I think this was the finest political speech by a presidential candidate in the last 100 years. Better than anything by FDR, JFK, Reagan, or Clinton. I was supporting Obama before this. Now I believe.
Yes it was an honest, nuanced look at race where he spoke to all sides of the issue. And he did not skirt around any of it - he faced it all straight on. And in doing so he has put us on the road to further addressing racism and its associated issues. And yet, I think this amazing achievement was secondary to what else he did.
Barack Obama chose to take a complicated difficult issue fraught with political peril and instead of simplifying it to a series of one liners or to skirt the hard issues, he spoke to the full issue dealing with the subtle nuances necessary to do so. And in so doing he required that we put in the time and effort to truly listen and consider and think about what he was saying.
He talked for 38 minutes and he bet his future political career that we would devote 38 minutes to listening and then understanding what he was saying. And he succeeded. This is a man who can lead us through the solutions to the issues we now face.
Second, this was the speech of a true patriot. Not the easy patriotism of fighting the enemy. Not the false patriotism of longing for the good old days. This was the true patriotism of a citizen who loves this country, treasures it for what it is, and believes in it for what it can be. Many talk about how this country is the "city on the hill." Barack Obama believes that and will take us further up that path.
Third, his speech on race was a speech between equals (not people who have reached equality - but people who are equals). Maybe only a bi-racial candidate could first take us to this point. We are all people, we are all Americans, all children are "our children." There is inequality but we are all equal.
To quote Andrew Sullivan
And it was a reflection of faith - deep, hopeful, transcending faith in the promises of the Gospels. And it was about America - its unique promise, its historic purpose, and our duty to take up the burden to perfect this union - today, in our time, in our way.
And Charles Kaiser
No other presidential candidate in the past 40 years has managed to speak so much truth so eloquently at such a crucial juncture in his campaign as Barack Obama did today.
I now see in Barack Obama, with his willingness to speak honestly and forthrightly, no matter how difficult it is, someone who I think will make, not a good president, but a great president. Every time this country has truly needed a great president, we have been blessed with one. Once again...
