Dear Senator Obama, Actions make for experience, and trhus far to date, you have not proven you are qualified on experience, because you only produce excuses for your in-action!
Senator Obama, had you done the respectable thing and come clean, you might have been forgiven to some degree, but your unwillingness to seek forgiveness for words uttered by your wife, your Pastor and your Campaign surrogates does not relieve you from the unjustice you have brough into this campaign!
Please Senator Obama you claim to be a Uniter, then for the sake of the country, resign as there is no place in leadership for someone who uses race as an excuse to have a 20 yr relationship with someone who defends the 9/11 attacks and keeps a fire ignited on racial tensions in a populous, all the while as you listen to this man preach, you claim also to have no knowledge of the suffering of your own people in your district who are freezing in the dead of winter as you keep reaping from your slumlord friend!
Senator Obama, I write this not because you are black or white, brown or green, I write this because you are a deceptive politician who creates by dividing and divides to conquer for your own selfish needs, which when you do not become the victor, you will have done nothing more than destroyed a country selfishly!
Great crickets Mel that was great!
There is a section of white Americans who are well versed with the Afro-centric crowd.
We are socially brown. We don’t fit in one slice of the American pie than the other.
And we the socially brown aren’t fooled. We know that the Afro-Centric folks use race for everything!
Much the same way a skinhead does. An old HBO docu exemplefies this best. The youth leader of the Skins was once again sitting in the basement of his mother’s home drinking beer in the middle of the day. The whole while, he was spewing hateful things about blacks for taking their jobs.
Now, what are the chances of the African Americans understanding the anger these white men are feeling? How are they going to tell me that the skin heads should have their own church, spew their crap, video tape it and sell it so as to touch as many little white hearts as possible. Then, send their most prominent member to the White House!
It is time to talk about race in America. It is time to stop placating one race by allowing them freedoms we know are not good for any of us. We know this to the point of no one else being allowed to say such things without public repudiation.
If blacks are to be treated equal then they must be held to the same standard. Certainly we can start there.
Well, yes and no.
Black people should be treated equally simply because they’re American citizens.
Wright’s complaints of racism were not fatuous, I can only begin to imagine the garbage an AA must face, simply on account of SKIN COLOR.
(I know you said you were brown, I am also of Hispanic heritage, my father was Anglo, though, and my skin white. My cousins are darker, and I SAW how they were treated, even though we were the same.)
Remember the senile old fool Imus, referring nappy headed hos?
Taken outside the context of the campaign, how are Imus’ remarks any less offensive to the black community, than Wright’s are to the Anglos?
They’re not, you would be FURIOUS if your high achieving daughter were referred to as a “nappy headed ho” by one of those fat fanny white guy Kos types, stupefyingly obese, in terms of social awareness.
And that was pretty light, what Imus said, imagine being told because of your skin color, you are intellectually inferior (ole professor Bell, right?).
And I know women are victimized in the same manner, the CRIME against women horrific, I really can’t say who has it worse, but no matter what, the complaints are legitimate, and MUST be addressed.
Progress makes America great, including social progress. Really, it is this mix, and the continual struggle for tolerance, that makes this country great.
Not perfect, but great.
Yes Simon..
Funny it just took Obama so long to get onto that message..about our Constitution and the
struggle for change..and that it has been an ongoing Progressive process..but we are getting there..
I have been saying all of that Here at NQ for the Past week..Whose material is Obama borrowing now..??
Is His message Really
“The Audacity of HOPE..”………or
“The Audacity of HYPE..”
He has to know in His Heart that Pastor Wright was Wrong..
The Way White Folks have been treating Obama during his Campaign Proved that..and that Indeed is what makes America Great..Simon..as you said..
GOD BLESS AMERICA..
The Truth is Marching On..
I Made everyone some Soup and Grilled Cheese sandwich’s..
Such Intellectual Honesty..
I stand well corrected Simon.
As for being socially brown, I did not mean Latino specifically. I cannot be visually identified as one thing or the other. This chameleon ability paid well as a child in a less than friendly setting.
All my life people of one race/color/religion have felt comfortable saying things they would not say in “mixed company,” not knowing that I was in the “mix.”
I have for those same reasons lived a rich life in charectology. (snark)
I don’t happen to buy into this huge racial divide we are being spoon fed. I am well aware that racism does exist, but in general people are not interested in your skin color much less will they go out of their way to keep you “down.”
Mere MSM meme and me me me me me too.
They take an extreme and make it mainstream for us.
I would really like to know how many of my AA friends have actually heard their pastor call a woman a “bitch” during sermon or say a G-d Damn? (forget the America part).
I hear say I must surely have heard my spiritual leader say something I didn’t agree with. Well, sure. I don’t think gays are going to hell.
But I never heard anyone speak that way in or out of church with such lack of restraint and with such enjoyed license to injure others out of their own righteousnous.
George H Bush referred to his grandchildren, by Laura and Jr, I think, as “the brown ones,” due to Laura’s heritage.
Anytime I hear the word brown in relation to people, now, I think of Texas, George H Bush, and Latinos.
Right On Simon..
“Ask Not What Your country can Do for YOU..
rather…Ask What you can do for Your Country..”
and your Countryman..’
In Order to create a More PERFECT UNION..and Insure DOMESTIC TRANQUILITY..
Its Not about ME..Its about US..
The Democrats especially need to Resolve this matter…Get elected..control the executive and Congress…Bring jobs Home from Overseas..Go green..cut gas prices..lower the cost of living..end the WAR & WASTE..and Establish Good relations with Our Nieghbors..Thwe Ones Next door…no matter who they are..and the Ones to Our North and South..
Please…some LEADERSHIP…NOW..
I gotta wash up for that Alfredo..>I been out working on the yard..Saying Hi to my Nieghbors…and the kids walking by from school..Black..Brown..yellow..White..
Just Sayin..How Do You Do..
I Think We are in the middle of a raging national debate..In Search of the Lost Accord..
Boy, That Chicken Alfredo smells good..I’m gonna eat..
Any thinking person should take Obama’s speech as an insult to his/her intelligence. Is he a great speaker? The answer is an unequivocal “yes”.
The actual verbiage of the speech, however, shows what a smarmy, pandering hypocritical race hustler he really is. He is trying to fool you, the listener, that this whole issue was about the historical racial inequities of this country. No one is disputing that blacks have had it rough…and no one is denying the Rev. Wright to speak out aout that.
The real issue is about the other comments by Wright…and obama’s failure to address them before they became a political hot potato: we deserved what happened on 9/11, the gov’t is feeding drugs to the black community, AIDS was created to get rid of blacks, etc.
Obama is a smooth politician…but he is dishonest, duplicitous, and sophistric as well.
Saul,
It took me most of the evening to figure it out.
Obama delivered a huge GUILT TRIP. Elect me because I am the only black and you can see we have problems. Nevermind that the problem originated with ME!
Did Alan Funt come back from the dead to punk us all?
The man gets caught with a hater and he gives America a lecture on how we need him!
I mean… uhm… err.. wait a minute ….
This speech is bound to stoke the race embers some more if Obama does not have specifics on how he could unite the race. Oratorical speeches that is not followed by policy would just make the division widen some more because the pro side would be clinging to every word of the speech and then be disappointed when the speechwriter does not meet their expectations. That is why action is important before those disappointments manifest itself more and more.
Lets just all hope that Obama would deliver on the specifics later on.
This is Bush, btw, the examples being so numerous, I don’t know where to start.
Remember how he was going to fund NASA’s quest to send a man to Mars, or draw the troops down, or support green energy research?
How’d that wrok for him?
I reread Obama’s speech, which many won’t do, but suggest you do for a simple reason, take a look at the tone of it, the purpose of it and the attempts by it! This speech was a speech of a “victim” not a speech of a denouncer!
This speech has little repentance in it and justification would have been doing as Oprah did and leaving the vile tones of such a place of continual preaching on a specific morality!
Are we to take Obama as a victim of everything, or are we to take Obama as a man of actions towards things?
This speech today seeks the call of a victim, so does this mean we elect a victim as a President?
Clinton has been more of a victim in this campaign season than Obama has, hell she has been a victim of Obama’s machine, yet again we are to have sympathy for Obama, sorry not this time, your attempt at bamboozling and okie dokie are passed now and your attempts at pitiful excuses do not fair for someone seeking to be President, as there is no excuses when sitting in the Oval Office!
No you didn’t. You didn’t re-read his speech. If you did, you would know that he did denouce Rev. Wright for his incendary remarks in the pulpit. Not only that, Obama now refers him as his “former pastor”. Rev. Wright is no longer on Obama’s advisory committee and Obama have distanced himself from him. What more do you people want the man to do?
There was nothing in his speech that suggested that he or anyone else is a victim. He laid all the cards on the table, Told Americans about his life and gave an open and honest assessment about race in this country so that everyone will know where he stands on the issue.
Repudiate after the fact? He did tolerate it for 20 years. He only denounced Rev Wrong after he was caught listening to those hateful remarks w/o doing anything. He only distanced himself from the toxic after his political career is on the line.
Don’t tell me we have to put Rev Wrong’s remarks in context, Obama didn’t put Ferraro’s comments in context, he didn’t even put his own grandma’s comments in context. And comparing grandma’s occasional racial stereotype in private with Rev Wrong’s open anti-American rant is an insult to my intelligence.
It’s an OK speech, nice reading from teleprompter, but, well, it didn’t convince me.
Obama’s speech in a nutshell:
I choose an anti-American racist Reverend to become my family member.
Oh, and I lied about not knowing who he was.
The End.
There is only ONE WAY for us to properly respond to Obama’s speech today… send Hillary more money! $5, $10, $25, $50, $100, $1000!
(Being a Centrist, I choose a middle amount.)
Fed Cut 3/4 points to 2.25%
Obama’s only response to any problem is rhetoric. All words, no substance. What has he done but toot his own horn and divide the Democratic Party? Sen. Obama, put down that pen and wake up to the damage you have done to this country. You have single handidly put race relations back 50 years. You have alienated good people with exemplary records on civil rights. You have jumped to the head of the line by knee-capping the Clintons by inferring they are dirty, racist, and past their prime. You want to turn the page on struggles of civil rights, women’s rights, constitutional rights. It is shocking the damage he has done. But the worse may be the false hope. Lets hear how Obama donated $22,000 a year to Rev. Wright to facilitate a message of hate and division. Black superiority is a reprehensible as white supremacy! Don’t look at Obama and what he says BUT look at what he does. Unity, I don’t think so. Reasonableness, not from what I can see. He is shockingly mean spirited, but pretends to be just the opposite. Rezko is the personification of Obama’s ambition. Obama was willing to let the poor people of Chicago go without heat so Rezko could gather up a quarter million dollars to give to Obama’s campaign. And who had to freeze and live in substandard housing so Obama and Michelle could buy their mansion? Shame
An analogy
Being CIC - it’s not brain surgery
http://www.mydd.com/story/2008/3/18/115855/268#132
I think I’ll be a brain surgeon.
Even though I’ve only done minor surgery
and my LIFE LONG mentor and Pastor says “SURGERY is evil and god damn surgery!!”
I still want the job. I want to unite all SURGEONS with all of those who’d rather suffer or die. My Mother was a surgeon. My Grandmother was a surgeon.
Those who blame the SURGEONS when surgery fails.
Yes they tried their best but it was NOT good enough. They failed. Why try again? Gd dAm the SURGEONS.
Just hire ME and I’ll unite the SURGEONS with the herbalists, the SURGEONS with the Christian Scientists, the SURGEONS with Jeraldine because she’s the WORST of ALL! WRight?
SHe recognized a disease. Called us on it and we all went WILD! GD damn SURGEONS.
(um yea)
Frankly, I think the whole speech was a very elaborate misdirection. Yes, it certainly had a lot of apt commentary about the state of race relations in America, no disagreement here. And yes, that is something that should have been in the political discourse a long time ago.
But it totally missed the whole point of giving the speech in the first place: diffusing the toxic bile of Jeremiah Wright. He didn’t do it. Americans are still left asking why he would sit and listen to thousands of hate-mongering sermons by this man, why he didn’t walk out and find a church he was more in agreement with, why he did nothing to speak out against the hatred this man spewed. Just giving a speech on race relations did nothing to diffuse this. Nor does it diffuse the many times his campaign has tied themselves up into pretzels trying to make the Clintons appear to be racists, something no one who has observed them over many years can believe.
Given that, I think his speech was a failure, no matter how much CNN and MSNBC continue to fawn over his every word. And I don’t think the vast majority of Americans will miss that point, particularly when the overriding problems of so many right now are economic. I think Obama is past his high water mark. If he somehow squeeks out the nomination, enabled by the Democratic party leadership and disenfranchising MI/FL voters, he will crash and burn in the general. We will have missed our opportunity to turn this country around.
You are known by the company you keep.
I use to work with a lady and we became friends. She is a very nice person. She would do anything for other people. However, she was always talking about her problems. Problems with her son, problems with EEO complaints, etc.
I started distancing myself from her about a year and half ago. I started not returning her calls or replying to emails. I kinda just out grow her. Increasing her talk about her son who got arrested, her son’s girlfriend was pregnant again, her son could not afford rent, her son’s phone bill and lawyers bills and how she was help paying for them. One day I asked her why doesn’t her son just marry the girlfriend and she said, “that is so yesterday, he does not need to be married to her.” That is when I realized that we had reached our limitation as friends and the only thing we had in common was HER problems.
That is why I can’t understand Obama’s explanation of his relationship with Rev. Wright. By no stretch of the imagination, Obama is a busy man. He is a sitting US senator and is campaigning. As I understand it, he commutes into DC to work and back in Chicago by Thur/Fri. So, what is Obama getting out of his relationship with Rev. WRight that is worth investing time in. Spiritual guidance is offered by many churchs in DC and Chicago.
Obama feels a personal connection to REv. Wright and I believe he shares REv. WRight views on the US oppression of Blacks and other peoples around the world. Becasue it is the only plausible explanation. IMO.
[...] I wrote earlier today holds (here, here, and here — a long speech notwithstanding. But there is more. Much more. (A NoQuarter regular sent me a [...]
A better analogy perhaps
when picking the team captain
you don’t pick someone who has spent way too many Sunday’s cheering AGAINST that same TEAM he’s wanting to Captain.
that’s all
I want the TOP cheerleader (no W pun intended) or TOP quarter back as Captain. Not the mascot from another team.
jmo.
I have to admit, I’m at work and I’ve been a meeting for several hours, so I missed the Oracle’s sermon and I’m really not in the mood to read it. And I’m still at work, at lunch, so I don’t have time anyway. I guess, I figure the whole point of the speech is that it does not matter what Obama says. No one is allowed to dispute any of it. It was just a photo op. An opportunity for his adoring MSM to declare him the most gifted speechifier ever.
No one is allowed to question anything he says or does or you are a racist. So, what’s the point? The words do not mean anything. “just words”. If HE stole them from someone else - no matter. If they come off as practiced and insincere, that is because you aren’t listening with the proper awe.
All that matters is HE says something (it doesn;t matter what)and if any one responds with anything less than fawning adulation, HE gets to be the victim again. His congregation will hear what they want to no matter what he actually says, and it will be the “most inspiring sermon evah!”
So, HE SPOKE about race. Having never noticed there was a problem with his mentor before. Is it racist to mention he is completely CLUELESS? I mean how stupid do you have to be? What has he done for his race or mine? What has he done for anyone?
And I do not give a shit about lobbyists having to stand up to eat; or whatever that nonsense he’s so proud of is about. What’s he done about making sure my kids have anything to eat?
You go, Susan. Another great example of someone who actually does something positive…and doesn’t just rely on silver-tongued rhetoric. Oh…I think the halo is starting to tarnish…susanclare
[...] One Must Show Up to Heal Racial Divides [...]
[...] One Must Show Up to Heal Racial Divides (by SusanUnPC at No Quarter) While Barack Obama has dodged and weaved his way through the the politics of race — pretending he never heard the hate-filled, anti-Christian, racist remarks of his pastor for 20 years — Hillary Clinton has actively sought out African Americans. Just recently, Clinton attended Tavis Smiley’s State of the Black Union convention. Obama did not. This post has the links. [...]
[...] can I ask a question? Are you going to heal America the way you healed the Democratic party? One Must Show Up to Heal Racial Divides (by SusanUnPC at No Quarter) While Barack Obama has dodged and weaved his way through the the [...]
Anyone who says that they have never heard their pastor make crazy, off the wall statemnts in the pulpit is not telling the truth. Besides, 5 minuets of snippets and soundbites shown over and over again in the news like it’s 9/11 does not compare the the 20+ years of service that Rev. Wright and his church have done for the community, the sick, the needy, the elderly and etc. THAT is the reason why Obama stayed as long as he did, not this bullshit that people is trying to associate him with.
Obama gave the best speech on race that I have ever heard in MY lifetime. He managed to capture the truth of race relations in this country. He acknowledged the anger and fears of both sides of the spectrum. He portrayed, all in the same speech, the public and private thoughts of both Black and white Americans. I can’t think of a more honest assessment on the issue of race in this country. If you can’t see that it’s either because YOU DON’T WANT TO or you never saw the speech to begin with.
One of things he said in his speech is that while we are focused on petty distractions such as this, The economy is still bad, our troops are still in Iraq, Ameicans still don’t have affordiable health care and is losing their jobs and homes. We Americans need to get our priorities together. Which is important? The angry rantings of an old man or bringing America back into the glorious nation it once was?
One last thing, Why are you all projecting Clinton’s behavior on Obama? Clinton may be a victim but I’ve learned that you can always find the true measure of a person when they are in trying times. They can either choose to go through the fire and endure the struggle until the end or they can take the easy way out… Hillary chose the latter. Using Karl Rovian tactics (NAFTA-Gate), swift-boating, race-baiting, berating the candidate within in her own party and taking sides with the Republican candidate, the lies and cheating appear to be true reflections of her character and it’s disgusting. Clinton have allowed her victimization bring the worst out of her… now she is the victimizer. You all can say that it’s just politics if you want to but how she runs her campaign determines how she is going to run the country.
Any thinking person can see that Clinton is the victimizer, not Obama, hell, Stevie Wonder and the late Ray Charles could see that.
Ambulance! It’s an emergency!
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