Another reaction (mine) to the Obama Speech

Has a presidential candidate ever spoken this way about race before? It surprised me how well suited Obama is to speak to both sides of the racial divide. He comes from both houses so to speak, and so he has spoken with great eloquence about the gravity of the state of race relations in this country. FINALLY!

A cold, hard look at race in this country has generally been ignored until it explodes in violence, or from some miscarriage of justice, or until an Imus tries to be Dave Chappelle. These are not productive ways to broach this topic, because any potential gains from discourse are overshadowed by the ugliness of the events that put race in the spotlight.

Obama did much more than defend himself in this speech. He acknowledged the frustration many whites feel over affirmative action. We are told to not judge people by the color of their skin, but we must abide when people of color are advanced by their race. At the same time, he smoothly chided whites for being offended by statements like Rev. Jeremiah Wright's. Black people have a right to be angry, and whites have to respect that. And in recognizing both sides, he has helped coax all our grievances towards a resolution.