Barack Obama gave the greatest speech I have ever heard today. I hope you would take the time to listen to it.
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Greatest ever? Hmm. Slow down a little bit. It was very good, but his delivery was not as good as it has been in the past (04 Convention, 08 post NH primary). I would actually recommend reading the text. I think it is more impressive that way.
I sort of doubt that it puts Wrightgate behind him. There is plenty left for those who wish him ill to focus on, and the racial disconnect and suspicion still remains (as do the video clips that sparked this to begin with). I’m not sure that this deflates the emerging unpatriotic meme that some have tried to tar him with. He did what he could with a bad situation.
As one who has been generally immune to Obama’s charms, I was not exactly ready to be enthralled. What struck me most was the brutal honesty of his words. His method of identifying with the legitimate grievances while also acknowledging the excesses of the politics of pity can easily come off as paternalistic and condescending, but he mostly avoided that air. That very honesty is what will give his enemies ample ammunition to continue their assaults (and he knew as much), but it speaks to the basic dignity of the man that he did what he did anyway. I fear, though, that it may also be his ultimate undoing.
I still believe that most of his words during this campaign have been generally vacuous, that what he offers is political snake oil, and that his acolytes will end their relationship with him disappointed. I have my doubts that he can win the presidency. That said, his words today were those of an honorable man, and his rhetoric was anything but empty.
Finally a politician has the guts to say what the real problems are. Obama had everything to lose by giving this speech. I respect him for his willingness to stick his neck out and be honest.
Additionally, I appreciated the degree of balance he achieved. Black nationalism is wrong, yet it needs to be understood. Blacks have faced challenges. So have whites.
It was a far more unifying speech than many are giving him credit for.
I don’t assign greatness BTW simply to political impact. I don’t think like a political advisor.
I enjoyed the label “Wrightgate.”
Those who predicted that this incident would become a huge deal seem at this point to be wrong. It has mostly cycled out of the news cycle, and few are still talking about it.
It still remains to be seen how it will affect the remaining primaries. The most significant mitigating factor will be time; there is still a very long time between now and Pennsylvania, and even longer between now and the rest of the primaries. People have short memories for individual events like these in a busy season like this and Hillary can’t really keep it alive without it backfiring on her.
It will be interesting to see how “Wrightgate” plays out.
It seems as if Obama’s popularity has grown slightly since the speech according to RCP.
Um, I’m not sure Obama’s speech has left the news cycle. It seems like editorials everywhere are still chiming in about it.
Hillary Clinton just couldn’t stand it that the Reverend Wright story was falling out of the news cycle. She very transparently attempted to re-inject it into the media.
It is interesting, though. As inspiring and uplifting Obama’s message was in the speech you linked above, Clinton’s was transparently offensive and backwards. This kind of thing is exactly why so many people despise Hillary Clinton.
Wright has clearly been a boost for Obama in the primary. How do you think it will play out during the actual presidential contest?