Has Obama just hit the self-destruct button?

citanon · 03-18-2008, 13:13 PM

I just read the major speech on race Obama made today. It starts off as something interesting - yes, he doesn't agree with his pastor, but no, you can't just dump friends like so much trash if you don't agree with their politics. That part was pretty reasonable, but it then rapidly degenerated as he blamed discrimination for every ill of the black community. Does that mean that its the white man's fault? Oh no, said Obama, that's because whites are being squeezed out of their nice union job by globalization and the evil corporations. Where's the remedy to all this? Individual betterment? Yes. But his definition of "individual betterment" apparently means changing the society so that the government steps in for everything.

It sounds too me like Barack Obama has just placed himself int the Jesse Jackson wing of the Democratic Party. I have a feeling that this speech is the beginning of the end for his presidential aspirations. First of all, his comments will alarm most moderate Americans. Secondly, most would consider the race issue a distraction in a time when the economy and the war, and not the private angst of the black community, should be front and center.

Speech here.

Excerpts:

Quote:

Understanding this reality requires a reminder of how we arrived at this point. As William Faulkner once wrote, "The past isn't dead and buried. In fact, it isn't even past." We do not need to recite here the history of racial injustice in this country. But we do need to remind ourselves that so many of the disparities that exist in the African-American community today can be directly traced to inequalities passed on from an earlier generation that suffered under the brutal legacy of slavery and Jim Crow.

Segregated schools were, and are, inferior schools; we still haven't fixed them, fifty years after Brown v. Board of Education, and the inferior education they provided, then and now, helps explain the pervasive achievement gap between today's black and white students.

Legalized discrimination - where blacks were prevented, often through violence, from owning property, or loans were not granted to African-American business owners, or black homeowners could not access FHA mortgages, or blacks were excluded from unions, or the police force, or fire departments - meant that black families could not amass any meaningful wealth to bequeath to future generations. That history helps explain the wealth and income gap between black and white, and the concentrated pockets of poverty that persists in so many of today's urban and rural communities.

A lack of economic opportunity among black men, and the shame and frustration that came from not being able to provide for one's family, contributed to the erosion of black families - a problem that welfare policies for many years may have worsened. And the lack of basic services in so many urban black neighborhoods - parks for kids to play in, police walking the beat, regular garbage pick-up and building code enforcement - all helped create a cycle of violence, blight and neglect that continue to haunt us.

This is the reality in which Reverend Wright and other African-Americans of his generation grew up. They came of age in the late fifties and early sixties, a time when segregation was still the law of the land and opportunity was systematically constricted. What's remarkable is not how many failed in the face of discrimination, but rather how many men and women overcame the odds; how many were able to make a way out of no way for those like me who would come after them.

But for all those who scratched and clawed their way to get a piece of the American Dream, there were many who didn't make it - those who were ultimately defeated, in one way or another, by discrimination. That legacy of defeat was passed on to future generations - those young men and increasingly young women who we see standing on street corners or languishing in our prisons, without hope or prospects for the future. Even for those blacks who did make it, questions of race, and racism, continue to define their worldview in fundamental ways. For the men and women of Reverend Wright's generation, the memories of humiliation and doubt and fear have not gone away; nor has the anger and the bitterness of those years. That anger may not get expressed in public, in front of white co-workers or white friends. But it does find voice in the barbershop or around the kitchen table. At times, that anger is exploited by politicians, to gin up votes along racial lines, or to make up for a politician's own failings.

Quote:

And occasionally it finds voice in the church on Sunday morning, in the pulpit and in the pews. The fact that so many people are surprised to hear that anger in some of Reverend Wright's sermons simply reminds us of the old truism that the most segregated hour in American life occurs on Sunday morning. That anger is not always productive; indeed, all too often it distracts attention from solving real problems; it keeps us from squarely facing our own complicity in our condition, and prevents the African-American community from forging the alliances it needs to bring about real change. But the anger is real; it is powerful; and to simply wish it away, to condemn it without understanding its roots, only serves to widen the chasm of misunderstanding that exists between the races.

In fact, a similar anger exists within segments of the white community. Most working- and middle-class white Americans don't feel that they have been particularly privileged by their race. Their experience is the immigrant experience - as far as they're concerned, no one's handed them anything, they've built it from scratch. They've worked hard all their lives, many times only to see their jobs shipped overseas or their pension dumped after a lifetime of labor. They are anxious about their futures, and feel their dreams slipping away; in an era of stagnant wages and global competition, opportunity comes to be seen as a zero sum game, in which your dreams come at my expense. So when they are told to bus their children to a school across town; when they hear that an African American is getting an advantage in landing a good job or a spot in a good college because of an injustice that they themselves never committed; when they're told that their fears about crime in urban neighborhoods are somehow prejudiced, resentment builds over time.

Like the anger within the black community, these resentments aren't always expressed in polite company. But they have helped shape the political landscape for at least a generation. Anger over welfare and affirmative action helped forge the Reagan Coalition. Politicians routinely exploited fears of crime for their own electoral ends. Talk show hosts and conservative commentators built entire careers unmasking bogus claims of racism while dismissing legitimate discussions of racial injustice and inequality as mere political correctness or reverse racism.

Just as black anger often proved counterproductive, so have these white resentments distracted attention from the real culprits of the middle class squeeze - a corporate culture rife with inside dealing, questionable accounting practices, and short-term greed; a Washington dominated by lobbyists and special interests; economic policies that favor the few over the many. And yet, to wish away the resentments of white Americans, to label them as misguided or even racist, without recognizing they are grounded in legitimate concerns - this too widens the racial divide, and blocks the path to understanding.

citanon · 03-18-2008, 13:23 PM

Of course, if every media outlet only reports the CNN version of the speech, then he wouldn't have much of a fallout. This is apparently what CNN considers a "summary":

Obama urges Americans to help heal racial divide - CNN.com

FibrillatorD · 03-18-2008, 16:59 PM

His best speech yet

gunnut · 03-18-2008, 18:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FibrillatorD

His best speech yet

Instead of vague generalities, he narrowed it down to socialist generalities.

citanon · 03-18-2008, 18:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gunnut

Instead of vague generalities, he narrowed it down to socialist generalities.

Yep. The man is a socialist. He's John Edwards in a moderate's clothing.

gunnut · 03-18-2008, 18:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by citanon

Yep. The man is a socialist. He's John Edwards in a moderate's clothing.

That's exactly the feeling I got when he started to talk about job moving overseas, evil corporations, little girl with no health care, and the old man with no pension.

citanon · 03-18-2008, 18:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gunnut

That's exactly the feeling I got when he started to talk about job moving overseas, evil corporations, little girl with no health care, and the old man with no pension.

Yeah, same here. That segment of his speech really crystallized his views.

The other thing is, after watching some of the youtube videos he was referring to (one example), one has to wonder how a "great leader" like Obama could sit in his pastor's church listening to that crap for 20 years and not say anything to the man? He evidently behaved in church like he behaved on the senate floor: sit tight and don't do anything that could offend anyone. If he can't even get his pastor, somebody who is "like a father" to him, to get along with the rest of America after 20 years, how could he claim to be able to unite the country?

**Parihaka** · 03-18-2008, 18:52 PM

Whether or not he'd make a good president or not, my estimation of his intelligence has improved. It was a good speech, and IMO kills the issue of his pastor.

gunnut · 03-18-2008, 18:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by citanon

Yeah, same here. That segment of his speech really crystallized his views.

The other thing is, after watching some of the youtube videos he was referring to (one example), one has to wonder how a "great leader" like Obama could sit in his pastor's church listening to that crap for 20 years and not say anything to the man? He evidently behaved in church like he behaved on the senate floor: sit tight and don't do anything that could offend anyone. If he can't even get his pastor, somebody who is "like a father" to him, to get along with the rest of America after 20 years, how could he claim to be able to unite the country?

That would be a "voluntary suspension of disbelief" in Barbera Boxer's words.

zraver · 03-18-2008, 22:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Parihaka

Whether or not he'd make a good president or not, my estimation of his intelligence has improved. It was a good speech, and IMO kills the issue of his pastor.

I am not so sure, to me it looks like he went from half black half white all American to all black. Imagine if a Republican tried to excuse the same type of relationship with Pat Robertson. But since he is black its ok. Not only that, but look at his judgment. he associates with a racist, his mentor is now in jail, his wife was never proud to be an American, a campaign aid called his opponent a monster, he lied about wanting public financing etc. I think his chickens are coming home to roost.

**Parihaka** · 03-18-2008, 22:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by zraver

I am not so sure, to me it looks like he went from half black half white all American to all black. Imagine if a Republican tried to excuse the same type of relationship with Pat Robertson. But since he is black its ok. Not only that, but look at his judgment. he associates with a racist, his mentor is now in jail, his wife was never proud to be an American, a campaign aid called his opponent a monster, he lied about wanting public financing etc. I think his chickens are coming home to roost.

Oh I'm not suggesting you should run out and vote for him. To me, that speech simply puts him in the same ballpark as Clinton, prior to this I'd have placed him a very distant third behind McCain & Clinton. As far as my choice if I could vote, I still stick to what I said here

citanon · 03-18-2008, 23:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Parihaka

Oh I'm not suggesting you should run out and vote for him. To me, that speech simply puts him in the same ballpark as Clinton, prior to this I'd have placed him a very distant third behind McCain & Clinton. As far as my choice if I could vote, I still stick to what I said here

I have to agree with zraver. The liberal media is showing its bias right now and trying to paint his speech in the best possible light, but what the speech has done is narrowed his appeal and pegged his economic positions to those of John Edwards and his positions on race to those of Jesse Jackson. Edwards hasn't done too well, and Jackson is not even a serious candidate. No one who considers what he has said today carefully can say that he is a fresh voice anymore. The consequences won't play out over night, but the main question now is whether Obama will go down before the convention or drag down the Democrats with him in Nov.

Also, I agree with your linked comments about McCain. I'm not sure what to think of Condi Rice.

citanon · 03-18-2008, 23:39 PM

PS - can a mod please add a simple poll?

Obama's handling of the Wright affair and his speech this morning will:

A. Help his candidacy
B. Damage his candidacy
C. Have no effect on his candidacy

Thanks!

dalem · 03-19-2008, 00:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Parihaka

Whether or not he'd make a good president or not, my estimation of his intelligence has improved. It was a good speech, and IMO kills the issue of his pastor.

I disagree, it made it worse.

He basically said he doesn't think that Wright's insane ravings are all that insane. America created AIDS, etc.

-dale

T_igger_cs_30 · 03-19-2008, 01:19 AM

Quote:

The title of Obama's 2006 book, "The Audacity of Hope," came from a sermon delivered by Wright, who officiated the senator's wedding, baptized both of his children and was a spiritual adviser to his presidential campaign until Friday.

The above quote really sums it up for me , he is back peddling, and based on the facts stated in the quote, it was very poor planning by his legal team/advisors, not to have distanced themselves earlier, actually at the beggining of his presidential campaign, if not before. I do think it has harmed his credibility.
I do not think it will effect his standing to much with the following he already has, the "fringe" ones the people who just want change for the sake of change, may start to think a bit now and start to ask .........."what does he really have to offer"?

View Poll Results: Obama's handling of the Wright affair and his speech this morning will:
A: Help his candidacy	10	22.73%
B. Damage his candidacy	17	38.64%
C. Have no effect on his candidacy	17	38.64%
Voters: 44. You may not vote on this poll

03-18-2008, 23:39 PM	#13 (permalink)
citanon Patron Join Date: 11-13-07 Posts: 275	PS - can a mod please add a simple poll? Obama's handling of the Wright affair and his speech this morning will: A. Help his candidacy B. Damage his candidacy C. Have no effect on his candidacy Thanks! Last edited by citanon : 03-19-2008 at 00:25 AM. Reason: The poll went up

Thread Tools
Show Printable Version Email this Page
Display Modes	Rate This Thread
Linear Mode Switch to Hybrid Mode Switch to Threaded Mode	Rate This Thread:

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
Any Life Left!?	Bella	Battleships Forum	253	06-10-2008 01:22 AM
Well-informed, patriotic, registered Democrat.	Bluesman	Political Discussions	116	02-11-2008 23:18 PM
Was Obama a Muslim?	Ironduke	2008 US Presidential Election	28	01-02-2008 20:23 PM
Is Mullah Osama.. errrr... Barack Obama done	troung	2008 US Presidential Election	242	02-16-2007 17:34 PM

03-18-2008, 13:23 PM	#2 (permalink)
citanon Patron Join Date: 11-13-07 Posts: 275	Of course, if every media outlet only reports the CNN version of the speech, then he wouldn't have much of a fallout. This is apparently what CNN considers a "summary": Obama urges Americans to help heal racial divide - CNN.com

03-18-2008, 16:59 PM	#3 (permalink)
FibrillatorD *Senior Contributor* Join Date: 03-11-07 Location: Minneapolis, Minnesota Posts: 800 Country:	His best speech yet

03-18-2008, 18:52 PM	#8 (permalink)
Parihaka Moderator Join Date: 11-10-04 Location: Te Ika a Maui Posts: 9,465 Country:	Whether or not he'd make a good president or not, my estimation of his intelligence has improved. It was a good speech, and IMO kills the issue of his pastor.

Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)