By linking Wright with his grandmother, Barack showed the incredible depth of his soul

[BeyondGeography]

The line:

==I can no more disown him than I can my white grandmother - a woman who helped raise me, a woman who sacrificed again and again for me, a woman who loves me as much as she loves anything in this world, but a woman who once confessed her fear of black men who passed by her on the street, and who on more than one occasion has uttered racial or ethnic stereotypes that made me cringe.

These people are a part of me. And they are a part of America, this country that I love.==

This is a wise, loving person. Can guys like that actually become President of this country?

[K Gardner]

1. Yes, He Can :-) That was the point in the speech that brought me to tears.. and showed the

depth of his humanity.

[wrando]

3. politics

good political speech

I'll hold the tears

Bill from ct

[Beregond2]

4. Grandmother

I thought that was wonderful too. And yet, it is exactly that kind of warm, humanistic embrace of all kinds of people that seems to infuriate the Obama-haters the most. I suppose it points-up their own lack of compassion.

[Hutzpa]

2. Not according to the Clintons

he has not been vetted enough....he has no experience, he has not slept with
the President enough.

:evilgrin:

[pointsoflight]

20. Please, enough with this. This is not about Hillary.

Listen to Obama's words. This is not about him vs. Hillary. This is not about any one racial or ethnic group, or any one gender. It's about bringing ALL of us together under the common American dream that we share. It's about bringing together blacks, whites, asians, Native Americans... men and women... and yes, Obamabots and Hillbots. We have a common cause here.

[OhioBlue]

5. that was a fantastic line. n/t

[MethuenProgressive]

6. By linking Wright to granny, Obama tries to flip concerns over hate speech to attacks on granny.

Cheap rhetoric. A true all time low point in speech writing.

[BeyondGeography]

7. Don't degrade yourself any further; we're truly sorry it was a great speech

and Obama is winning the nomination.

[writes3000]

9. Since you have nothing to share but hate, off to ignore you go. Buh-bye. n/t

[1776Forever]

22. I agree - I am tired of those who use hate and degradation in our Party! It is time to Ignore!!!

:kick:

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

11. Huh

So you're saying he should distance himself from his racist black preacher, but not his racist white grandmother.

It seems to me that you hold black people to different standards than you hold white people.

Isn't there a name for that?

[sniffa]

13. Yes there is a word for that

Ignored (at least on my end).

[WolverineDG]

31. Mine too but this is more fun to look at

(wonder where I got it....)



dg

[The Ghost]

14. WOW

with friends like these, who needs enemies?

*SIGH*

[cliffordu]

27. I feel sorry for you. Poor baby.

I really do. If you cannot tell the difference between what he said and a typical political speech, then you are obviously deeply flawed, and I believe it is not your fault. There are some medications, however that can help you if you just give them a full course of treatment to work. Zyprexa worked wonders for my racist hateful ignorant grandmother. Your mileage may vary.

[Basement Beat]

28. Forget to add the sarcastic smiley??

Just curious....

[AnarchoFreeThinker]

29. since you're so entertaining, I'm only placing you on pretend ignore. did you say something?

[mac2]

38. My point exactly.

[Alter Ego]

48. Do you get paid for professional threadshitting?

[alcibiades_mystery]

8. That was the key metaphor - it's not just about the specific person

he was saying that we don't - as a NATION - get to choose out of our history, for good or bad. And that when we do (by pretending to be colorblind, or denouncing the racist neighbor without thinking about racism in general), we are esserntially lying, or treating a symptom. It was brilliant because every white person in America has the racist uncle, father, mother, brother, grandmother, or friend. And we despise when they say "those things," but we love them nonetheless because they are part of us. To hook the Wright thing into that emotional bond was genius.

[BeyondGeography]

17. Ultimately, we're all stuck with ourselves

We can deny, evade, escape or we can try to make the most of it. Whatever one thinks of Obama, this is someone who has made the most of it.

[mac2]

10. Blah, blah, blah

What about the real issues Obama?

No don't insult my grandmother or my spiritual leader speech.

[jgraz]

18. too bad his grandmother didn't raise you

She might have taught you better manners.

[1776Forever]

24. Today I have started to hit Ignore for this type of so called Democrat! I have had it!

They say for your own good mental health you should not be around people like that who use hate and slurs and keep fear alive! I am done with all of them and ignore is my favorite buddy!

:kick:

[jgraz]

25. The other benefit of maintaining a good ignore list

You can go back after a month or so and see how many of them have been TS'd.

[mac2]

40. Don't want the truth from your own party members eh?

I supported Edwards and Kucinich but don't ask me to support Obama or Clinton until they say...they are going to fight against corporate rule and bring back our Constitution and Bill of Rights.

That's truth from a voter.

[jgraz]

41. OK, that's enough content-free crap from you. Ignored.

[mac2]

44. Is this the angry Obama supporter who won't accept

other Democrats aren't falling in line behind them? Get over yourself.

[mac2]

32. Mine did but to use her in my campaign for a reason to protect my

religious leader would be a bad thing.

[jgraz]

39. I'm guessing you campaigning for any reason would be a bad thing.

[mac2]

42. What...talk about stretching the point.

Don't attack the messenger.

[iamjoy]

12. He Gets It, OMG!

Ask a bunch of Americans, if they are prejudice or racist and they will say, "NO."

But then ask them (especially ones over 50) if they have ever uttered a racial slur and then tried to justify it. Ask the women if they have ever crossed the street, clutched their purse a little more tightly or avoided the gaze of a black man.

Then tell me there's not racism in this country. Then tell me that everyone who harbors these feelings is a bad person.

[backscatter712]

15. He just showed why he is such an awesome candidate - he's such a decent person.

Nope, sorry, we don't get a *thump-thump* sound from Wright being thrown under the bus.

We get the truth instead.

And the truth is that Wright's a human being. A human being that, yes, said some monumentally stupid, hurtful and divisive things while on the pulpit, but a human being who's also done great and decent and kind things, who is worthy of respect, who does not deserve to be made into a caricature by the politicians and the media and the bobblehead pundits.

Instead of a faux-outrage tirade, we get redirected into a badly needed discussion about race and bigotry in this country, and we are asked to start acting like grown-ups, unite, move past racism and make this country greater than the sum of its parts.

[The Stranger]

16. G R A V I T A S !

[Peregrine Took]

19. Who was the speechwriter? He or she is the one you guys should be

thanking and crying about. Sheesh!

[Bonobo]

21. Fool of a Took! He writes his own stuff! nt

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

23. Fire the person who wrote your post.

:thumbsdown:

[mac2]

43. I don't have the wealth to hire one.

[npincus]

26. Obama wrote the speech.

[mac2]

33. Are you sure?

[npincus]

46. yes.

I am.

[jgraz]

30. I can tell you one thing. Whoever it is, Hillary's speechwriters are not even in the same universe.

Obama

For we have a choice in this country. We can accept a politics that breeds division, and conflict, and cynicism. We can tackle race only as spectacle – as we did in the OJ trial – or in the wake of tragedy, as we did in the aftermath of Katrina - or as fodder for the nightly news. We can play Reverend Wright’s sermons on every channel, every day and talk about them from now until the election, and make the only question in this campaign whether or not the American people think that I somehow believe or sympathize with his most offensive words. We can pounce on some gaffe by a Hillary supporter as evidence that she’s playing the race card, or we can speculate on whether white men will all flock to John McCain in the general election regardless of his policies.

We can do that.

But if we do, I can tell you that in the next election, we’ll be talking about some other distraction. And then another one. And then another one. And nothing will change.

That is one option. Or, at this moment, in this election, we can come together and say, “Not this time.” This time we want to talk about the crumbling schools that are stealing the future of black children and white children and Asian children and Hispanic children and Native American children. This time we want to reject the cynicism that tells us that these kids can’t learn; that those kids who don’t look like us are somebody else’s problem. The children of America are not those kids, they are our kids, and we will not let them fall behind in a 21st century economy. Not this time.

Hillary

Shame on you, Barack Obama!

:eyes:

[mac2]

35. So what...

I want to hear the real issues not hope or change...but real answers.

[snappyturtle]

47. I don't doubt you may have been one of the folks here who were

clamoring for an explanation from Sen.Obama about his relationship with the Rev. Wright. Now that he has done that, you want to talk issues! You guys made Rev.Wright fiasco an issue! Sometimes you get what you ask for. imho

[faithfulcitizen]

34. I hope so. He seemed to get choked up a couple of times, that was one.

[mac2]

37. So did President Johnson when he talked about the dead

troops in Vietnam. He was the reason they there...he lied about the reason for putting more there. I am a Democrat who demands more of my leaders.

[Umbram]

36. That was a very powerful line. (nt)

[ElsewheresDaughter]

45. I must confess...this was the one part of his speech that really affect me deeply too.

[tabasco]

49. Obama is a good man and will be a great President.

The forces of the status quo fight him like mad but he will prevail.

[kdpeters]

50. Having been born and raised in the rural south, I can identify with that conflict

especially with beloved relatives of my grandparents generation. I'm of an age born and raised post segregation and post civil rights. My parents came of age in the transition. My grandparents and their generation were very much well on the other side of that generational divide in terms of racial attitudes. They were wonderful people, but products of a lifetime in a world where Jim Crow was just the way things were -- with everything in its place, especially race. Being born and raised in the rural South also means that you say "sir" and "ma'am" and that you don't correct your elders. I was shocked and touched to hear him describe my experience as he remembered it with his own grandmother. That cringe! Oh, do I know it well. That's when I would try to change the subject because I never could bring myself to rebuke my grandparents directly.

I never would have guessed that he knows that internal conflict of respecting and cherishing someone whose attitudes and words sometime make you a little ashamed. Yet there he is proudly claiming her (and Rev. Wright)for better or worse, "These people are a part of me. And they are a part of America, this country that I love." I'm telling you, there were a lot of white folks who started defensive and bracing for a race lecture suddenly surprised to feel that sense of validation that comes from being understood. Smear merchants, take note.

He wasn't supposed to connect so easily and so authentically white folks. They can't be frightened or lied to so easily anymore. Obama really does understand the human experience and he is just so at ease with himself and across so many different cultures and creeds. He so effortlessly and credibly speaks to, from, and for a white perspective and then just as quickly he is speaking up for and representing black America until you really start believing it's true when he says we're not as divided as they tell us we're supposed to be. I don't dare get my hopes up too high, but I've never in my life experienced a public leader like this. Do I dare hope that we can actually start bridging the racial divide on a large-scale across the entire country? If it can be done, this is how to do it. We simply cannot let this moment slip away. America needs a leader like this. We need to be united across race, religion, politics, and states if we are going to repair what was destroyed during our long national nightmare.

[BeyondGeography]

53. Thank you, kd

beautifully said.

[galaxy21]

51. Is his Grandma okay with being talked about like that?

[ElsewheresDaughter]

54. I thought about that and I hope she has passed on, being called a racist by your grandson would hurt

[IsItJustMe]

52. K&R