Obama's Speech

I have a lot more respect for him after that speech. He handled it very well. The other speech on "religion" in this presidential race, by Romney, mentioned his Mormonism just once, and then it totally spiraled into a "if you don't believe in Jesus, your not a real American" route..at least Barack had the courage to mention his religious affiliation 14 times and deal with it head on.

On the political stage, his membership in the Trinity United Church makes total sense in that with over 8,000 members, it is the biggest church in Brack's district. A politician is a politician, hello, of course he is a member there.
This story needs to move to page six......:angry:

I have a lot more respect for him after that speech. He handled it very well. The other speech on "relgion" in this presidential race, by Romney, mentioned his Mormonism just once, and then it totally spiraled into a "if you don't believe in Jesus, your not a real American" route..at least Barack had the courage to mention his religious affiliation 14 times and deal with it head on.

On the political stage, his membership in the Trinity United Church makes total sense in that with over 8,000 members, it is the biggest church in Brack's district. A politician is a politician, hello, of course he is a member there.
This story needs to move to page six......:angry:

I agree with you on a lot of those points, except moving it out of the lime light. The only reason I say this is that he is going to have to hammer home the fact that he is a Christian and not a Muslim. If he doesn't keep that in the fore front the rednecks will start buying the phony crap that's been running around.

I agree with you on a lot of those points, except moving it out of the lime light. The only reason I say this is that he is going to have to hammer home the fact that he is a Christian and not a Muslim. If he doesn't keep that in the fore front the rednecks will start buying the phony crap that's been running around.

Unfortunately, you are very right, SWGB.

I agree with you on a lot of those points, except moving it out of the lime light. The only reason I say this is that he is going to have to hammer home the fact that he is a Christian and not a Muslim. If he doesn't keep that in the fore front the rednecks will start buying the phony crap that's been running around.

DO you fault the rednecks or the peddlers within the Clinton camp who keep this stuff alive?

DO you fault the rednecks or the peddlers within the Clinton camp who keep this stuff alive?

Answer C: All of the above

I think that this is the beginning of the end.
What you are seeing is a smooth rhetorician stumbling.
Just throwing Granny under the bus won't work.
Break it down and it doesn't add up to anything more than a white guilt trip.
There is no getting around that Wright is a racist who despises America.
Michel spoke truth when she claimed never to have been proud of Amerika.

I feel sorry for all of the good people who supported him.

I was very impressed he was speaking from his heart and not from a piece of paper.

Very well spoken!................

I was very impressed he was speaking from his heart and not from a piece of paper.

Very well spoken!................

He was speaking from a teleprompter.

He stayed up all night for two nights writing the speech himself, according to his aides. The teleprompter broke about halfway through the speech. I can't believe this teleprompter is a problem for anyone, given the power of his words. I guess some people stopped listening a long time ago.

He's giving another really excellent speech right now. This one is on Iraq.

I think that this is the beginning of the end.
What you are seeing is a smooth rhetorician stumbling.
Just throwing Granny under the bus won't work.
Break it down and it doesn't add up to anything more than a white guilt trip.
There is no getting around that Wright is a racist who despises America.
Michel spoke truth when she claimed never to have been proud of Amerika.

I feel sorry for all of the good people who supported him.

Governor Mike Huckabee said it better than I could....

YouTube - Mike Huckabee on Barack Obama's Speech on Race

Or read it---

HUCKABEE: [Obama] made the point, and I think it's a valid one, that you can't hold the candidate responsible for everything that people around him may say or do. You just can't. Whether it's me, whether it's Obama...anybody else. But he did distance himself from the very vitriolic statements.

Now, the second story. It's interesting to me that there are some people on the left who are having to be very uncomfortable with what Louis Wright said, when they all were all over a Jerry Falwell, or anyone on the right who said things that they found very awkward and uncomfortable years ago. Many times those were statements lifted out of the context of a larger sermon. Sermons, after all, are rarely written word for word by pastors like Reverend Wright, who are delivering them extemporaneously, and caught up in the emotion of the moment. There are things that sometimes get said, that if you put them on paper and looked at them in print, you'd say "Well, I didn't mean to say it quite like that."

JOE SCARBOROUGH: But, but, you never came close to saying five days after September 11th, that America deserved what it got. Or that the American government invented AIDS...

HUCKABEE: Not defending his statements.

JOE SCARBOROUGH: Oh, I know you're not. I know you're not. I'm just wondering though, for a lot of people...Would you not guess that there are a lot of Independent voters in Arkansas that vote for Democrats sometimes, and vote for Republicans sometimes, that are sitting here wondering how Barack Obama's spiritual mentor would call the United States the USKKK?

HUCKABEE: I mean, those were outrageous statements, and nobody can defend the content of them.

JOE SCARBOROUGH: But what's the impact on voters in Arkansas? Swing voters.

HUCKABEE: I don't think we know. If this were October, I think it would have a dramatic impact. But it's not October. It's March. And I don't believe that by the time we get to October, this is gonna be the defining issue of the campaign, and the reason that people vote.

And one other thing I think we've gotta remember. As easy as it is for those of us who are white, to look back and say "That's a terrible statement!"...I grew up in a very segregated south. And I think that you have to cut some slack -- and I'm gonna be probably the only Conservative in America who's gonna say something like this, but I'm just tellin' you -- we've gotta cut some slack to people who grew up being called names, being told "you have to sit in the balcony when you go to the movie. You have to go to the back door to go into the restaurant. And you can't sit out there with everyone else. There's a separate waiting room in the doctor's office. Here's where you sit on the bus..." And you know what? Sometimes people do have a chip on their shoulder and resentment. And you have to just say, I probably would too. I probably would too. In fact, I may have had more of a chip on my shoulder had it been me.

MIKA: I agree with that. I really do.

JOE SCARBOROUGH: It's the Atticus Finch line about walking a mile in somebody else's shoes. I remember when Ronald Reagan got shot in 1981. There were some black students in my school that started applauding and said they hoped that he died. And you just sat there and of course you were angry at first, and then you walked out and started scratching your head going "boy, there is some deep resentment there."

He stayed up all night for two nights writing the speech himself, according to his aides. The teleprompter broke about halfway through the speech. I can't believe this teleprompter is a problem for anyone, given the power of his words. I guess some people stopped listening a long time ago.

He's giving another really excellent speech right now. This one is on Iraq.

Teleprompter was not a problem for me at all. I was just correcting the impression that he did not use any notes (paper). I agree with you - he is by far the best communicator I have ever seen.

Anyone remeber who did that 80's song? It goes like this~All you do is Talk....Talk,Talk, Talk, Talk.....All you do is talk.
I can't believe he ever even thought of disowning his own granny, much less tellin' all us about it. Does he have no forgiveness? Oh, I guess that's why he decided not to.She must be passed. Just guessin'?

Governor Mike Huckabee said it better than I could....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gTFLOu8fjxU

Or read it---

HUCKABEE: [Obama] made the point, and I think it's a valid one, that you can't hold the candidate responsible for everything that people around him may say or do. You just can't. Whether it's me, whether it's Obama...anybody else. But he did distance himself from the very vitriolic statements.

Now, the second story. It's interesting to me that there are some people on the left who are having to be very uncomfortable with what Louis Wright said, when they all were all over a Jerry Falwell, or anyone on the right who said things that they found very awkward and uncomfortable years ago. Many times those were statements lifted out of the context of a larger sermon. Sermons, after all, are rarely written word for word by pastors like Reverend Wright, who are delivering them extemporaneously, and caught up in the emotion of the moment. There are things that sometimes get said, that if you put them on paper and looked at them in print, you'd say "Well, I didn't mean to say it quite like that."

JOE SCARBOROUGH: But, but, you never came close to saying five days after September 11th, that America deserved what it got. Or that the American government invented AIDS...

HUCKABEE: Not defending his statements.

JOE SCARBOROUGH: Oh, I know you're not. I know you're not. I'm just wondering though, for a lot of people...Would you not guess that there are a lot of Independent voters in Arkansas that vote for Democrats sometimes, and vote for Republicans sometimes, that are sitting here wondering how Barack Obama's spiritual mentor would call the United States the USKKK?

HUCKABEE: I mean, those were outrageous statements, and nobody can defend the content of them.

JOE SCARBOROUGH: But what's the impact on voters in Arkansas? Swing voters.

HUCKABEE: I don't think we know. If this were October, I think it would have a dramatic impact. But it's not October. It's March. And I don't believe that by the time we get to October, this is gonna be the defining issue of the campaign, and the reason that people vote.

And one other thing I think we've gotta remember. As easy as it is for those of us who are white, to look back and say "That's a terrible statement!"...I grew up in a very segregated south. And I think that you have to cut some slack -- and I'm gonna be probably the only Conservative in America who's gonna say something like this, but I'm just tellin' you -- we've gotta cut some slack to people who grew up being called names, being told "you have to sit in the balcony when you go to the movie. You have to go to the back door to go into the restaurant. And you can't sit out there with everyone else. There's a separate waiting room in the doctor's office. Here's where you sit on the bus..." And you know what? Sometimes people do have a chip on their shoulder and resentment. And you have to just say, I probably would too. I probably would too. In fact, I may have had more of a chip on my shoulder had it been me.

MIKA: I agree with that. I really do.

JOE SCARBOROUGH: It's the Atticus Finch line about walking a mile in somebody else's shoes. I remember when Ronald Reagan got shot in 1981. There were some black students in my school that started applauding and said they hoped that he died. And you just sat there and of course you were angry at first, and then you walked out and started scratching your head going "boy, there is some deep resentment there."

That was very good to read.

Anyone remeber who did that 80's song? It goes like this~All you do is Talk....Talk,Talk, Talk, Talk.....All you do is talk.
I can't believe he ever even thought of disowning his own granny, much less tellin' all us about it. Does he have no forgiveness? Oh, I guess that's why he decided not to.She must be passed. Just guessin'?

I also thought that bringing granny into it was bizarre.

It was a good speech and he is one of the most uplifting orators we have ever had on the national stage. That being said, I am going to bang my drum again to ask how much are the programs behind the oration going to cost Joe Taxpayer and what is the size (budget) of the federal government going to be if the programs he is advocating go into place. I think this will be an extremely important election decision for many. We know he can talk the talk, but how much is it going to cost all of us to walk the walk. Please help me understand as I believe he is a better option than HRC, but am working on him versus McCain. Thanks all.

I also thought that bringing granny into it was bizarre.

I found it courageous. I thought it was illustrative of the schism that still exists in America as well as in individuals themselves black and white. It is amazing how such disparate opinions can be formed using the same source material.

It was a good speech and he is one of the most uplifting orators we have ever had on the national stage. That being said, I am going to bang my drum again to ask how much are the programs behind the oration going to cost Joe Taxpayer and what is the size (budget) of the federal government going to be if the programs he is advocating go into place. I think this will be an extremely important election decision for many. We know he can talk the talk, but how much is it going to cost all of us to walk the walk. Please help me understand as I believe he is a better option than HRC, but am working on him versus McCain. Thanks all.

McCain actually scared me for the first time when talking about Iran the other day and when Lieberman corrected him on the "extremists". I really, really don't want to be part of another invasion so soon. Plus I would have to build a pillbox after talking trash on another thread.

Anyone remeber who did that 80's song? It goes like this~All you do is Talk....Talk,Talk, Talk, Talk.....All you do is talk.
I can't believe he ever even thought of disowning his own granny, much less tellin' all us about it. Does he have no forgiveness? Oh, I guess that's why he decided not to.She must be passed. Just guessin'?

Seacrestkristi, perhaps you need to read the speech more carefully...or his books.

IMO you are missing the point...but, since you are supporting Hillary, perhaps you want to

whatever;-)

You are entitled to your opinion as am I. Thank you very much. No I don't need to analyze or reread his speech to try and 'get' his point. He's snubbed our flag, our country and Hillary enough to determine my like for him.

Anyone remeber who did that 80's song? It goes like this~All you do is Talk....Talk,Talk, Talk, Talk.....All you do is talk.
I can't believe he ever even thought of disowning his own granny, much less tellin' all us about it. Does he have no forgiveness? Oh, I guess that's why he decided not to.She must be passed. Just guessin'?

If you listened to or read the speech, you would understand that Obama never considered disowning his grandmother. He mentioned his grandmother in order to compare the racial stereotypes held by two people that he cares for deeply. They are from the same generation, one in which racial tensions were prevalent. While both harbor racial biases that he profoundly disagrees with, he can still love them for who they are and for the roles they played in his life. Please read again.

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.

I think it could go down as the most honest, practical, and insightful speech on race ever given and the most important one since "I have a dream."

This guy is a transcendent political figure that will go down in history as one of the most inspirational leaders in history.

He may have no idea how he is going to implement, much less pay for his initiatives, but this country and this world needs a unifying force to lead us through the religious, territorial, and climactic crises that we face around the globe, and the economic fears we have at home.

I might have voted for Hillary or McCain in another year, but to not elect this guy seems like trying to slam the brakes on true, revolutionary progress.

I think it could go down as the most honest, practical, and insightful speech on race ever given and the most important one since "I have a dream."

This guy is a transcendent political figure that will go down in history as one of the most inspirational leaders in history.

He may have no idea how he is going to implement, much less pay for his initiatives, but this country and this world needs a unifying force to lead us through the religious, territorial, and climactic crises that we face around the globe, and the economic fears we have at home.

I might have voted for Hillary or McCain in another year, but to not elect this guy seems like trying to slam the brakes on true, revolutionary progress.

I had to give this some rep.

I was very impressed he was speaking from his heart and not from a piece of paper.

Very well spoken!................

he is quite an accomplished orator... perhaps the best we'll ever see in politics.

If you listened to or read the speech, you would understand that Obama never considered disowning his grandmother. He mentioned his grandmother in order to compare the racial stereotypes held by two people that he cares for deeply. They are from the same generation, one in which racial tensions were prevalent. While both harbor racial biases that he profoundly disagrees with, he can still love them for who they are and for the roles they played in his life. Please read again.

some people don't bother reading or listening. and if they do they somehow deliberately twist words and meanings. amazing.

I am liking huckabee more and more. as a person, mind you. not a Pres. candidate.

Ok, I'll be the "token" redneck. I love the fact he's been forced off the fluff pedestal and is actually forced to show himself for what he is. The only difference between Obama and Hillary is that he has no experience and she has very little...Red

And anyone who believes that Obama having to justify his ties to a black nationalist preacher is in any way comparable to King's speech is being way too dramatic..

I like a good orator as much as the next guy. Just like I enjoy a good infomercial every once in a while at 2am when I can't sleep. The benefit of the infomercial is that I know how much it costs me to buy what they're selling at the end of their spiel. As of now, I am a big fan of many of the programs that Obama is touting, but then again I have been known to have champagne tastes with a beer budget. So, in that vein, I would be curious to see how much these widgets (programs) are going to cost so I will know how much of my $1,200 family rebate check to put back to offset taxes if they are going to go up.

Here's a slightly different take on his speech from yesterday. I am not sure that it matters but I do think it matters that he is becoming less and less a darling of the media...

http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/story?id=4480868&page=1