Comments on The Full Obama

Will watch it tonight. But I like the highlight reel.

reposted:

An excellent speech.

Because he covered the history of slavery and Jim Crow and the legacy effects of not allowing African Americans to accumulate wealth.

Because he said first understand, then condemn -- something folks on Slog might do a bit more often.

Because he said the whites have legitimate grievances, too.

And because he said this is the start of the discussion and it will not be resolved in one speech or one election cycle.

And, most of all, for being honest that anger and divisions are real, and the way forward is to openly address our flaws and limitations.

Now, let's apply to those thoughts to issues like Florida, electability, the intra party contest, how to win in the fall, and how to actually address the economy, the war, a foreign policy that makes more sense, etc.

What is best about Obama is he concedes the rightness or the core of some rightness on the other side, instead of dismissing the other side.

AS I've said over and over a great candidate and a great leader.

And to be honest:

he will need to then say what the next actual steps are on race, on schools, on the economy, and foreign policy, to actually win in the Fall.

I've been trying to find the specific pastor comments that warrant this much hubbub. After Saddam Hussein was executed my priest said that the United States should be ashamed of itself for violating God's commandment (Thou shalt not kill). Another time he said that God once intervened to make sure a pet store had the size of fish tank he wanted. I guess I can never run for president: I would be branded unpatriotic and nuts. By the way, my priest is white and I go to a Catholic Church in Wisconsin where the one black family from Africa is .05 percent of the congregation. Do I just happen to have the only nutty white priest/pastor in the country? Must be, otherwise I'm sure Rev. Wright's comments wouldn't be getting nearly this much attention.

i thought it was a great speech.

that said, here's what yahoo and msn headlines are saying about it:

yahoo: Obama rejects pastor's remarks but says 'anger is real'

msn: Obama tackles race anger in major speech

having the word, anger, appear in the headlines isn't good for obama. i see both sites went with that angle isn't of his attempt to not focus on that. that's not good for obama, but we'll see if that's the general reception to the speech.

@3 I'll leave it to others to provide links (hands full here), but look for the "God damn America" remark. That one won't play well with Joe and Mary Sixpack, which ever way you spin it.

Remember back when everyone thought Obama was Muslim... Hah.

@5. which is exactly why obama said he doesn't agree it. no spin necessary.

agree -->with

Not his most moving speech, but by far his most personal. Some dud lines in there though. He's got to take a break from campaigning and gin up a new barnburner before people like TPM or kos will be happy.

I doubt it will convert the Clintonites, but I thought it was effective in reaching the real swing voters of this election, and especially those of us from Pennsylvania.

But I'm sure Clinton and McCain will find some way to throw more mud and slime him anyway - they're all about Hate and Fear ...

i was late to work today because i sat and watched this on msnbc. i truly have hope for the potential of this country to do the right thing.

in his speech he talked about the mindset of people like his pastor or his grandmother, those who came of age during the civil rights era and view the systemic fissures in american society as anchored in the bedrock of our being. that they view these division to be immutable. yet we live in a country where a member of that very same congregation is running for the highest office in the land, and that it isn't doomed to failure.

i at once cringed and beamed because it is true. nothing is going to change unless we are the change we seek, so it is really up to us, the voters, to prove him right. if he loses, then that cynicism will have prevailed, and change will not only be put off, but the hope of those not tainted by the civil rights era will become equally disenchanted and hopeless in the capacity for representative democracy to affect real change.

this campaign is about so much more than identity politics, the economy, or any of the other "distractions" that obama referred to. this campaign is truly about the direction that this country is going to take into the future, and i truly truly hope that the right thing happens.

this speech just proves to me that he will always be a speech giver but definitely not a serious presidential candidate. he has so much to say on race and hope and change and it's obvious to me that this is what he is most passionate about. doesn't translate to running the country though.

I didn't think his game was off, but it definately lacks the energy of his nomral speeches. I think it might have to do with the venue. His comprehension of the issues is superb, and his speech is incredibly nuanced.

I don't know why people don't think he would be a great president. He gets issues so well, that sort of understanding and judgement is far above the vast majority of politicians. We need to get him in the whitehouse befor the political machine grinds him up too much.

With all of these speeches in the last couple of days, I'm wondering how people compare this one to Paterson's.

The energy level was lower because he was speaking to a small crowd in an indoor setting on a delicate subject. Thundering oratory was not in order. He played the tone just right, and seemed to win over a skeptical audience.

I was worried that this would just prolong a bad story, but after seeing the whole speech I'm more committed to supporting Obama than ever. This is the guy we need as president in this moment in history. He gets the big picture in a way nobody else from either party does. What's more, this controversy has prompted him to speak out on race (and implicitly on class as well), so that for once he's finally articulating part of the Edwards message that drew me to support that candidacy.

I'm sure many elements of the media will try to spin this away as cynically as they can, and they might even succeed, but I don't think they will. The honest doubters, the ones who are open to listening and not just rejecting and hating outright, heard this speech as it was intended. On Slog, that means Clinton supporters like Big Sven and unPC. I think there are enough people willing to listen to constitute a winning majority come November.

@12 Emily --

Why not? What part of addressing the underlying issues that keep this country from really moving forward are not leadership qualities needed to run this country? The last eight years have been dominated by the actions of a man who acts without thought. Why not try thoughtful leadership for 4 or 8 years?

OH MY GOD.

Is Obama really STILL talking? Even the Obamatons here at Slog have stopped listening. And his sign-holders are looking bored.

But yeah, blah blah blah unity One America inspire blah blah blah.

It took a lot of guts for Obama to attack the root of these issues. What could have been the typical political jargon to ward off criticism was instead an earnest plea for America to unite over the problems we ALL agree are real. I fear once again the media will simplify the matter in order to create more tangible headlines that act to devise Americans and in doing so will perpetuate the stereotype around the world that us Yanks are incapable of accomplishing the progress that a truly unified America could. This is in the end is not about race or party lines. This is about the greatest country in the world being able to admit it's mistakes past and present, and deciding for the good of the world to change.

@16
Because he talks too damn much and I really think action is what we really need. With the economy plunging the way it is, the last thing I or we need to hear is for someone to tell me to stay hopeful. What prior experience does he have with economic matters? Let's keep it real now.

p.s.! if i wanted an inspirational speech i would youtube MLK. Other than that, I'll pass on his hopeandchange BS.

Um, Emily, candidates don't get to take action until the get elected. Until then, it's all words, words, words.

@19, you would rather he wonk out in his speech? Snore.

Hope and inspiration and leadership are for speeches. Wonky policy shit is for websites.

That's my guy. That's the guy I want to be my President.

And, for those of you who think that a 40 minute speech is too much to watch, too much time spent explaining a position, too much words? You deserve McCain. You deserve Bush. Good luck with that "strong action" type. That's the type that screws us over. Time and time again.

He "talks too much"? Really? In a campaign where every candidate has to verbalize where they stand on issues, your criticism is that he "talks too much"? Or in another post, his speech was summed up as "blah blah blah"?

Well, for those of us who actually care about what's best for the country, I think Obama voiced some extremely delicate and important points in an impressively constructive way. The characteristics and ability he showed this morning are exactly what we need in our next President. Someone who can make the citizens of this country think constructively about what's happened in the past, what's happening now, and what we should be doing to build on lessons learned to get where this country needs to go. No other current candidate has displayed this ability. Whether or not you support Obama, there are lessons to be learned from what he said, and he should be commended for saying what needed to be said so eloquently and effectively.

PARODY ALERT. WOOP WOOP. PARODY ALERT.

Talk IS the action of politicians. Even after they're elected. It was talking - months of talking - that got that death penalty reform passed in Illinois, the mandatory videotaping of murder suspect interrogations, which everyone involved credits Obama for getting passed. Passed unanimously. With endorsements from the police and prosecutors. Police and prosecutors who were invited to the discussions by Obama. All done with talking, lots of pretty talking.

Excuse me - talking and THINKING.

I was one of those "I don't care so long as it's a democrat" people.

No longer. I want Obama for president and the father of my children.

This will be the first election where I actually WANT a candidate instead of just settling for the lesser of two evils.

Hey @17: No time for smart, political oratory that illuminates a difficult subject? Are daily tasks keeping you from better understanding your friends' and co-workers' hopes and fears? Well, then by all means, keep your fingers in your ears, don't vote, and keep reading Us Magazine and we'll wake you when it's over.

GREAT Speech!
Great Future President.

I'm sorry is every one being scammed into believing this guy is really for change? What change has this guy specifically talked about? Further more what point has he made besides claiming he will pull the troops out of Iraq. This guy is just another politician just like the Old Man McCain(terrible) and the psycho Hillary(hopeless). Plus I was just waiting for this guy to pull the old race card he has in his back pocket. He was holding on to it until he needed it. “Wait every one ignore what my pastor said because I didn’t know he said those things (even though I’ve been going to his church for 20 years and considers that guy my uncle) oh and by the way vote for me because me being a black man can be the only one who can pull the country together!!”

Please nothing will ever change in this country because of people like Obama who claim they are for change but are not. Wake up people Obama is just like the rest of them. selfish and heart less and will say any thing to get elected, which should have been obvious because of this BS speech he gave. This guy has half the country thinking he's for change. I can't wait to see every one's dumbfounded face at the end of his four years. This country is in serious trouble and we need some one who actually cares about the people of this country not getting elected. I doubt that will happen any time soon.

I voted for Barack Obama in the 2008 Democratic primary, like many Generation Xers and college students. And I'm NOT racist, because I voted for him. I think he is the best and most sincere Democratic Party candidate, with better chance of winning his party's nomination than Ron Paul has versus John McCain on the other side of the aisle.

However, this MSNBC footage almost sounded like a hip-hop video at first, because it sounded like he said "WeDaPeople" real fast on the audio track! [I guess "Da" is the hip-hop, or maybe Chicagoland, article for "The", as in "Da Bears" or "DaHomiesWhoAreChillinWitMe."]