Barack Obama’s Much Needed, Pitch-Perfect Race Speech
This morning Obama delivered his much anticipated speech on race relations in the U.S. He couldn’t have timed it better than he did. Throughout the primary season there had been murmurs that Obama’s pastor, Jeremiah Wright, could become some kind of political liability; that exact thing happened when Wright was caught saying, essentially, that America asked for the 9/11 attacks, as a consequence of our international misdeeds. Smooth. Wright’s statements combined with Hillary’s recent victories and her comments on Obama’s national security credentials created an atmosphere of anxiety surrounding Obama’s next offering.
The speech was a long one, running just over forty minutes, and it’s tone was decidedly different than his usually rally fare. There was no sea of supporters at his back; he cracked no jokes, and rarely smiled. This was Obama on the defensive, aiming to rack up points by addressing with due gravity what he presented as a grave issue. His treatment of the issue of race in America was both delicate and urgent. He took great care to note that the economy above all else has served to equalize blacks and poorer whites, placing them side by side in unemployment and welfare lines. He made pleas to all races to give credence to the concerns of all Americans, regardless of their background. He observed that until the realities of race were dealt with, they would continue to serve as a ‘distraction’ from greater issues.
He also said a little something about religion. Or rather, he didn’t. In addressing his relationship with his inflammatory pastor, he tried to illustrate their familial relationship, likening it to that shared by many Americans and their pastors, priests, or rabbis. He notably left out the relationship shared by Americans and their “imams”, subtly admitting that the accusations that he is a Muslim are still too new and volatile to be explained away effectively.
In all, Obama’s speech was not only highly effective at dealing with the media’s reaction to the Jeremiah Wright debacle, but it had a transcendent feel about it; it dealt with far more than one candidate’s political woes by advancing the public discourse on race relations in a realistic and honest, albeit totally non-controversial way.
Public domain Photo used under a Creative Commons license.
Loved Barack’s speech.
On a completely separate note, I noticed you have a Tina Fey vid. I absolutely hate her with every fiber of my being. Whoever she supports I’m running away from as fast as humanly possible.
kip
March 18, 2008 at 12:31 pm
I just watched this, and it was so inspiring that I scurried over here to recommend it to you, but I see you’ve anticipated me. I’ve been feeling a little down on the country lately, and Obama was right on target to cheer me up (I blame Peter Iron’s A People’s History of the Supreme Court for quashing what faith I had in my country or it’s legal system. However, it has also stopped me moaning about how America is becoming a country where only businesses, and not people, have rights, because now I know that there is no becoming about it and the country was essentially founded that way. Good book though.)
I know it is slightly pathetic of me, but this speech almost brought tears to my eyes. I barely minded being completely left out of his vision of America (where are the atheists Obama?), or the vague impression that Israel is a totally faultless victim. The overwhelming message about race in America was so even-handed and reasonable, that I forgive the speech’s (and I suppose Obama’s) not so minor flaws. Apparently I’m very easy to manipulate- I might want to watch that. Anywho, I agree that he did a good job countering some of his campaign’s recent problems.
jlelliott
March 18, 2008 at 12:35 pm
Strangely enough, of all the vids on my blog, that Tina Fey video gets the most hits; I personally dig Tina Fey’s work, but it seemed really out of place to have her give a full blown endorsement to Clinton on national television. And to jlelliott, by the end of this speech I was nearly moved to tears, it was so damn well done; I agree with you that the support for Israel seemed a bit off, but it seems to have been a calculated move to distance himself from the Muslim allegations. Sad world we live in when that can be considered an ‘allegation’.
Mir Kamran Meyer
March 18, 2008 at 12:35 pm
I have to say I’m glad I voted for this guy’s candidacy over the over-zealous Clinton. (For a great “pictorial editorial”, see my friend Writer Chick’s post HERE).
I really hope Obama gets the Democratic candidacy and eventually the Presidency. Though not perfect, I feel he is what our country needs right now.
Great post. (Oh, and your vid-embed isn’t working, fyi.)
mercurial scribe
March 19, 2008 at 10:40 am
In the words of another one my favorite men list, Jon Stewart, Obama talked to Americans about race like we were adults. Best speech ever.
Sun Kim
April 2, 2008 at 4:29 pm