For those with no particular axe to grind, do you agree that was one Hell of a speech?

[11 Bravo]

I remain an Edwards supporter, but the internecine sniping which has permeated this forum has been impossible to ignore. Can we set all that aside long enough to agree that Barack Obama just gave an impassioned and eloquent address to the nation?
(And please, if you are one of the score or so of inveterate haters on either side, I respectfully request that you go start your own thread.)

[Sparkly]

1. An excellent speech!!

And thanks for starting this thread! :applause:

[newfie11]

6. I am a Hillary supporter

but I agree that was an excellent speech

[Dinger]

12. Me Too (nt)

[tblue]

2. Did you hear it in full? I heard some of it on Steph, but they kept cutting to commercials!

GRRRRRR!

[Sparkly]

7. I'm sure you'll be able to hear it elsewhere later

It was very in-depth, insightful, meaningful.

[rateyes]

3. Homerun.

He hit it out of the park!

[kstewart33]

4. The best political speech I've heard in 30 years.

Obama's the man. I'm betting he receives over $1 million in donations today.

What an incredible speech.

[kstewart33]

5. The best political speech I've heard in 30 years.

Obama's the man. I'm betting he receives over $1 million in donations today.

What an incredible speech.

[underpants]

19. Best IMHO since Jesse at the '92 convention

which was the day that I became a Democrat

[busymom]

8. I have an ax to grind and

I thought it was fabulous.

[movonne]

23. That was really a nice thing to say...thank you....

[Mooney]

37. Thanks for saying that.

Evenhandedness has been hard to come by around here lately.

[The Night Owl]

9. Nicely done.

I'm a staunch Clinton supporter, but I think that Barack Obama did what he needed to do and then some in his speech on race.

[graywarrior]

10. Man, talk about hitting with the truth.

Absolutely amazing.

[reflection]

11. It was quite good. n/t

[jesus_of_suburbia]

13. Yes, it was a great speech.

[rurallib]

14. WOW!!!!!!

being old enough to remember Jack Kennedy speak all I can say is Obama stands as his equal.
He took on a controversial subject and nailed it!

[chimpymustgo]

15. Magnificent speech. He broke it down. It was thoughtful and impassioned.

I had not been a fan. I am starting to believe.

[caledesi]

48. Obama/Ewards my (dream team ticket) nt

[Frustratedlady]

16. I agree! He did a beautiful job, but there will be those who will snap back at him.

He has a major job to do to make it into the Oval Office. When you have so many coming at you from all directions, but can stand there and orate as Obama just did, it is incredible. He brought up feelings that have hidden in the dark corners of many minds and compared concerns from both sides. If he isn't a uniter, I don't know who is.

I was especially impressed that he brought out--in a very subtle way--the hypocrisy of government as it is today and showed how we--the people who should be marching against this White House--can join together to turn it around.

Kudos, Obama.

[Voice for Peace]

45. I haven't seen the speech yet! But he did the same thing (what you said)

in his speech on the relationship between government & religion, about government using religion in a hypocritical fashion to divide. It is also an awesome speech. Really worth watching if you haven't seen it.
http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid463869411?bctid=416343938

Can't wait to see this one. SOMEBODY POST A LINK, QUICK!!!!

[calimary]

54. Yes, and that will tell you a lot more about THEM than about him.

I thought it was a spectacular speech! It will be entered in all the "World's Greatest Speech" books from here on. And well-deserved!!!

What a great moment! It is OUR latter-day version of the "I Have a Dream" speech.

[Texas Hill Country]

17. Fantastic speech... Grand Oration at it's finest... but were is the soundbite?

There was nothing to latch on to. No single phrase... no "ask not what your country can do for you" or "I have a dream"... it really needed those.

That worries me.

[MNDemNY]

28. This is it: "I can no more disown him(Rev. Wright) then I can disown the black community"

This quote, run along side Rev.Wright's ranting will be the new ad.

[Redbear]

18. It was pretty darn good.

Not fabulous, but I think he made the points that needed to be made.

[flor de jasmim]

20. He also revealed, subtly, the smallness of minds who want to keep festering at wounds

... replaying over and over snippets of this and that instead of looking for SUBSTANCE.

Quite a challenge to the media, I'd say! A welcome challenge.

[blm]

30. That stuck with me, too. The media needs constant challenge on these issues.

.

[loveandlight]

21. great speech

I thought he hit the perfect tone. And he brought up a lot of realities about race in this country that we just don't talk about in public. I though it was brilliant, also, that he brought up the frustrations and resentments of white working people and how their legitimate problems have been exploited by political opportunists in these past years. That was a great point to make. I am a fence sitter in terms of the candidate I support. I just want the Democrats to win big this election. This speech has impressed me a great deal. I was glad to see he could do this, because if he does become the nominee, you know only more of this kind of hard core attacking is coming from the Republicans up through November and even beyond, if he becomes the president. It won't stop, just like the relentless attacks on Bill Clinton during his presidency. Let's not forget that either. We won those elections and they never gave up the attack. No matter who wins in November (meaning which Democrat, not if the Repubs win), the attack force will continue. We need to be honest and straight forward in dealing with it, and I think this speech did just that.

[Frustratedlady]

22. I agree! Obama will still be criticized by the MSM, Repugs and some Dems...

...because he said a lot of things that should have been said a long time ago.

He has a major job to do to make it into the Oval Office, and this speech was a major move in that direction. When you have so many coming at you from all directions, but can stand there and orate as Obama just did, it is incredible. He brought to light the feelings that have been hidden in the dark corners of many minds and compared concerns from both sides. Blacks have them, whites have them. If he isn't a uniter, I don't know who is.

I was especially impressed that he brought out--in a very subtle way--the hypocrisy of government as it is today and showed how we--the people who should be marching against this White House--can join together to turn it around.

Kudos, Obama.

[leftynyc]

34. I can't think of one thing in that speech

that can be used against him. If the media tries, they'll look like idiots (redundant, I know).

[madrchsod]

41. they have

it`s already started

[coffeenap]

24. Best speech I have heard in my entire adulthood.

He is brilliant.

[ananda]

25. Yes.

That was a very intelligent and thoughtful
speech, statesmanlike and presidential I
felt.

Sue

[leftofcool]

26. Yes it was

[TexasLady]

27. Beautiful!

[uponit7771]

29. Might go down in history

[LiveLiberally]

31. It was -- quite simply -- an historic speech....

that will be long remembered irrespective of who wins the nomination and the general election.

[progressoid]

32. Pretty, pretty, pretty good

to quote Larry David

[pnwmom]

33. Actually, it was

a heavenly speech.


O8)

[Mags]

35. Great Speech, as usual for him. I'm also a Hillary fan.

[wrando]

36. truthful

I lean toward Hillary, but I must say leaving out a couple of political jabs about the war, he was quite truthful. He even admitted to not being straight when he said he had never heard those kinds of sermons before. The question now is will this help him in his political battle. I would doubt it, maybe at the margins, but I doubt it changed any minds. I will say I was impressed, he gave a good speech under tremendous pressure.

Bill from ct

[joeglow3]

38. VERY good speech, but

one thing that just does not sit right with me is the comment "just like many of you have sat in churchs and heard things you disagree with." Now, as a Christian, I believe taking the Lord's name in vain is a sin. I would not continue to attend (or take my children to) a church where the priest did this on multiple occasions.

If he is a true Christian, I think he was flat out wrong to continue to attend the church. That said, it would cost him BIG TIME politically if he came out and took that angle. Thus, I think he handled it about as perfect as he could.

[Voice for Peace]

46. If a person is a 'true' Christian, as I understand it, they don't judge other people

because they are too busy cleaning up their own hearts and minds.

[madrchsod]

39. somethings needed to be said and he did

he did a very good job of pointing out everyone has to accept responsibility for the problems in this country and asking people to put aside their differences and work for the good of everyone in this country...

it`s hard to argue against everything he had to say...

[ctaylors6]

40. I liked parts of it, but

he just doesn't move me. I feel like there's something wrong with me sometimes after I read posts on DU. The first time I saw him speak on TV I enjoyed it quite a bit. Since then, I find myself changing the channel sooner each time.

I'm truly not a big supporter of either Clinton or Obama (I was for Joe).

[DesertRat]

42. Yes. It was an impressive and eloquent speech.

[Stinky The Clown]

43. I found it to be less than a 'great' speech

Mainly because of why he had to give it. The speech was full of apologia for Wright and for himself. It was a speech that **had** to be given. And because of that, it is, at best, on par with Kennedy's "Catholic" speech. Both are historical because of the "why" and not the "what".

[KoKo]

44. Yes...it was an excellent speech. Well Crafted and Uplifting in honoring his

Pastor and lifting the dialog to a high plain. A few little glitches (comments about Grandmother which made a strong point but should have been left out, politically) but in general, excellent. I think it will go over the head of many because it will be chopped up into sound bytes and distorted by MSM and RW. I believe I understand his views much better from listening to it.

(I don't have a candidate in this race...still watching it all proceed because I an't vote until May.)

[pointsoflight]

47. A downright historic speech, and we were fortunate enough to see it live.

[ronnykmarshall]

49. It was a good speech.

[applegrove]

50. Yes it was some speech.

[kwassa]

51. Another Hillary supporter that thought it was a wonderful speech.

He really gets the totality of race in American from both sides.

[zonkers]

52. My mom, a pro Hillary school teacher told me this speech will be discussed in schools for years

to come. She is still a Hillary fan but said she would feel comfortable with Obama leading the country.

[BlooInBloo]

53. It was a heckuva a speech (seriously). Doesn't matter tho, because this is America...

... The results of a black politician talking about racism to white folks are compltely predictable.

Oh well - it was a nice dream at least.