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Obama's take on the race question

James Forsyth

Tuesday, 18th March 2008

Barack Obama’s speech on race today is that rare thing a political speech worth reading in full. Perhaps, the boldest thing that Obama attempted was to try and explain the context of Rev Wright’s racially divisive remarks.

"This [the legacy of slavery and segregation] is the reality in which Reverend Wright and other African-Americans of his generation grew up. They came of age in the late fifties and early sixties, a time when segregation was still the law of the land and opportunity was systematically constricted. What’s remarkable is not how many failed in the face of discrimination, but rather how many men and women overcame the odds; how many were able to make a way out of no way for those like me who would come after them.
But for all those who scratched and clawed their way to get a piece of the American Dream, there were many who didn’t make it – those who were ultimately defeated, in one way or another, by discrimination. That legacy of defeat was passed on to future generations – those young men and increasingly young women who we see standing on street corners or languishing in our prisons, without hope or prospects for the future. Even for those blacks who did make it, questions of race, and racism, continue to define their worldview in fundamental ways. For the men and women of Reverend Wright’s generation, the memories of humiliation and doubt and fear have not gone away; nor has the anger and the bitterness of those years.”

This is a politically inconvenient truth to acknowledg but You have to remember that any black person over 40 was born in a country where blacks still could not vote in many states and that the US forces which landed in Normandy to liberate the continent of Europe were segregated. You can not expect African-Americans to forget this.

Obama is also right to point out that

“so many of the disparities that exist in the African-American community today can be directly traced to inequalities passed on from an earlier generation that suffered under the brutal legacy of slavery and Jim Crow.”

What is disappointing in the speech is the weak explanation Obama has for his passive acceptance of Wright’s hateful words: “Did I know him to be an occasionally fierce critic of American domestic and foreign policy? Of course. Did I ever hear him make remarks that could be considered controversial while I sat in church? Yes. ”
Wright’s criticisms were more than fierce they were poisonous. Wright’s views were more than controversial they were abhorrent.

Overall, though, the speech was a boon to his candidacy--if he had got this wrong it could have ended his candidacy, he didn't. It was interesting to hear him echo conservative criticisms of the destructive effects of the welfare system on family structures and Obama emphasised once again that he is a candidate who is advocating racial unity not division:

"The profound mistake of Reverend Wright’s sermons is not that he spoke about racism in our society. It’s that he spoke as if our society was static; as if no progress has been made; as if this country – a country that has made it possible for one of his own members to run for the highest office in the land and build a coalition of white and black; Latino and Asian, rich and poor, young and old -- is still irrevocably bound to a tragic past. But what we know -- what we have seen – is that America can change. That is true genius of this nation.”

On the issues, Obama does not stack up particularly well. His Iraq policy would squander the gains of the surge and could start a regional war. While his association with Tony Rezko shows that Obama is not some pure political idealist but someone who has come out of the machine politics of Chicago. But this speech today showed that his candidacy, for all its flaw, is an immensely important moment in American history.

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Dave B

March 18th, 2008 9:13pm

I don't think this is going to stop people emailing YouTube links of Rev Wright's 'highlights' to one another, and wondering why Mr Obama attended his church for 15-20 years.

George Steiner

March 19th, 2008 12:00am

Mr. Forsyth, what is it about you Brits? You either sneer at Americans or you pander. Now you are pandering to Obambi. When this is over Americans will ask themselves, what was that all about?

Politikon

March 19th, 2008 10:43am

I believe Obama is a very clever politician and I support him to the fullest. You say Obama doesn't stack up well on the issues, well that might be true, but personally I agree with him on several of them. This I found out after using a tool on the internet, called Electoral Compass. I suppose we all should fill it in, to make sure it's not all about race/gender, etc. Here's the link: www.electoralcompass.com

Ian C

March 20th, 2008 9:51am

If the latest polls are right Obama is the next best thing to a dead man walking. Your comment above is looking premature - especially the 'boon for his presidency' bit. The fact that he had to make such a speech was the critical mistake, not to mention "selling his grandmother" in the process.

Hal

March 21st, 2008 5:59pm

It's not accurate to say that Obama sold out his grandmother. He praised her highly, and also said that she sometimes expressed fear of The Other, which here in the USA means black men (if you're white). This is the counterpart to Rev. Wright's anger, both of which he sees as fading into the past. I think it was as good as speech as anyone could have given. And he wrote it himself, so I've read. On the issues, Obama is slightly left of center; his policy prescriptions are not earth-shaking. Neither were Abraham Lincoln's. In both cases, it's the style, and the capacity for empathy, that are important. No one knows whether Obama will achieve greatness. But we do know that neither Hillary nor John McCain ever will.

Ian C

March 21st, 2008 10:48pm

If we hope or expect greatness from our leaders we will be disappointed. If we seek moderation and modesty we may get something more. Obama is implying, in his own rhetoric, that he alone can provide the necessary 'greatness' when all he realistically has is his eloquence, cool and intresting proposition as the first balck president. So he is certainly not displaying modesty and is therefore likely to not only disappoint but to fail expectations. On top of that the very fact that he had to make the speech demonstrates that he had not calculated that his long association with a black supremacist would mean disqualification for the office he seeks, but also evidence of an arrogance that is beyond understanding and therefore, electability.

Jeff

March 23rd, 2008 8:43pm

Well said Ian C.

Jeff

March 23rd, 2008 9:51pm

I disagree with Mr. Forsyth. Obama failed to acknowledge his poor judgment in attending a church led by a pastor preaching anti-Americanism, hate and racism. Had McCain done similarly, he would have been done. Obama's speech was not received well among many white Americans who felt he blamed everybody but himself for making a poor judgment in remaining at this church for 20 years. Obama should have apologized and admitted he made a mistake. It was simple and that is what he should have done. He didn't, and missed an opportunity to patch up support with many voters who will be turned away from Obama by months and months of Youtube and political commercials with Wright as the star. This will be Obama's "swift boat" in the fall election. Americans, as the polls are showing, will start turning away from a candidate who says one thing but has lived another. Americans do not need a President that will take us backward, we need to move on.