Anyone seen it? The Drudge Report has the full speech here, as well as a video link.

I just want to point at this fragment...

QuoteI can no more disown him than I can disown the black community. 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.

...and say that I know exactly what he meant there.

That was an excellent speech, I watched it live this morning.  Thanks for posting the full text, too.

The part that most struck me was:

QuoteIn fact, a similar anger exists within segments of the white community. Most working- and middle-class white Americans don't feel that they have been particularly privileged by their race. Their experience is the immigrant experience – as far as they're concerned, no one's handed them anything, they've built it from scratch. They've worked hard all their lives, many times only to see their jobs shipped overseas or their pension dumped after a lifetime of labor. They are anxious about their futures, and feel their dreams slipping away; in an era of stagnant wages and global competition, opportunity comes to be seen as a zero sum game, in which your dreams come at my expense. So when they are told to bus their children to a school across town; when they hear that an African American is getting an advantage in landing a good job or a spot in a good college because of an injustice that they themselves never committed; when they're told that their fears about crime in urban neighborhoods are somehow prejudiced, resentment builds over time.

Many people I know feel exactly this way, and I did once too.  I'm glad Obama brought it out into the open...shed light on it.

I thought it was a kickass speech as well.

Every day that passes makes me more and more impressed by the man. He took a speech that could have easily been a simple but effective dodge to an explanation on the complexity of the issues that people face and worry about almost every day, with the kind of honesty you don't expect beyond the typical campaign veneer.

I sincerely hopes he gains the nomination. A McCain v Obama election would be a difficult choice for me to make, and I think that's a good thing.

Quote from: JamesVI sincerely hopes he gains the nomination. A McCain v Obama election would be a difficult choice for me to make, and I think that's a good thing.

I agree.  It'd be nice to see an election that doesn't have to be as partisan as they have become.

I was very impressed with his speech. I think the country could use a president like him who seems to be able to fuly grasp all of the top issues in the country today. Plus, he seems to actually want to do something about the issues instead of just using them to get elected.

Sure he may not have a lot of experience @ washington but IMO that's a good thing.

Jon Stewart on the Daily Show quipped that Obama was talking to us about the issues "like we were adults."  I think that's a good thing, he ssems to have none of the contempt for the people that most higher officials seem to have.

I'm not an Obama supporter.  I have not listened to the speech. But I wanted to comment on something/ask a question.

Given the two quotes in the thread - and let me be clear that the second quote is really interesting to me and I'm glad he's giving voice to that side of the discussion - what did he say he plans to actually do about it.

He seems to have done a good job of explaining how people feel about the subject. Did he address how he would change the kind of resentment he alludes to in the second quote? Did he say he's for abolishing practices that lead to that kind of resentment? How does he think that will impact the people of color who he can't turn his back on? How will they feel?

If someone knows what his answers are to those kinds of questions, or if there are links outlining his policies to address these issues, I'm all for reading them. Did he mention things in the speech about it?

I'm with the Skach man here. From the exerpts it sounds like an excellent, even awesome speech (though I am less inclined to like the part where he can not disavow a person with some definitely questionable views by making it a racial unity thing or something. Seems disengenius to me... but whatever, man.).

But while I can certainly like Obama, the speechifier, I'm still waiting for a more solid grasp of Obama the Executive, and all I get so far is a position liberal enough to make my own, moderate, teeth hurt, but no real policy.

I'm very tempted to make an allusion to my comments about Idea people from the Noblis thread...

He does go on about that Skach, after that quote in the full text of the speech.

It's worth your time to read.

And Spike, I don't think he's being disingenuous in the speech, I recommend you read it, or listen to it.

Quote from: James J SkachGiven the two quotes in the thread - and let me be clear that the second quote is really interesting to me and I'm glad he's giving voice to that side of the discussion - what did he say he plans to actually do about it.

My understanding is that the speech was delivered largely in response to inflammatory comments made and sermons given by his former pastor, Jeremiah Wright.  In that context, yes, Obama did address what he wanted to do about it, which consists primarily of confronting the underlying reality of racism and inequality, and addressing them openly.  Did he outline a plan for tackling and solving the problems? Not as such, no, but I don't believe that was the intent of the speech.

!i!

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

QuoteBuried in his eloquent, highly praised speech on America's racial divide, Sen. Barack Obama contradicted more than a year of denials and spin from him and his staff about his knowledge of Rev. Jeremiah Wright's controversial sermons.

Quote from: joewolzAnd Spike, I don't think he's being disingenuous in the speech, I recommend you read it, or listen to it.

I probably will at some point later. However, I should clarify the disingenuous comment more fully for you and Ian:

In theory the speech was being given in response to outcry over his assosiation with Reverend Wright.  Now, I live in a pretty liberal area, but the experpts of the Reverends Sermons were pretty patently offensive even around here.  Being open minded I could see how they might be viewed out of context (not very, most clips I saw were pretty full on rants) or be misunderstood without a very solid grounding (drawing allusions to the 9/11 bombings being no different from the US dropping bombs in WWII and since then...)....

Understandably, that makes him a liability to a politician in this country.  And this speech was to either insulate Obama from the fallout somehow or to, as we say, cut sling-load and ditch the anchor.

Instead we got:

QuoteI can no more disown him than I can disown the black community. I can no more disown him than I can my white grandmother –

From Jong's exerpt.

Well, that's a swell sentiment.  I can't disown my grandfather who tosses around terms like Wetback either.  

But I can certainly repudiate him.  I can apologize for him, and explain that I don't agree with his casually offensive language.  I can EVEN explain that he doesn't even mean anything by it, to him its just a term to address hispanics by, as wrong headed as that view is.

Obama, from the example, did none of that.


So, yes, given what the ostensible purpose of this speech was, it was entirely disingenous. He makes one comment that does not particularly explain or excuse anything, then like a magician, redirects your attention with some sentiments that a lot of people, myself included, really really liked to hear coming from someone very visible, and very much in a position not to be casually dismissed for saying it.

If you have an example where he DOES address the 'situation' more solidly, I'll be happy to read it

It's too bad really. The speech is very eloquent and quite nice. But it's spin. It's the same as it ever was.

Color me unimpressed.  Generalities and platitudes.  Nicely dressed, but empty on the inside.

The reaction in the media to this speech only seems to show the truth of the  statement that led to Geraldine Ferraro quitting the Clinton campaign.

(And for the record, I'm not white.)