Obama delivers speech on race and politics!

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THROW GRANDMA UNDER THE BUS

By Ann Coulter

Wed Mar 19, 7:57 PM ET

Obama gave a nice speech, except for everything he said about race. He apparently believes we're not talking enough about race. This is like hearing Britney Spears say we're not talking enough about pop-tarts with substance-abuse problems.

By now, the country has spent more time talking about race than John Kerry has talked about Vietnam, John McCain has talked about being a POW, John Edwards has talked about his dead son, and Al Franken has talked about his USO tours.

But the "post-racial candidate" thinks we need to talk yet more about race. How much more? I had had my fill by around 1974. How long must we all marinate in the angry resentment of black people?

As an authentic post-racial American, I will not patronize blacks by pretending Obama's pastor, Rev. Jeremiah Wright, is anything other than a raving racist loon. If a white pastor had said what Rev. Wright said -- not about black people, but literally, the exact same things -- I think we'd notice that he's crazier than Ward Churchill and David Duke's love child. (Indeed, both Churchill and the Rev. Wright referred to the attacks of 9/11 as the chickens coming "home to roost.")

Imagine a white pastor saying: "Racism is the American way. Racism is how this country was founded, and how this country is still run. ... We believe in white supremacy and black inferiority. And believe it more than we believe in God."

Imagine a white pastor calling Condoleezza Rice, "Condoskeezza Rice."

Imagine a white pastor saying: "No, no, no, God damn America -- that's in the Bible for killing innocent people! God damn America for treating our citizens as less than human! God damn America for as long as she acts like she is God and she is supreme!"

We treat blacks like children, constantly talking about their temper tantrums right in front of them with airy phrases about black anger. I will not pat blacks on the head and say, "Isn't that cute?" As a post-racial American, I do not believe "the legacy of slavery" gives black people the right to be permanently ill-mannered.

Obama tried to justify Wright's deranged rants by explaining that "legalized discrimination" is the "reality in which Rev. Wright and other African-Americans of his generation grew up." He said that a "lack of economic opportunity among black men, and the shame and frustration that came from not being able to provide for one's family, contributed to the erosion of black families."

That may accurately describe the libretto of "Porgy and Bess," but it has no connection to reality. By Rev. Wright's own account, he was 12 years old and was attending an integrated school in Philadelphia when Brown v. Board of Education was announced, ending "separate but equal" schooling.

Meanwhile, at least since the Supreme Court's decision in University of California v. Bakke in 1978 -- and obviously long before that, or there wouldn't have been a case or controversy for the court to consider -- it has been legal for the government to discriminate against whites on the basis of their race.

Consequently, any white person 30 years old or younger has lived, since the day he was born, in an America where it is legal to discriminate against white people. In many cases it's not just legal, but mandatory, for example, in education, in hiring and in Academy Award nominations.

So for half of Rev. Wright's 66 years, discrimination against blacks was legal -- though he never experienced it personally because it existed in a part of the country where he did not live. For the second half of Wright's life, discrimination against whites was legal throughout the land.

Discrimination has become so openly accepted that -- in a speech meant to tamp down his association with a black racist -- Obama felt perfectly comfortable throwing his white grandmother under the bus. He used her as the white racist counterpart to his black racist "old uncle," Rev. Wright.

First of all, Wright is not Obama's uncle. The only reason we indulge crazy uncles is that everyone understands that people don't choose their relatives the way they choose, for example, their pastors and mentors. No one quarrels with idea that you can't be expected to publicly denounce your blood relatives.

But Wright is not a relative of Obama's at all. Yet Obama cravenly compared Wright's racist invective to his actual grandmother, who "once confessed her fear of black men who passed by her on the street, and who on more than one occasion has uttered racial or ethnic stereotypes that made me cringe."

Rev. Wright accuses white people of inventing AIDS to kill black men, but Obama's grandmother -- who raised him, cooked his food, tucked him in at night, and paid for his clothes and books and private school -- has expressed the same feelings about passing black men on the street that Jesse Jackson has.

Unlike his "old uncle" -- who is not his uncle -- Obama had no excuses for his grandmother. Obama's grandmother never felt the lash of discrimination! Crazy grandma doesn't get the same pass as the crazy uncle; she's white. Denounce the racist!

Fine. Can we move on now?

No, of course, not. It never ends. To be fair, Obama hinted that we might have one way out: If we elect him president, then maybe, just maybe, we can stop talking about race.
 
Shouldn't she just drop it? I see nothing wrong with him mentioning his grandmother, it is honest and it is his background that puts all of this in a context. Should he lie about that?

dailybreeze.com


Former congresswoman Geraldine Ferraro is upset with remarks Sen. Barack Obama made in Tuesday's speech, linking her with the controversial the Rev. Jeremiah Wright.

Former vice presidential candidate Geraldine Ferraro said today that she objected to the comparison Sen. Barack Obama drew between her and his former pastor in his speech on race relations Tuesday.

In the speech, Obama sought to place the inflammatory remarks of the Rev. Jeremiah Wright in a broader context, in part by placing them on a continuum with Ferraro's recent remark to the Daily Breeze that Obama is "lucky" to be black.

"To equate what I said with what this racist bigot has said from the pulpit is unbelievable," Ferraro said today. "He gave a very good speech on race relations, but he did not address the fact that this man is up there spewing hatred."

Ferraro, the only woman to ever run on a major party presidential ticket, sparked a controversy when she told the Breeze that "If Obama was a white man, he would not be in this position."

The resulting controversy was quickly superceded by an even greater furor over Wright's sermons, in which Obama's longtime pastor denounced America and argued that the 9-11 terrorist attacks were retribution for U.S. foreign policy.

In an effort to stem the damage to his presidential campaign, Obama gave a 37-minute speech Tuesday in which he used Ferraro's remarks as a rhetorical foil to Wright's and drew a parallel between black nger and white resentment.

"On one end of the spectrum, we've heard the implication that my candidacy is somehow an exercise in affirmative action; that it's based solely on the desire of wild- and wide-eyed liberals to purchase racial reconciliation on the cheap," Obama said.

"On the other end, we've heard my former pastor, Jeremiah Wright, use incendiary language to express views that have the potential not only to widen the racial divide, but views that denigrate both the greatness and the goodness of our nation and that rightly offend white and black alike."

Ferraro, who supports Sen. Hillary Clinton, has been unapologetic about her remarks. Clinton has said she disagrees with Ferraro and has accepted Ferraro's resignation from her finance committee.

Ferraro said she had "no clue" why Obama would include her in his speech, and said Obama's association with Wright raises serious questions about his judgment.

"What this man is doing is he is spewing that stuff out to young people, and to younger people than Obama, and putting it in their heads that it's OK to say `Goddamn America' and it's OK to beat up on white people," she said. "You don't preach that from the pulpit."

Ferraro also said she could not understand why Obama had called out his own white grandmother for using racial stereotypes that had made him cringe.

"I could not believe that," she said. "That's my mother's generation."

Obama returned to Ferraro's remarks later in his speech, again drawing a comparison between her and Wright.

"We can dismiss Reverend Wright as a crank or a demagogue, just as some have dismissed Geraldine Ferraro in the aftermath of her recent statements as harboring some deep-seated bias," Obama said.

He went on to argue that such dismissals would foreclose a deeper understanding of racial resentments.

Obama appeared to allude to Ferraro once more when he said that it would be wrong to "pounce on some gaffe by a Hillary supporter as evidence that she's playing the race card."

It was Obama's campaign that drew the most attention to Ferraro's remark last week, and suggested they fit with an pattern of racial comments by Clinton surrogates.

"That's exactly what he did," Ferraro said. "It was their campaign that started this."

In sum, however, Ferraro said she thought the speech was "excellent," and said she understood why Obama could not renounce his association with Wright.

"I think they got as far as they could go politically," she said. "They're looking at their base. Their base is African-Americans. They're looking at that and they're trying to walk a very thin line. They don't want to offend the African-Americans, and this is the way he did it."
 
Now Brite Divinity school/TCU are at the center of a storm because they were going to honor Rev. Wright (this was planned long before the latest controversy).

My sister and brother in law went to TCU and Brite Divinity school is affiliated with my denomination, Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). My dad knows most of the faculty at Brite, and even had many of them as his own students.

My denomination is VERY similar to UCC, Obama's denomination. Our two denominations even have joint general assemblies every 10 years or so. They're mainline protestant, with a greater focus on social justice rather than evangelizing. Rev. Wright, despite some of these comments, has been a leader in the social justice movement, thus his being honored today.
 
TCU moves event honoring Obama's former pastor Jeremiah Wright off campus

08:24 AM CDT on Thursday, March 20, 2008
By HOLLY YAN / The Dallas Morning News
hyan@dallasnews.com


Elections 2008
Members of TCU's board of trustees voted to move the Brite Divinity School's fourth annual Black Church Summit events off the Fort Worth campus. Officials at the divinity school agreed, according to a statement from TCU.

Fort Worth police Lt. Paul Henderson said he had not heard any specific reasons why the event will be moved from TCU. "We don't have any information on any threat against the event. It may be due to some concerns related to on-campus security."

The Brite school has not announced a new place for the event.

Luther King, chairman of the TCU board, said in the written statement that "while the University should be a place where controversial opinions are freely expressed, the safety and security of students, faculty and staff are the primary concern of the Board."

Brite Divinity plans to honor Dr. Wright, retired pastor of Trinity United Church of Christ, at the summit's awards banquet March 29. The school cited the church's efforts and aid to agencies supporting mission work in Africa and South America.

"Brite does not endorse all of the statements or views of any of the church leaders recognized by the Divinity School," its Web site said. "Brite is recognizing Dr. Wright for his forty-year ministry linking divine justice and social justice."

Though the divinity school is at TCU, Brite is a separate corporation with its own leadership. The award is presented by Brite.

In 2006, Dr. Wright was taped, saying "we believe in white supremacy and black inferiority, and believe it more than we believe in God."

Mr. Obama has condemned the statements, calling them "inflammatory and appalling."
 
Anu said:


Today, major commentators have called this one of the greatest speeches in American history, even better than "I Have A Dream."

Whoever has said that is a moron. Another example of how in love the media is with Obama.


Anu said:
we have such a rhetorical genius in our midst.

And that's about all he is.

Anu said:
Obama has flaws, but these generally have to do with how mainstream and middle of the road he is, not with how radical he is.

You think Obama is middle-of-the-road? The guy ranked the number one most liberal member of the Senate? Mr. Obama's views are quite radical, and if you think he is some non-partisan change agent, you are poorly mistaken. Anyone who thinks Obama is middle of the road is ignorant.

Anu said:
God bless him and his campaign and --sorry-- but goddamn the racist lynch mobs trying to stop history from being made.

Yeah! Who cares about his views and policies and judgment as long as we can make history!

Anu, I'm sorry, but that's one of the dumbest thing's I've ever heard. You think it's unacceptable to be examining this guy. You think it's unacceptable to be questioning his judgment, and anyone doing so is a racist, in your opinion.

You know Obama's biggest mistake in his speech was? He mentioned conservative radio and how they supposedly use racism, but completely left out Jesse Jackson, Media Matters, and others who have called every prominent conservative (and some Democrats) racist. Why didn't he mention the haters on his own side?

Non-partisan my foot. :|
 
U2democrat said:

Well that was cringe-worthy. Anybody have Ann's phone number? I'd like those 2 minutes of my life back. What a hack.
 
2861U2 said:


You know Obama's biggest mistake in his speech was? He mentioned conservative radio and how they supposedly use racism, but completely left out Jesse Jackson, Media Matters, and others who have called every prominent conservative (and some Democrats) racist. Why didn't he mention the haters on his own side?

Non-partisan my foot. :|

First of all, no one claimed he was non-partisan...:huh: Why would a democratic nominee claim to be non-partisan?

Secondly, if Obama mentioned 'Media Matters' most of the country wouldn't have any idea what he's talking about, no one listens to it. It was a horrible idea, whoever thought progressive liberal thinking people wanted or needed a preaching to the choir non-challenging format was misinformed.

We should ask ourselves why this generalization exists. Why is the right full of so many racists, and why is the left so quick to call someone a racist?
 
BonoVoxSupastar said:


First of all, no one claimed he was non-partisan...:huh: Why would a democratic nominee claim to be non-partisan?

Secondly, if Obama mentioned 'Media Matters' most of the country wouldn't have any idea what he's talking about, no one listens to it. It was a horrible idea, whoever thought progressive liberal thinking people wanted or needed a preaching to the choir non-challenging format was misinformed.

We should ask ourselves why this generalization exists. Why is the right full of so many racists, and why is the left so quick to call someone a racist?

Media Matters is a media watchdog group. I think you mean "Air America".
 
MaxFisher said:


Media Matters is a media watchdog group. I think you mean "Air America".

You are correct sir, I haven't slept in two days... So I'm either high off red bull or zombie like, very little in between. Insomnia is a bitch.

But isn't there only vehicle a website?

Oh, I'm so confused...
 
2861U2 said:


Whoever has said that is a moron. Another example of how in love the media is with Obama.



hyperbolic, maybe, but this was a major speech, as has been commented on by both sides of the aisle. while not everyone might agree on Obama's candidacy, the acclaim for the speech itself, from delivery to insight, has been unanimous.




[q]And that's about all he is.[/q]


seems a bit of a rush to judgment, no?



[q]You think Obama is middle-of-the-road? The guy ranked the number one most liberal member of the Senate? Mr. Obama's views are quite radical, and if you think he is some non-partisan change agent, you are poorly mistaken. Anyone who thinks Obama is middle of the road is ignorant.[/q]


no, you're ignorant if you believe these "most liberal member of the Senate" lists. they're fabricated by conservative magazines for the purpose of supplying political ads.

guess who was the "most liberal member of the Senate" in 2004? Kerry.

if Hillary gets the nominee, guess who's going to be the new "most liberal member of the Senate"? i'll give you two hints: it will be a woman and she goes by three names.

the fact remains that Obama and Hillary's platforms are very, very similar. and they're representative of centrist to ever-so-slightly left of center politics.

please, tell me what's so "radical" about Obama. name one thing that's "radical."
 
Irvine511 said:

please, tell me what's so "radical" about Obama. name one thing that's "radical."

Because his pastor is a racist and he's the same color as Jesse Jackson and Louis Farrakhan ONOZ!

Seriously...if Obama was any kind of left:

1. He wouldn't be anywhere near this nomination, and
2. I'd support him 100% rather than waffling between him & Clinton

Only in America has the definition of "left" become "less conservative than Pat Robertson".
 
Irvine511 said:

no, you're ignorant if you believe these "most liberal member of the Senate" lists. they're fabricated by conservative magazines for the purpose of supplying political ads.

guess who was the "most liberal member of the Senate" in 2004? Kerry.

if Hillary gets the nominee, guess who's going to be the new "most liberal member of the Senate"? i'll give you two hints: it will be a woman and she goes by three names.

the fact remains that Obama and Hillary's platforms are very, very similar. and they're representative of centrist to ever-so-slightly left of center politics.

Yep. Except I think both are a bit more to the right than you give them credit for, but even that makes them hardcore socialists in the eyes of far too many Fox influenced people. Pitiful.


CTU2fan said:


Because his pastor is a racist and he's the same color as Jesse Jackson and Louis Farrakhan ONOZ!

Seriously...if Obama was any kind of left:

1. He wouldn't be anywhere near this nomination, and
2. I'd support him 100% rather than waffling between him & Clinton

Only in America has the definition of "left" become "less conservative than Pat Robertson".

Yep. My biggest problem with either Obama or Clinton is neither is adequately left enough to make me particularly thrilled with them. They are both better than any alternative offered by the Republicans though, so one of them will get my vote. But I can't help but I hear people talk about how liberal or radical they are.
 
If people really wanted change they'd have nominated Dennis Kucinich.
 
CTU2fan said:
If people really wanted change they'd have nominated Dennis Kucinich.

Now Kucinich is actually a liberal. :yes:
 
MrsSpringsteen said:
THROW GRANDMA UNDER THE BUS



I am wondering if maybe he did?

"The point I was making was not that my grandmother harbors any racial animosity. But she is a typical white person. If she sees somebody on the street that she doesn't know. . .there's a reaction in her that doesn't go away and it comes out in the wrong way."

I think a typical person may be cautious of strangers?

watch and listen for yourself
 
Hmm, I don't care much for that "she's a typical white person" comment. I don't think he believes in such stereotypes and I'm surprised he would say it that way. By person she doesn't know I assume he means African American, since he referenced that before. Is he right though, do most white people react in that way? I think it depends upon situations and surroundings that you are in.

I had a racist grandfather, unfortunately- and I talk about that with people, I don't hide it. Why should he? I'm not even saying she's racist and neither is he, if I interpret what he is saying correctly.
 
deep said:



I am wondering if maybe he did?




:rolleyes:

this grandma bru-ha-ha reminds me of nothing more than the "cheap, tawdry" trick that John Edwards pulled in the VP debate by daring to mention that -- shock! -- the Cheneys have a gay daughter.
 
U2democrat said:
Go get some sleep, BVS :wink:

Well I did catch a 2 hour nap today. This happens once every 2 months, I'll hit a 5 day patch where I can't harldy sleep at all, then I'll go back to my "normal" sleep pattern which is still pretty insomniatic...

So if I start praising Bush or argue for more guns, it's just the sleep deprivation talking...
 
Some people are responding 'what if HC (or John McCain for that matter) said someone is a "typical black person" for responding in a certain way to a certain situation'-regardless of the context and I know Senator Obama said that in a certain context. So what if? And why?
 
If someone wants Obama to be their president.


They should also accept that he may see them as a "typical white person".

This would be a change. :shrug:

A President with "Rev Wright" thinking?
 
deep said:
If someone wants Obama to be their president.


They should also accept that he may see them as a "typical white person".

This would be a change. :shrug:

A President with "Rev Wright" thinking?

Exactly.

Can Obama please explain what a "typical white person" is?
 
I don't think using that phrase one time in public makes Senator Obama a person with Rev Wright thinking-that's a leap. I do not believe he thinks at all like Rev Wright does (and he does think in other ways besides those snippets we have seen).
 
deep said:
If someone wants Obama to be their president.


They should also accept that he may see them as a "typical white person".

This would be a change. :shrug:

A President with "Rev Wright" thinking?

I guess it would be different than homophobic right that doesn't care for black people*.:wink:









*thanks Kanye
 
His campaign has clarified that he meant she was typical in that she has/had fears typical for someone of his grandmother's generation-that's what ABC news said.
 
2861U2 said:


Exactly.

Can Obama please explain what a "typical white person" is?

Maybe your hero could tell you, he's an expert in race relations...

Today Rush played his favorite song again, 'Barack the Magic Negro'...
 
MrsSpringsteen said:
I don't think using that phrase one time in public makes Senator Obama a person with Rev Wright thinking-that's a leap.

I think you are old enough to remember Geraldine Ferraro

one statement reaps a whirlwind that thrashes her good name and lifetime of service ?
 
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