Comments on: Wow.

By: steven crane

steven crane — Sat, 22 Mar 2008 08:53:34 +0000

Yes, this oversimplifies things too much, but, blacks behave badly and cause there own problems today, and there are no white racists anymore. Obama’s speech dodges these essential realities, and his proposed solution–socialism–has been tried to death since the 60s.

wow, really?

there’s no legacy of institutionalized racism?

you’re a moroon.

By: Gryph

Gryph — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 02:20:29 +0000

I was impressed as well. It was a fairly honest speech. But if my Dad is a typical undecided moderate conservative, Obama has a problem. From email just now: “Obama is toast. Did you hear what he said about his grandmother?”

By: Roach

Roach — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 21:45:37 +0000

By: Laure

Laure — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 17:05:02 +0000

I think it’s good to have a dialogue about race- no doubt. But the fundamental issue I have with Obama still stands- ambiguity.

Let’s see. He thinks we need to “invest in our schools”, work for “equality” in the justice system, and follow the golden rule. Man, this guy has some amazing ideas- I say, let’s do them right away!

By: Davd T

Davd T — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 02:52:42 +0000

“One subtext of this speech was to placate the racialist left by not having a “sistah souljah” moment. Mission accomplished.”

Huh? Are you reading the same speech I did? The one that said

“But the remarks that have caused this recent firestorm weren’t simply controversial. They weren’t simply a religious leader’s effort to speak out against perceived injustice. Instead, they expressed a profoundly distorted view of this country – a view that sees white racism as endemic, and that elevates what is wrong with America above all that we know is right with America; a view that sees the conflicts in the Middle East as rooted primarily in the actions of stalwart allies like Israel, instead of emanating from the perverse and hateful ideologies of radical Islam. ”

That’s not a Sister Souljah moment? Sure looks like one to me. Maybe Obama has to preside over the execution of a self-lobotomized black man to prove he’s not part of the “racialist Left.” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ricky_Ray_Rector

By: JasonL

JasonL — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 13:45:15 +0000

There is no hope of good faith collaboration with someone who hears honkey hatitude in that speech. If you can’t talk about race like that, you can’t talk about it at all.

By: Erstwhile

Erstwhile — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 13:42:25 +0000

I'm really surprised to hear that you're impressed with that speech. Given the (admittedly high) oratorical standards of Obama, I thought it was a crashing failure. The comparison of Reverend Wright and his Grandmother was inane, dishonest, and execrable. The difference between what a highly educated man says on a pulpit before thousands in recorded sermons and what an ordinary woman says in private, unguarded moment is beyond obvious. One subtext of this speech was to placate the racialist left by not having a "sistah souljah" moment. Mission accomplished. His facile equation of Black Rage and White Resentment was meant to appear nuanced, magnanimous, even-handed. On the contrary, it struck me as utterly disingenuous if not uncharacteristically dense. I don't have time to go through all of my many problems with the speech. But Kip's take is a good one. Also see Glen Loury's remarks in this RBC post.