I have to tell you... I found the speech very engaging and well crafted. We dismiss it blithely at our peril.

Don't get me wrong, there was plenty for conservatives to object to... but the argument which Obama framed up created a compelling narrative (especially during the first half of the speech). Obama's strong condemnation of Rev. Wright coupled with his refusal to cut off his pastor cold turkey cuts a very natural path between the black community looking for vindication and conservative critics looking to catch him in hypocrisy.

If I had to regurgitate it, this is what I heard: "This is the reality of what many blacks believe in America, I don't believe it, but you can't reach out to this group by ignoring them or lambasting them outright. Likewise, my fellow blacks need to condemn the ugly vitriol against whites and fess up the to their own messes. America is full of these contradictions. It makes us stronger when we deal with it."

"Contradictions" is a term that many people can relate to.

As others have noted, the last part of the speech was a liberal boilerplate of good intentions. No surprise there. But the overall tenor of the venue was positive in nature and disarming in effect.

I mean, ask yourself. What was his main goal going in? Dissolve the Wright issue and move it into the win column. Did he accomplish that? I think he did.

Labels: anti-american, Obama, religion