I've only heard bits and pieces of it and read some reactions to it and I don't like it. I wasn't going to like it no matter what and it has very little to do with Obama himself.
Don Imus lost a multimillion dollar gig for exactly the kind of throwaway snark he was hired to do. He had to grovel like a whipped dog in front of the PC enforcers and the perpetually insulted crowd. In the end he was fired.
Obama goes to a church for 20 years where Imus' remarks would have been unnoticed amidst the eruptions of paranoid, racist rhetoric and all he has to do is give one cute speech and everyone is swooning over him again.
Like I said, I wasn't going to be convinced no matter what.
As for the content of the speech itself, I thought it was amazing how he threw Rev. Wright under the bus with such skill. Rev. Wright was described the way you would describe a wayward child. "I know he's a holy terror in the neighborhood, but I still love him." Rev. Wright wasn't treated like a man at all. Obama never seemed to demand any kind of apologies from him or insist that he reform. Instead, it was a pat on the head and a little swat on the butt and off he scampers to rage and scream some more. Meanwhile, Obama plays the role of the loving, but omniscient parent. I found it all a little creepy.
Update: I think that's the problem I have with this whole affair. Don Imus is treated like a man and demands are made upon him to apologize and make reparations. No such demands are made on Rev. Wright. Is demanding accountability from one, but not from the other fundamentally racist itself?
6 comments:
Don't think that this is over. The response to Obama's speech was mixed. Only the cool-aid drinkers raved about it. Its the opinion of middle of the road independents that really matters.
I think that's the problem I have with this whole affair. Don Imus is treated like a man and demands are made upon him to apologize and make reparations. No such demands are made on Rev. Wright. Is demanding accountability from one, but not from the other fundamentally racist itself?
No. Its a double standard. You're never going to get Wright to apologize, just as Geraldine Ferraro will never apologize, just as one might have an uncle, parent, or grand parent that won't apologize for their racist statements. It because they are simply blind to their racism. Its partly a generational thing. Salon had an interesting article on how Chicago racial politics are so strongly tied to black militantism from the 60's. Wright is a reflection of that.Its not an excuse for Wright's comments but its an explanation of where it comes from. The crucial question that isn't being asked is why is it tolerated by the current generation of black leaders? Because that is who goes to Wright's church.
While I don't believe that Obama supports that sort of divisive attitudes, today's speech did little to explain why he and the rest of the congregation let Wright get away with behaving poorly. And this is where I think Obama's campaign doomed.
As for Imus, be was an ass. His biggest mistake was picking on people who weren't legitimate targets. and don't cry for him. He's a show back and is doing just fine.
Wow! Thanks for the long discourse.
To tell you the truth, I like Obama far more than I like Imus. I also liked the direction his speech went in, but I was disappointed that it stopped well short of asking for any kind of accountability (at least the little I heard and read about).
Having said that, I'm not sure I've got any kind of honest take on the whole affair given that I'm predisposed to not support him. I'm sure I'm looking at the whole thing far more negatively than it deserves.
Also, Trent Lott and the dude in Virginia who mumbled the word "macaca" certainly took more of a beating than Obama has.
Whatever.
Yes, but in those cases the candidate made the stupid comment.
I listened to the whole speech this evening. I have to say it was impressive. It was interesting to hear about the vast number of Christian conservative leaders who complemented him on it. In its entirety, its far more than what is portrayed by the sound bites. That said, I still think this may have critically wounded his candidacy, because its not clear that it will reach who it needed to. Time will tell.
It appears that your man McCain and Lieberman are becoming an item. I wonder if we'll see a Lieberman VP?
I think McCain needs a fiscal conservative as his running mate, someone who has run a business or at least has significant experience outside of the government. As much as I admire Lieberman, he's not it for me.
Kelly hit it on the head. I'll try to put down some thoughts later but the biggest and most obvious difference is that Obama didn't say these things... his pastor did.
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