2008 Primaries Thread 2: THE QUICKENING

no, he's talking to people who might be skeptical about voting for him, many of whom are Democrats

fuckin sweet speech

Great speech. I'm a Democrat, I already voted for him, and I hope to do so again in November.

Wow that speech!

As someone who doesn't know what to fill out for ethnicity on the census (can I just mark "everything"?), this one really hit home.

super-minor quibbles aside (as noted) - this speech is amazing

"We can pounce on some gaffe by a Hillary supporter as evidence that she’s playing the race card, or we can speculate on whether white men will all flock to John McCain in the general election regardless of his policies.

We can do that.

But if we do, I can tell you that in the next election, we’ll be talking about some other distraction. And then another one. And then another one. And nothing will change."

i wonder how whiny pundits will get about this one

Am I insane to think this speech has somehow managed to net an advantage out of the whole Wright controversy? It was an excellent speech, speaking directly and tolerantly to a deeply uncomfortable issue, and integrated flawlessly into his larger campaign themes. I suppose it depends on how it will play in the media and what clips the news shows pull from it, but I'm optimistic as the initial reactions have been overwhelmingly positive.

Just echoing what everyone else has said - incredibly stunning speech.

Predictable grumbling from the right about how Obama hasn't "transcended" race at all, but none of the Obama guys I know speak of him in transcendent terms.

(speaking for myself, I got bored in the last few minutes)

also, nice touch calling his candidacy 'imperfect,' sounding humble but not chastened.

wasn't obama's entire point that america itself hasn't transcended race?

xpost

I'm not a Democrat, and he aint talkin to me

Fair enough, Morbs, but be honest; you subscribe to a fairly minority political point of view in the US and this man wants to get elected.

I noticed Obama's own eyes seemed to glaze as he discussed welfare inequalities, as if he knew he was making a concession; he's much better when he articulates contradictions. In that sense, it's one of the best I've ever head. Rarely do you see a pol who accepts his own paradoxes and expects voters to be adult about it.

Fair enough, Morbs, but be honest; you subscribe to a fairly minority political point of view in the US and this man wants to get elected.

I'm not sure I've ever seen Morbs explain what he's for; only who he's against.

The anecdote at the end about the mustard sanwiches or whatever was a bit bizarre.

I doubt if this speech will make a lot of difference either way. People already impressed with Obama will be even more impressed. People who are not so impressed are probably not at this stage of the game going to be aroused by transcendental calls to unity. For people who think he's 'too black', a speech about race is only going to entrench those feelings, whatever the speech's ultimate message.

That story wasn't bizarre to me. Kids do the damnedest things when financial matters throw their families for a loop.

RW: Pundits be whinin'.

The speech needed to be effective rather than a stunnah, in the 'speak softly so people must pay attention carefully' mode. This it was. Also love the judo move of saying disowning Wright would be akin to disowning black community. Obama/Judo 08

Many of the header links to stories start with 'Obama refuses to disown pastor' but I just got the MomCall (the only reason this is interesting is because she's an avg 63 y/o swing voter with grievances and zero concept of identity politics and they don't post here much). She reckons a) he's out of the woods and b) she doesn't think the GOP will try to restart this if he's the nominee. To the second point: wait! 527s? She also thinks the Clintons are behind every single smear including releasing the Wright bats.

yeah, I've had enough of the mustard sandwiches, though i'll take them over the cleft palate. the speech will have a big impact on the media. how that impact translates to voters - i.e. how the nets edit and play it - will determine how it impacts voters.

the flipside is the purchase wingnuts will gain by isolating certain statements and asking what they mean

well, hopefully the speech addressed and resolved the wright storyline well enough for the major news outlets to let it drop (until the fall, that is).

the speech will have a big impact on the media. how that impact translates to voters - i.e. how the nets edit and play it - will determine how it impacts voters.

-- gabbneb, Tuesday, March 18, 2008 6:39 AM (3 minutes ago) Bookmark Link

this^^^^^

Poll: McCain, Obama, Clinton in dead heat

i'm starting to get sick of this too-close-to-call bullsh1t

via Ambinder: "CBS News is reporting that eight years worth of Hillary Clinton's schedule as First Lady will be released tomorrow by the National Archives."

comment there: attempt to draw attention away from Obama's speech?

yeah the Wright flap has sucked up her oxygen for a while

imna have a mustard relish sandwich right now!

yeah, the mustard sandwich lobby has Obama firmly in their grip

i'm starting to get sick of this too-close-to-call bullsh1t

It's a bit suspect that they're taking a "margin of error of 3%" to mean they're dead level.

It would be just as fair to have the 3% error swing the other way and say "Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton would both statistically kick Republican John McCain's ass in a general election matchup, a new CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll indicates."

nah, the release of her schedules has been in the pipeline for at least a few weeks as I recall reading about the disclosure of those documents before. no clue as to whether those schedules will be an asset or liability for the clinton campaign, it will probably cut both ways. xxpost

8:30 am = Make small talk with Malawi president
8:45 am = Approve ghost-written bits of It Takes a Village
9:30 am = Nap.

fantastic speech

8:30 am = Make small talk with Malawi president
8:45 am = Approve ghost-written bits of It Takes a Village
9:25 am = Phone the Irish, get them to sign peace treaty
9:30 am = Nap

you forgot 3:00 am - answer Batphone

Charles Murray, author of The Bell Curve, reacts:

I read the various posts here on "The Corner," mostly pretty ho-hum or critical about Obama's speech. Then I figured I'd better read the text (I tried to find a video of it, but couldn't). I've just finished. Has any other major American politician ever made a speech on race that comes even close to this one? As far as I'm concerned, it is just plain flat out brilliant—rhetorically, but also in capturing a lot of nuance about race in America. It is so far above the standard we're used to from our pols.... But you know me. Starry-eyed Obama groupie.

the sherriff is a-near, indeed

I just finished watching the video in full (it's up at Youtube). Wow.

link?

Dude probably scribbled that speech out in 20 minutes on the back of an airsick bag on the way to Philadelphia.

just reading that speech was pretty :-O

you think he wrote a considerable portion of this himself? The NYT alluded to it earlier today.

wtf is limbaugh talking about
http://thepage.time.com/limbaughs-reaction-to-obamas-speech-on-race/

he was reported to have been working on the speech through 2am last night

you think he wrote a considerable portion of this himself? The NYT alluded to it earlier today.

-- Alfred, Lord Sotosyn, Tuesday, March 18, 2008 1:04 PM (31 seconds ago) Bookmark Link

i dont doubt that he wrote much of it
the campaign alluded to him staying up until 3am the night before writing it

Wow, that is the sound of one limbaugh flailing, desperate to find a fingerhold on a smooth surface

I am boggling at the reaction of Bell Curve dude.

YouTube video is down already :-(

Oh wait - go to video.google.com & search "obama race speech" - one of those must be the full speech

Limbaugh can't figure out that Americans DO see each other as members of ethnic groups while not seeing themselves as victims.

Full speech: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pWe7wTVbLUU

you can also locate it at the obama campaign website