Barack Obama wrote every word of that amazing speech

[Coexist]

don't let anyone belittle his talent, his motives, or his words.

Speechwriter Of One

18 Mar 2008 12:03 pm

This wasn't a speech by committee... Obama wrote the speech himself, working on it for two days and nights.... and showed it to only a few of his top advisers.

[TexasLady]

1. That is what makes it so great.

[jasmine621]

39. Yes, but he has given it before. In his book, at the 2004 convention,

on his stump. The only difference was the beginning where he tried to distance himself from Rev. Wright (unsuccessfully in my mind)which was supposed to be what the speech was all about. Then he turned it into a political rally speech on race.

[catgirl]

55. Of course you would find something wrong with it

You're really trying hard, but you can't dampen this. Find a misery likes
misery thread. This one's a positive one.

[electron_blue]

64. Yes, I saw him give most of this speech before, replayed on CSPAN a month or two ago, including the

part about Ashley Baia. Something that good bears repeating. :)

[DUyellow]

2. how does this blogger know this?

[Melinda]

23. Because the blogger, an editor at Atlantic Monthly, is traveling with Obama:

Marc Ambinder, an Atlantic associate editor, is blogging the 2008 presidential election from the roadshows. He might also write the occasional post about aviation, national security, and cognitive neuroscience. Mostly politics, though.

[e-mail]

You can always email and ask him too. ;)

[redqueen]

3. It's sad that some would go to such lengths to belittle it. (nt)

[4_Legs_Good]

22. It blows me away

I mean, come on, this is something we can all be proud of, not only as Obama supporters, but as Democrats and Americans! It is something great for us all and something we can all embrace.

Gawd, I just wish we were all on the same team.

David

[Megahurtz]

4. Simply Amazing!

[olkaz]

5. Wow, bump this thread!

Bumped and recommended.

Brilliance scares some folks.

[Bread and Circus]

6. I read that he wrote it himself as well. It makes it so much more meaningful to me.

[TwilightGardener]

7. K/R.

[Ichingcarpenter]

8. Another Senior Staff Departure In Hillary Land

Jessica O'Connell, the national director of operations, responsible for personnel management, staff deployment and headquarters operations, has decided to step down. She joins a raft of Patti Solis Doyle loyalists, ranging from wonderkind Adam Parkhomenko to deputy manager Mike Henry, who have departed in recent weeks.

Here is O'Connell's resignation letter.

I am writing to share with you that I will be leaving the campaign effective Friday, March 21. I remain awed by the Senator's energy, passion, leadership on the issues, and courage. Senator Clinton will continue to have my full support and admiration. I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity to have worked directly with so many dedicated and talented colleagues in Virginia and throughout the country. No matter what your role, whether you have been with the campaign for days or from the beginning, let there be no doubt that you are making history and helping to change the world.
I will work closely this week with Maggie to ensure that you will be updated on who is handling various tasks from the National office and how to contact them. We have strong teams in place to manage the logistics of getting people where they need to be and offices up and running around the country. At the National HQ, the operations team will continue to ensure that things run smoothly. Of course, if you are in Ballston, I cannot guarantee that you will not be too hot or too cold on any given day - and I will miss the flurry of creative emails I receive on the topic.
Thank you for your friendship and support. This has been a life-changing experience and I am grateful to those who gave me the opportunity to be a part of this remarkable effort.

Link from the Atlantic: http://marcambinder.theatlantic.com/archives/2008/03/another_senior_staff_departure.php

-----------------------------------------------------------------

I can't post this because I've used my three up, until this afternoon
so I would appreciate someone taking this bit of news up.

Also the Atlantic is not a slouch organization:


The Atlantic Monthly (also known as The Atlantic) is a American magazine founded in Boston in 1857. Originally created as a literary and cultural commentary magazine, its current format is of a general editorial magazine which claims that its content focus on "foreign affairs, politics, and the economy , cultural trends" is primarily aimed at a target audience of "thought leaders"

The magazine's founders were a group of writers that included Harriet Beecher Stowe, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr., and James Russell Lowell (who would become its first editor). The current CEO and group publisher is John Fox Sullivan.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Atlantic_Monthly


The author is right is was an Obama speech.

[Coexist]

11. wow.

and I too was surprised that someone questioned something in The Atlantic, but I made a promise today not to respond to flamebait, and I thought that might fall there!

I am out of posts, so I can't help.

[Ichingcarpenter]

16. Well, maybe someone else will post it

I don't think it is inflammatory but it is NEWS.

I forgot that Harriet Beecher Stowe originally wrote for the Atlantic
but we probably have many here that don't even know who she is.

[bicentennial_baby]

25. I posted it! No response!

Check the 1st page, it's sinking..

[grasswire]

48. the Atlantic is a conservative publication...

...in case you hadn't noticed.

[Scurrilous]

9. K & R

:thumbsup:

[uponit7771]

10. He did a good job

[AnarchoFreeThinker]

12. kicked and reccccccccccccced

[sloppyjoe25s]

13. Fantastic Brain, Fantastic Heart!

just gotta love him!

[bcoylepa]

14. yes he can!

write and think and express himself! - amazing isn't it? If you have read any of his books - this was his own voice - we'll be lucky to have him as president - not totally sure we deserve it - imho

[Life Long Dem]

15. He didn't need a teleprompter (I believe).

Compare this to McCain. After the dozen "My friends" he seems lost in the teleprompter.

[Coexist]

30. he seemed to look down a couple times

but he didn't shuffle any papers.

[democrattotheend]

31. I read somewhere that the teleprompter was broken

But he did a pretty kick-ass job anyway

[FrenchieCat]

17. Your headline is positive, and gets a kick from me.

[Bonobo]

18. I knew that. I wish more people did. Obama is the real deal.

[ClayZ]

19. We are climbing higher, higher.

Barack Obama is pointing to the ladder!


"America the Beautiful" showed her face today!

[4_Legs_Good]

20. Fantastic, if true, but the bottom line is that they're now his words because

he spoke them, and he stands behind them. I don't say that JFK's

"We choose to go to the moon not because it is easy, but because it is hard."

or

"Our most basic common link is that we all inhabit this small earth, we all breathe the same air, we all cherish our childrens' futures and we are all mortal."

Lines/speeches are someone else's. They are his because he legitimized them and put his neck on the line by uttering them in a public forum. It really doesn't matter who the speech writer is so much as who is willing to accept the words, take responsibilty for them and lead us in the action they indicate.

Obama is a new leader for our times, and I'm so proud to be part of the movement.

David

[eleny]

21. Thanks, I didn't know it but it sounded like it being so personal

[malik flavors]

24. Beautiful.

[uponit7771]

26. Kicked just in case

[stillcool]

27. I so hope...

[Coexist]

38. oh yes... in this very year!

[mzmolly]

28. Wow!

Listening to our next President now.

[iconocrastic]

29. He gave the speech becaused he was forced by the situation

A reaction.

Nothing proactive about it.

[damntexdem]

32. I'm not surprised. But just wait:

some rightwing asshole will claim that he plagiarized the story from Ashley. ;-)

[jgraz]

35. Any bets it will be this rightwing asshole?

[Growler]

33. Kick

[K Gardner]

34. K&R

[DerekJ]

36. I knew it was him speaking... :) N/T

[jenmito]

37. K&R.

[maximusveritas]

40. You could tell

This was personal to him. He had to write it. No one else could.

[IsItJustMe]

41. K & R

[myrna minx]

42. That is why it resonates so much, because it's authentic. n/t

[usregimechange]

43. Amazing!

[usregimechange]

44. kick!

[boppers]

45. K&R

Silly threads keep popping up to minimize the effect of this speech.

They're in full on damage control... over a Speech.







tpyo

[Major Hogwash]

46. I think it is sad he even had to make this speech. And it is a speech he had to make.

Make no mistake about that.
After what he's been through these last few months, he had to answe back.
He's the only one who could have said what he said.
There is no else out there that could have said it this way, his way.
I can't believe it even had to be said, but there it is.

Some have said he reminded them of MLK, or JFK, or RFK.

To me, this speech sounded like a mix of the three, pure OHB.

He is going to be the future, he's moving on to the 21st Century.

[milkyway]

47. If you haven't yet, read "Dreams From My Father." He's a better writer than orator.

[psychopomp]

49. Yes, he did!

:patriot:

[Kablooie]

50. and he speaks it without a single, umm, uh, or hmm.

[woolldog]

51. k

[usregimechange]

52. kick!

[Life Long Dem]

53. And he wrote it over the weekend.

He stayed up till 2AM the night before writing the speech.

[mhatrw]

54. The Rev was right.

The cock is crowing.

[mythyc]

56. k&r

your nemesis is awfully quiet over here, for how much he was huffing and puffing in the other thread. I guess once *the truth* started coming in from multiple sources (read that in the literal as well as figurative frames of reference), the rant became as obsolete and puerile as its intent. thanks again FLDem---always love your posts, whether it's swatting those pesky gnats or geared towards the higher tasks :)

[Medusa]

57. And unlike Hillary's "speeches"

they weren't focused grouped to death beforehand.

[BREMPRO]

58. His brilliant reaction to a crisis in his campaign, was a harbinger of his leadership as president..

it's amazing to hear a voice that doesn't sound like a campaign strategist committee sound bite. a real voice. a human being, complex, thoughtful, insightful, showing real LEADERSHIP. yes, that's what it looks like. I want a president who writes his own words, who thinks on his feet, who takes risks to move this country forward. Obama does this. We would be missing the opportunity of a lifetime not to elect this man.

[windoe]

59. Not this time.

Those of us that are tired of divisiveness, character assassination ( a right-wing virus that has infected many who call themselves Democrats ) and immature primitive thinking can hear the wisdom of this speech. The first thing any size group of people need when they have work to do is for everyone to get on the same page. Respect People. Respect everyone, we have work to do here.

[Peregrine Took]

60. I can never forgive his equating Wright's hate with his grandmother who

raised him.

That was hateful and despicable, revealed a total lack of character.

I always thought he was a good person but I didn't feel he was strong enough (right now) to defeat McCain in this election. Now I have no use for him at all.

Is he so desperate to get past this issue he would bring his own beloved grandmother down to the gutter with Wright, a hate monger?

[lakercub]

63. I think you missed the point

He was saying that these are people that he loves and that are a part of his life, despite their flaws. He is able to love friends and family even when they are imperfect. Wright's stuff, while having more than a little truth to it, was horribly and hatefully done. But Obama still loves the man, though he disagrees with what Wright said. The same goes for his Grandmother. She did much for him and loved him, but she still had flaws, and he recognizes those flaws. But he doesn't distance himself from his grandmother; he still loves her despite those flaws.

I don't see this as equating the two. It is more a case of demonstrating love for friends and family while still recognizing their imperfections. He also points out, and this is huge, that instead of just ripping to shreds the people we disagree with, rather we should understand the cause of the disagreement and work together to come together. It's the whole throw the baby out with the bath water thing. Do you focus on disagreements to the point where you shed family and friends? Or do you focus on the agreements and come together to work through the disagreements? He didn't distance himself from his grandmother nor will he distance himself from Wright, despite the beliefs he doesn't agree with.

[MindMatter]

61. The guy is really courageous

He knows how "Swift boating" works. He knows that the Limbaughs and other slime of the world will be out there piecing together little fragments of that speech out of context to completely change the meaning of it.

He said lots of things that really needed to be said, and you cannot say it without leaving yourself wide open to the "fragment assassins".

As he said. NOT THIS TIME. We have to take it over their heads.

[florida08]

62. am new to this board

But sure am enjoying the enthusiasm. I too was touched by his speech on racism and thought he covered all the bases. Isn't it nice to hear a candidate with command of the english language who has actual thoughts based on experience and not what his base told him to say? For the first time in a while I actually have hope for the country.

[snappyturtle]

66. Yes it is great to read the enthusiastic responses!

Unfortunately, I came upon this too late to K&R but I too am so proud to hear Sen.Obama speak from his heart and that great mind of his. I too sense the hope. I've allowed myself to picture President Obama's inauguration day! It's wonderful....countrywide a celebration and the world is applauding! I just know I'll cry out of happiness and relief.

BTW: WELCOME TO DU! :hi:

[defendandprotect]

65. How uplifting it is to simply hear someone again who can use language well --- !!!