Obama: Some Views from Another Perspective

Obama in Philly [Drew Cline]

What first strikes me in Barack Obama's speech today is the image of a black American standing across the street from where the Constitution was negotiated in part by slave owners - and not condemning the Founders, but praising them.

When we hear sentences like this: "Farmers and scholars; statesmen and patriots who had traveled across an ocean to escape tyranny and persecution finally made real their declaration of independence at a Philadelphia convention that lasted through the spring of 1787," we often hear in response America's black leaders condemn those men as racists who don't represent black Americans. They remind us of the slaves who suffered and died crammed into the cargo holds of some of those ships. They hold slavery to be THE defining mark of early America and discount the remarkable achievement in Philadelphia as something insincere, fraudulent, and unworthy of reverence.

But here was Obama praising the Founders for their ideals. Here he was noting the stain of slavery, but not letting it become THE story of the Founders, but only a part of the story, not letting it press out the reverence the Founders are due.

That might be the lasting legacy of this speech. The Jeremiah Wright controversy will eventually become a footnote in American political history. But the moment of the first serious black contender for the Oval Office speaking with reverence and admiration for slave-owning Founding Fathers, and dismissing explicitly the idea that the United States is, by virtue of the nation's Original Sin of slavery, a fundamentally racist nation, has the potential to become a turning point.

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My First Take [Jonah Goldberg]

It was a much better speech than I thought it would be. It had some lovely moments and he came across as a remarkably classy and decent guy. But I think there were some serious logical, philosophical, and political flaws to it.

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The speech was so sweeping as he talked so much about what divides this country. He was able to shine a light on the racism that existed and still exists in America, but he was able to do it in a way that didn't seem condemning. By confronting the anxieties in both the white and black communities, he was able to get in the weeds a little bit and tell it like it is. Anytime a politician is being "candid" with their audience, it's a good day. Obama had a good day.

The best part of this for the Obama campaign is that their candidate got a chance to look presidential. He got a chance to talk about a major topic in America. It may not have come under the best circumstances but what was impressive is how the campaign didn't go into hibernation. They knew they had a problem and Obama and his campaign didn't wait long at all to be pro-active on this. They went against the grain. Instead of trying to distance themselves, they went head on into it and my guess is they'll be better for it.

Did he go far enough in distancing himself from Pastor Wright in this speech? There will be those who say he had to be stronger in his language. I'm not so sure. Look, the guy defended his pastor who has done a lot for the community but he also chastised him numerous times too. What do we want to do here? Have Obama bring out a dart board complete with a picture of Wright and have Obama start throwing darts at the bulls eye?

I will say this: One word of caution for the Obama campaign: combine this controversy with those Muslim emails circulating, plus his full name, plus Michelle Obama talking about how the first time in her adult life she was proud to be an American and you have a narrative that could take hold. But this speech today seemed to not only contain the Wright controversy but hit a homerun on race relations in this country.