| "where our union grows stronger" |
[Mar. 18th, 2008|04:51 pm] |
Today, Barack Obama had to respond to a messy political/media fuss. Where any other politician would have taken refuge in vague, dismissive, or dogmatic cliches, he turned it into an opportunity to acknowledge the realities of racism in America. Some of his speech is a bit Racism 101, but in such a smart and personal way; I've never heard any other politician be anywhere near this open and straightforward in confronting the unspoken. He talks about history and grievances and fears of both black and white Americans, the stuff that other politicians barely dare allude to, and he makes it all right to talk about through sheer eloquence and force of personality. And through the whole thing, he manages to present a vision of a great America that we're all taking part in together, problems and all. Verdict: Uniter.
Here's the transcript of his speech.
(In contrast, and as an example of politics as usual, Hillary Clinton's take on the subject:
In her opening remarks, Mrs. Clinton said she was “very glad” Mr. Obama had made his speech, given that she said that race had been a “complicated” issue in America that had been marked by “pitfalls” and “detours.” Asked why she was glad, she said that issues of race and gender are “important” and twice called them "difficult issues".)
Here's the video.
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