ABRAMS: So, what's the problem?WATKINS: The problem is this--speeches like that are reserved for the commander-in-chief of the United States. The commander-in-chief speaks with the American people. Barack Obama is not just a citizen of the world or citizen of the United States, he is the presumptive Democratic nominee.They know he's running for the presidency and what you do when you give a speech like that and you're not the commander-in-chief of all the American people, is that you undermine the institution of the president.
WATKINS: The problem is this--speeches like that are reserved for the commander-in-chief of the United States. The commander-in-chief speaks with the American people. Barack Obama is not just a citizen of the world or citizen of the United States, he is the presumptive Democratic nominee.
They know he's running for the presidency and what you do when you give a speech like that and you're not the commander-in-chief of all the American people, is that you undermine the institution of the president.
Sen. Obama:
I read this CNN article and watched this MSNBC video about your meeting with Sen. Clinton at D.C. Please Sen. Obama, this is the time to put Chicago and New York politics behind! I don't know what you were talking about, and I am not a Democrat, but secret meetings, especially in cases like these have more negative consequences than positive ones.
I hope that what happens tomorrow with HRC's speech has nothing to do with HRC muscling in with the VP slot!
I've been quiet about this recently, but out of concern for you, I'd rather vote for someone else (not including McCain since his policies are not worth my vote) than see you get shammed, politically and personally, with HRC being your VP.
Please take your time with your VP decision, as I feel that someone other than HRC will be a better choice for it.
I'm sorry to bring this up now, Sen. Obama, but I was not aware of this particular meeting. For future meetings, please don't make anymore of these, as your policy suggests transparency!
The time may come that you might have to stand up to her like you did with Sen. Lieberman!
Maybe I'm an idiot, but please don't fall into her trap!
I hope I'm not overreacting!
Sincerest Regards,
EMK
It seems a little early for reruns. Must be because of the writer's strike.
Ever since last fall, we've seen this same cycle repeat itself, with minor variations, over and over again. Some event happens that the Clintonistas fixate on as the THE BIG ONE: the Big Bolt From the Blue (or from Howard Wolfson's Blackberry—same thing as far as the MSM is concerned) that will finally end Obama's upstart attempt to usurp the office to which Hillary is rightfully entitled.
Her surrogates squeal in feigned outrage on the cable shows while Hillary sorrowfully relates Obama's error to her slowly dwindling crowds in her most unctuous tone. And, in the most recent variation, Hillary and McCain will say the exact same things for a few days. Bill and Harold Ickes will unleash a flood of phone calls and emails to the uncommitted superdelegates warning them of the Terrible Scary Commercials the Republicans will run against Obama in the fall as a result of this Big Awful Thing that happened. (“See? See? Here's some actual Republican scumbag consultants who say they'll destroy him with this one, see? You believe them, right? They have supernatural powers, you know. Only a Clinton can resist them. Oooohhh, scary, scary, be very afraid!”)The MSM leaps like trained seals to tossed fish at Hillary's emails, breathlessly reporting that Obama's campaign faces THE crisis of his campaign, a potential game changer that could deliver the nomination to Hillary, regardless of that pesky math stuff that silly who don't understand good TV keep trying to talk about. Politico hyperventilates, Fox foams and raves, At ABC, Tapper sneers and Sunlen Miller circles in the sky, waiting for a meal. Halpirin transcribes and engages in vapid pontification and CNN alternates between substance, sensationalism and superficiality in a dizzying cycle. Across the Intertubes, Hillary's trolls and sockpuppets rub their hands and cackle with glee. “At last! This time we finally have him! He is dooooomed, doooomed, I say! Buahahahahahaha!” In the Hillarite alternate e-universe of Taylormarsh.com, MyDD.com and Hillis44.org, the victory celebration begins with the obligatory bile spitting. In the real blogs, dispirited supporters of Hillry who haven't been seen in days or weeks reappear to express their confident predictions that, at last, all these deluded Obama voters will finally WAKE UP! (TM) and see what a [pick one or more of the following: (fraud) (sexist) (elitist) (empty suit) (racist) (inexperienced naïve incompetent) (snake charmer) (snake oils salesman) (muslim sleeper agent) (bad evil person misogynist of the male gender who is trying to stop America from electing the Only Woman in America Who Will Ever Have a Chance to Become President)] Obama is. And, most depressingly of all, some of Obama's supporters will do what Democrats are always prone to do when faced with the least adversity in a campaign: they'll run around in little circles, hands in the air, crying out their anguished frightened advice to his campaign: “Ohno ohno ohno! In our heart of hearts we secretly agree with Hillary and the Republicans that the voters are dumber than we enlightened activist Democrats are. We're afraid they won't understand! He needs to make a major speech! He must recant! No, he must must stand firm! Is there somebody we can throw under a bus? Commercials! He must run many, many commercials! Maybe he should abandon state X and concentrate on state Y where they won't care about The Big Terrible Thing! And the Republicans, oh Dear God, here come the Republicans with their supernatural powers!” And then, as always, Obama will calmly do that Akido thing he does with all these nontroversies. He'll stand his ground, talk about the Thing Which Must Never be Said that he did say, doing so again and again, as many times as it takes to make the MSM realize that he was actually making a point rather than gaffing. And he'll use the point to pivot back onto McHillary, exposing their attacks as yet another example of the petty game playing and point scoring Washington nonsense that has got to change. The MSM will then feel foolish and some will turn on McHillary for having made them feel foolish. The scandal will die everywhere but on Fox News and the wingnutosphere, where they'll keep ranting and raving about it for weeks on end until the next thing comes along, but no one who'd ever vote for a Democrat will be listening. Then Hillary and her supporters will sullenly try to keep the thing going long past the point where it does harm to anyone but themselves, in complete denial that, once again, their plan to take back that which is rightfully Hers have failed. Finally, Bill will throw one of his patented tantrums in public which will announce the formal end of the nontroversy cycle. And all the wavering Obama supporters will find themselves, once again, saying “damn, yeah, that's the reason I'm for him, hey never doubted you for a moment” and calm back down. So, to those among the Obama contingent in the comments here who are talkin' all jittery, have a little faith in Obama's repeatedly demonstrated ability to turn these things back around on the other side and come out stronger and stop all the moaning. Sheesh, we've still got a ways to go on this trip and getting all panicky every time we hit some turbulence is not productive. As to the Clintonistas and Republitrolls, hey, keep doing what you're doing. I love watching you get yourselves worked up into the these celebratory frenzies, only to have your hopes (heh!) cruelly dashed once again. It fills me with that same sense of impending comic pathos I feel as Wyle E. Coyote, snickering nastily, opens up yet another shipment of fine Acme Company products and begins implementing his next brilliant plan.
Thanks to John Marshall at TalkingPointsMemo ( http://talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/188674.php ), we have the video.
Below are reactions to Barack Obama's "A More Perfect Union" speech:
The New York Times' editorial, entitled "Mr. Obama's Profile In Courage":
Inaugural addresses by Abraham Lincoln and Franklin D. Roosevelt come to mind, as does John F. Kennedy's 1960 speech on religion, with its enduring vision of the separation between church and state. Senator Barack Obama, who has not faced such tests of character this year, faced one on Tuesday. It is hard to imagine how he could have handled it better.
The Corner, Charles Murray:
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 Politico, Ben Smith:
A smart colleague notes that this speech is the polar opposite of this year's other big speech on faith, in which Mitt Romney went to Texas to talk about Mormonism, but made just one reference to his Mormon faith. Obama mentions Wright by name 14 times.
Obama mentions Wright by name 14 times.
TPM, Josh Marshall:
I think I have to dissent from David's view that Obama didn't bring his A-game to the speech this morning. I was only able to listen/watch out of the corner of my eye because I was on deadline for something else. But my sense was that the tempo and tenor was suited to the occasion. The kind of stirring delivery he's made a trademark of in his victory celebrations would not have been appropriate for the moment.
Mother Jones, David Corn:
With racial sentiments swirling in the 2008 campaign--notably, Geraldine Ferraro's claim that Barack Obama is not much more than an affirmative action case and the controversy over his former pastor's over-the-top remarks-- Senator Obama on Tuesday morning responded to these recent fusses with a speech unlike any delivered by a major political figure in modern American history. While explaining--not excusing--Reverend Jeremiah Wright's remarks (which Obama had already criticized), he called on all Americans to recognize that even though the United States has experienced progress on the racial reconciliation front in recent decades (Exhibit A: Barack Obama), racial anger exists among both whites and blacks, and he said that this anger and its causes must be fully acknowledged before further progress can be achieved. Obama did this without displaying a trace of anger himself.
Atlantic.com, James Fallows:
It was a moment that Obama made great through the seriousness, intelligence, eloquence, and courage of what he said. I don't recall another speech about race with as little pandering or posturing or shying from awkward points, and as much honest attempt to explain and connect, as this one.
Radar, Charles Kaiser:
He did it. No other presidential candidate in the last forty years has managed to speak so much truth so eloquently at such a crucial juncture in his campaign as Barack Obama did today. And he did it by speaking about race, the most persistent source of hatred among us since America began.It turns out that a candidate for president with a white mother and a black father has a capacity that no one else has ever had before: he can articulate an equal understanding of black racism and white racism --and that makes it possible for him to condemn both of them with equal passion.
No other presidential candidate in the last forty years has managed to speak so much truth so eloquently at such a crucial juncture in his campaign as Barack Obama did today. And he did it by speaking about race, the most persistent source of hatred among us since America began.
It turns out that a candidate for president with a white mother and a black father has a capacity that no one else has ever had before: he can articulate an equal understanding of black racism and white racism --and that makes it possible for him to condemn both of them with equal passion.
Atlantic.com, Andrew Sullivan:
But I do want to say that this searing, nuanced, gut-wrenching, loyal, and deeply, deeply Christian speech is the most honest speech on race in America in my adult lifetime. It is a speech we have all been waiting for for a generation. Its ability to embrace both the legitimate fears and resentments of whites and the understandable anger and dashed hopes of many blacks was, in my view, unique in recent American history.
The American Prospect, Kate Sheppard:
Obama's much-anticipated speech on race today hit the appropriate tone not just for addressing the Jeremiah Wright flap, but for framing the relevance of his candidacy in general. It was best in the way it framed the discomfort and resentment in the discussion of race in America that has lead to a "racial stalemate" for so many years, and made race "a part of our union that we have not yet made perfect."
Read more HuffPost coverage and reaction to Obama's speech
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/03/18/obama-race-speech-reactio_n_92121.html
