Presidential hopeful Barack Obama confronts race and politics amid the controversy surrounding his relationship with Reverend Jeremiah Wright. After viewing the speech, feel free to respond to two questions.
In thinking about the relationship between race and politics, what message(s) resonate most in your mind (positively and/or negatively)?
How will the speech affect Obama’s political standing in the race for the Democratic nomination (and the national election, if he becomes the nominee)?
9 responses so far ↓
lindsayh // April 1, 2008 at 12:48 am |
I think that the divide that is made when one considers race along with politics is very similar (and just as destructive) to the divide between political parties. Race at this point should be a non-issue in the campaign. It shouldn’t be about who can appeal to different groups of people, but who can help America as a whole best.
I think it’s good that Obama addressed a lot of the questions that the media brought forward after hearing Wright’s comments. Over the past few days, I haven’t really heard that much about this issue, so it’s best that Obama tried to nip this in the bud with his speech. I think as long as Obama gets the people’s trust back in time, this shouldn’t really affect voters.
Bridget C. // April 1, 2008 at 2:22 am |
I agree with Lindsay that race should not be an issue in the campaign right now. Although I think it is good that Obama addressed this issue and stood by Wright even though he didn’t agree with Wright’s comments, I think he could have gone around it differently. It was good that he pointed out that Wright’s comments talked too much about America’s flaws instead of the positive aspects of America and its people.
However, I think that while I agree that Obama should have focused on the wrongs in Wright’s comments but the fact that he would still stand by him for introducing Obama to Christianity, I feel that he should have emphasized the fact that race should no longer be an issue. Instead, he focused on what the black community needs to do.
Overall, I think Obama did a good job by addressing the problem, and I don’t think that after this, Wright’s comments will affect Obama too negatively.
musikmajor22 // April 4, 2008 at 1:06 am |
Barack Obama has guts.
I don’t think that I can say any clearer than that. His speech is one, that I personally believe will go down in history as a politically important speech which details race and its affect on America and her culture. His speech was both powerful and honest. He addressed both the race issues of Black America and White America. What I find most powerful about his speech is that he condemns both populations for blaming someone else for their own problems, he makes a point to say that ’self-help’ is the key to success. He does make it clear that both groups do have validate reasons for their racial biases, but that if we are to solve common problems, we must be a unified force.
I believe that Obama’s speech will not affect him too negatively in the race. Many times during his speech he clearly refers to his critics and their comments, he even goes as far as to mention how some commentators have called him either not “black enough” or too “black”. I think that he gave a lot of credit to America for being a country where the son of a white woman and a black man, who has family all over the world, can run, with a chance, for the most powerful position in the country. Despite his condemnations of Wright, he also took the focus off of his ‘anti-American’ views and caused us to consider the larger issue, the issue that race is still a problem for America and is holding us back from achieving greatness and prosperity.
Mike S. // April 4, 2008 at 1:39 am |
I have to agree with the above Obama has alot of guts. He put it all out there he has told the public everything. He told his past of having a white mother and a black father. Obama event though it should be about issues and bridget has stated I do strongly feel that he needed to address this issue prior to the end of the primaries. I have to say this is one of the best speeches I have ever heard. He is proud of where he came from and he is proud of how this country has changed and evolved. “This is the only country his story can be true” this statement alone speeks to million across the nation. I think this speech will help his race for the better. I think that by putting it all out there he has taking away racial amunition from hillary. I also feel that this speech has such passion that it could wipe away any doubt that Obama is here for Change.
Gerry Castro // April 4, 2008 at 1:42 am |
This speech will go down in American History akin to JFK’s definitive speech on religion. Race is and has always been the elephant in the room for the 2008 Democratic Nomination. Initially it was to be avoided, but with the giant personas of Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Hussein Obama it could not be. First it was Bill Clinton’s “fairy tale” remark which outraged the public and led to Obama’s landslide victory in South Carolina, then it was Geraldine Ferraro downplaying Obama’s achievements as the results of his African-American ethnicity. And now it is Pastor Wright with is quip denying a Clinton legitamacy over Obama on the count that she is a white girl who has never gone through the wickedness of racism. Obama’s speech was long overdue, but I believe will effectively silence the racial uproar that has for the time being taken this race hostage.
aslivingston // April 4, 2008 at 2:17 am |
Well I mean we can all hope that race won’t be a factor in the election, but then we would be ignoring the obvious. We don’t live in a country of universal tolerance, and even though some people don’t spew racism in public there is a possibility that underlying racist ideas might appear in the private of the voting booth. McCain promised to not make race and issue in the general election but that can not be said of other republican interest groups. They will hammer on Obama and try to spread fear if he does get the nomination. As for how the speech will affect the race, we have seen very little change. He did dodge somewhat of a bullet and received positive reviews but its effects didn’t echo for long. Personally I think the media was harping on the topic of his pastor for longer than needed because they got so much flak for “being to easy on Obama.” In this way they were just trying to balance out their coverage by repeating the clip for days on end. The positive is it happened at a time that was not to crucial and will do little in the general election if and when Obama wins the nomination.
NickM // April 4, 2008 at 10:16 pm |
I’d like think that this was a political move, a way for Barack Obama to gain some key demographics in the upcoming primary in Pennsylvania. His primary concern in making speeches like any other politician is to capture new voters, right?
No. This speech may not help him at all politically. It’s a stretch to predict that a speech on the fears and tensions within the black and white communities will draw more of the “white, male, blue-collar workers” of Pennsylvania to his side.
The fact is, this speech was not about politics. It was confronting a delicate subject that is glanced over by politicians for fear of upsetting people and possibly losing votes. It only took the first black candidate with a real chance to win to gather up enough guts and talk about this face-to-face with the American people. Of course race should be a non-issue, as well as gender and religion in this election. The lowly truth is that those things will matter in the minds of some voters. Barack Obama knows that, yet he still gave this momentous speech because it needed to be done. No ordinary politician would’ve ever given a speech like this, especially not to win votes.
AndrewK // April 5, 2008 at 2:11 am |
I personally think this was a bad move on Obama’s part. Obama’s appeal was that his race had nothing to do with it. Reason he gained so much support was that he wasn’t a black man running for president, he was a smart, educated man running for president. Personally Obama went down a notch in my book. I respected him for keeping race and politics seperatly. (Secular by my definition is keeping both race, and religion seperate from government). Thats what makes this country great, and that is the reason Obama was up there making that speech, because overall this country seperates politics from race.
I think this may very well hurt Obama’s demoratic standing. Hes aknowledging things his supporters didnt want to hear about. People dont care that he is the son of a black man, and that African Americans were held down, they want to hear about what he is going to do for education, the War in Iraq etc. His supporters support him because he is not Jesse Jackson, he is not running based on race hes running based on what he plans to do for this country, and he needs to keep to that.
Matt T. // April 8, 2008 at 2:22 pm |
I don’t agree with the assertion that Obama has “guts” for delivering this speech. I think having “guts” is something that should be inherent in his nature, seeing as he is running for president, and reflect in everything he does–not just this particular instance. That aside, he did a wonderful job and while Nick said he didn’t do this to win over votes, he definitely has.
This does not change my opinion on Obama completely, but I have more respect for him. I disagree with Andrew and do not think this will hurt him, but I see where he’s coming from. Obama definitely reached out to the American people, and that’s a huge plus.