Obama's Bold Gamble on Race Politicians don't give speeches like the one Barack Obama delivered this morning at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia. Certainly presidential candidates facing the biggest crisis of their campaigns don't. At moments like these — when circumstances force them to confront and try to defuse a problem that threatens to undermine their campaigns — politicians routinely seek to clarify, diminish and then dispose of the problem. They play down the conflict, whatever it is, then attempt to cut themselves off from it and move on, hoping the media and electorate will do the same. What they don't do is give a speech analyzing the problem and telling Americans that it's actually more complicated than what they believed. They manifestly do not denounce the offensive comments that stirred up the trouble to begin with and then tell Americans to grow up and deal with the fact that those same remarks, however wrong and offensive, are an elemental part of who they are, and who we are. But that is the breathtakingly unconventional speech Obama gave today. Rather than disown his former pastor and spiritual adviser, the Rev. Dr. Jeremiah Wright, Jr., as well as denounce Wright's controversial sermons, Obama declared that he could denounce but not disown. "I can no more disown him than I can disown the black community," he said. He castigated Wright, but did not cast him off. Obama refused to add his voice to the chorus vilifying Wright. Acknowledging how disingenuous that would have been, and how craven, Obama instead pulled Wright back and re-owned him, saying, "As imperfect as he may be, he has been like family to me." Obama did what politicians so rarely do — acknowledge complexity, insist that the issue currently roiling the presidential campaign — the story of Jeremiah Wright's words — is not a story that is clear-cut between right and wrong, or between black and white for that matter. Having waged a campaign, with great success, on the notion that race as a political and electoral issue could be transcended, with a strategy that assiduously downplayed race, Obama declared today that the only way to transcend race is to focus on it rather than downplay it — to acknowledge its sometimes oppressive presence in American life, in the form of both black anger and white alienation. To attempt to transcend race either by ignoring it or simply declaring it transcended would be folly — even now, in the year 2008. That was the reality Obama both confronted and embraced today. "Race is an issue that I believe this nation cannot afford to ignore right now," he said. "We would be making the same mistake that Reverend Wright made in his offending sermons about America — to simplify and stereotype and amplify the negative to the point that it distorts reality." Instead, he challenged Americans to learn something about their country, to seek to understand those whose emotions seem threatening, wrong-headed, even un-American. He asked whites to understand that the anger behind Rev. Wright's comments, while paralyzing, was also valid, the result of decades and centuries of real discrimination and oppression suffered by African Americans. And he asked blacks to understand that whites who resent affirmative action and whose fears of crime lead them to stereotype blacks should not be dismissed as racists, because their concerns and fears are real and valid, too. "This is where we are right now," Obama said. "It's a racial stalemate we've been stuck in for years. Contrary to the claims of some of my critics, black and white, I have never been so naﶥ as to believe that we can get beyond our racial divisions in a single election cycle, or with a single candidacy — particularly a candidacy as imperfect as my own. But I have asserted a firm conviction — a conviction rooted in my faith in God and my faith in the American people — that working together we can move beyond some of our old racial wounds, and that in fact we have no choice if we are to continue on the path of a more perfect union." Obama's speech was profound, one of the most remarkable by a major public figure in decades. One question — perhaps the question —is whether its sheer audacity makes for good political strategy. By confronting the Wright controversy head-on, Obama ensured that it would drive the narrative about his campaign, and his race against Hillary Clinton, for days and perhaps weeks to come. He and his advisers no doubt calculated that nothing they could do would change that fact. But if one of the appeals of Obama's candidacy has been the promise of a post-racial politics, how will voters respond to a speech acknowledging that the future is not now, that race still divides us? Obama is taking a substantial risk. He is counting on voters to hear and accept nuance in an arena that almost always seems to reward simplicity over complexity. He is asking something from Americans rather than just promising things to them — another formulation long out of vogue. "For we have a choice in this country," he said. "We can accept a politics that breeds division, and conflict, and cynicism. We can tackle race only as spectacle — as we did in the O.J. trial — or in the wake of tragedy, as we did in the aftermath of Katrina, or as fodder for the nightly news ... We can do that," he goes on to say. "But if we do, I can tell you that in the next election, we'll be talking about some other distraction ... And nothing will change. That is one option. Or, at this moment, in this election, we can come together and say, 'Not this time.'" Usually when politicians pose those kinds of either/or options to an audience, the choice is deliberately devoid of real tension. Either we move forward or fall backward, either we let the economy falter or we help it grow, either we succumb to our enemies or we defeat them — the choice is up to you, America! Obama's either/or formulation is not nearly so banal. Explicitly asking Americans to grapple with racial divisions, and then transcend them — that's a bold request. Will they comply? Obama's presidential hopes depend on it. Time

Hating her father will only make her life that much more difficult - She needs to forgive, forget and be the better person.

This is really sad. May Allah make it easier for their families to cope with this tragedy.

Originally by Kashafa: Pujah, What was so objectionable, let alone disgusting, about Pastor Wright's remarks ? The man is a former Marine, has he not earned the right to speak his mind freely ? Everything he says when condemning US foreign policy is factual(Wiki check it). ^^ What I find objectionable is his tone and his divisive message and not necessarily the facts he used as a 'reason' to preach hate. Everything he said has some truth in it, if we are not blinding ourself, but perpetuating the same narrow mindedness, intolerance and bigotry he seems to be the victim of does nothing to elevate the state of African Americans in this country. His message would have been more affective in inspiring his intended audience had it been delivered with a lot less, the white man is the source of all evil mumbo jumbo known to Farakhan.

Barack Obama's Tribune interview Tribune staff report March 16, 2008 Tribune: The issue of [former U.S. Rep.] Geraldine Ferraro's comments on the role your race has played in this campaign. Then comes the video that has comments that your pastor Jeremiah Wright has made. How are we to look at these, what's the best way to look at this and in what context do you put them to the American people? Obama: Well, you know, I think they're separate issues, but there is a relationship. I think you're touching on something that's worth talking about. I think, with respect to Geraldine Ferraro, I don't think what she said was racist, and I was asked about this and I said I didn't think that was what it was. I do think that what she said was wrong. The implication was that I was an affirmative action beneficiary. I think you can make an argument that my race might have played a role in my selection for the 2004 convention, but it doesn't account for the fact that it was a pretty good speech. I think that my persona obviously includes the fact that I'm an African-American, and so to the extent that how I talk about issues of race and how I present myself is attractive to some voters, I think is undeniable. To suggest that I could have gotten through the gauntlet of the last 13 months against very experienced, very savvy, skilled politicians and find myself in the lead for the Democratic nomination, including against the dominant political machine in the Democratic Party over the last 20 years, seems pretty dismissive. And not just dismissive of me, but dismissive of voters. This idea that, "Oh, you know, let's get a black guy in there," I think just doesn't make sense. So I think that it was looking at an issue through a racial lens that doesn't make perfect sense. I mean, she could have made a subtle point about the role of race in my candidacy that could have been interesting. This wasn't it. All right, so that's Geraldine Ferraro. Rev. Wright. He preached his last sermon, he's now in retirement. I've put out a statement today. Ill be honest with you, this is somebody who I've known for 20 years. I basically came to the church and became a member of the church through Trinity [united Church of Christ] and through him. He's the person who gave me the line "the audacity of hope." He is somebody who is a former Marine, a biblical scholar, has taught and lectured at major theological seminaries across the country and has been very widely regarded and admired. And, you know, he hasn't been my political adviser, he's been my pastor. And I have to say that the clips that have been shown over the past couple of days are deeply disturbing to me. I wasn't in church during those sermons. The things he said and the way he said them I think are offensive. And I reject them, and they don't reflect who I am or what I believe in. In fairness to him, this was sort of a greatest hits. They basically culled five or six sermons out of 30 years of preaching. That doesn't excuse them, and I've said so very clearly, but that's not the relationship I had with him. That's not the relationship I had with the church, and if I had heard those kinds of statements being said, if I had been in church on those days, I would have objected fiercely to them, and I would have told him personally. When some of these statements first came to light was right around when I was starting to run for president. He was a year away from retirement, and the church itself is a pillar of the community and a well-regarded, well-known church. I suspect there are members of the Tribune family that are also members of Trinity. It is not what's been painted as this separatist church or what have you, it is a very traditional African-American church on the South Side of Chicago. And most of the reverend's sermons are the sermons of a traditional African-American pastor. And so my view was that it would not be appropriate for me to distance myself from the church. I put out a statement saying I profoundly disagree with these statements, and the fact that he is now retiring makes me not want to simply discard him. He's like a member of the family, he's like your uncle who says things you profoundly disagree with, but he's still your uncle. Tribune: Geraldine Ferraro, she's asked to leave, she leaves the campaign, she should have left. And some people see that, legitimately so. Then how should we see . . . Obama: I think people should raise legitimate concerns about it. And the fact that he's retiring, and we've got a young pastor, Otis Moss, coming in, means that people should understand the context of this relationship. That this is an aging pastor who's about to retire and that I have made and will make some very clear statements about how profoundly I disagree with these statements. I don't think they are reflective of the church. They're certainly not reflective of my views. I do think there is an overlap in the sense that there is a generational shift that is taking place and has constantly taken pace in our society. And Rev. Wright is somebody who came of age in the 60s. And so like a lot of African-American men of fierce intelligence coming up in the '60s he has a lot of the language and the memories and the baggage of those times. And I represent a different generation with just a different set of life experiences, and so see race relations in just a different set of terms than he does , as does Otis Moss, who is slightly younger than me. And so the question then for me becomes what's my relationship to that past? You know, I can completely just disown it and say I don't understand it, but I do understand it. I understand the context with which he developed his views but also can still reject unequivocally. . . Tribune: You reject his views, you won't reject the man. Is that it? Obama: Yeah, exactly. And this is where the connection comes in. I mean, I do think that Geraldine Ferraro, the lens through which she looks at race, is different. . . . She's grown up in different times. The Queens that she grew up in is, I'm sure, a different place than it was then. Just as Chicago is a different place than it was then. So part of my job is to see if I can help push the country into a different place with a different set of understandings. But as I said, it doesn't excuse what the reverend said, and I'm very troubled by it. And if, as I said, if I had heard those sermons, if I had been there when those sermons were taking place, I would have raised that with him, and if I had thought that that was the message being promoted on a consistent basis within that church, I don't think I could be a consistent part of it. Chicago Tribune

I am really disgusted by the remarks of this pastor but the fact of the mater is large number of African Americans do feel that way. I don't however, think Obama shares their sentiments which is one of the reasons why I support him and his message. And I am hopping these latest developments do not bring an end to his candidacy.

So, nice try but unlike you, I use common sense. I don't shout "racism" everytime a white person points out the truth. After all, obama is a black man, what's wrong with saying it? You must realize she didn't just say he is black but in essence he is only there where he is because of affirmative action. Surely, you don't agree with that stance. And I am sure you will agree Obama is too smart to play the race card and so far he has refused to play the Clinton's card of turning this into black vs white.

^Do you actually believe he is ahead in all three categories because of black voters? Do you think Ferraro's comment is helping the country move in the right direction? And more importantly, do you think Clinton can afford alienating black voters should she get the nomination? Please think about who and what you're agreeing with before you go along with every bigot that opens his mouth. "Part of what I think Geraldine Ferraro is doing, and I respect the fact that she was a trailblazer, is to participate in the kind of slice and dice politics that's about race and about gender and about this and that, and that's what Americans are tired of because they recognize that when we divide ourselves in that way we can't solve problems," Obama said on NBC's "Today" show. ^ Love his response.

^Waan fiicanahay. Your Somali needs help

Details in court papers In the court papers, an Emperors Club employee was quoted as telling Kristen that Client 9 — Spitzer, according to investigators — "would ask you to do things that ... you might not think were safe," and Kristen responded by saying: "I have a way of dealing with that. ... I'd be, like, listen, dude, you really want the sex?" A law enforcement official said Tuesday the discussion had to do with Spitzer's preference not to wear a condom and the call-girl's insistence that he use one. Spitzer resigns after stunning fall from power How stup!d could he be.

. . .A wiretap allegedly recorded the setting up of a Washington, D.C., appointment between him and an Emperors Club "model." Spitzer may have made his name going after Wall Street gluttony, but he had a long history with criminal cases involving wiretaps, from his 1992 Gambino "mob tax" prosecution based on taped phone conversations to his 2004 calls for the FCC to let prosecutors tap internet phones and intercept text or picture messages on cell phones. Spitzer himself said that New York State does about 30% of the nation's wiretaps, and he helped make it a powerful weapon in the prosecutors' arsenal. If the charges are true, why would he think he was immune from such techniques? Another irony. Will this be his last act in politics? There's no handbook for surviving sexual scandal. Bill Clinton did, while Republican Bob Livingston, on the cusp of being named House Speaker in 1998, did not. Two more survivors: Representative Barney Frank, who admitted to involvement with a male prostitute in 1989, and Sen. Larry Craig (who led a movement to censure Frank) is still limping on to the end of his term after being caught in a bathroom stall sting. . . Time

^^Sadly you and Naden are both right. It looks like there is something to gain from looking like a lame duck next to their cheating husband while the world watches and feels sorry for them. Funnily, I saw the former New Jersey governor turned gay's wife on CNN acting as an 'expert' on the Spitzer case. And we all know Mrs. Clinton wouldn't have had a chance in the senate had she left Clinton during the Lewinsky scandal.

He is a hypocrite and deserves to have the whole book thrown at him. Wasn't he the one prosecuting brothels, taking holier than thou stances and promising change? But I feel sorry for the woman standing next to him - Why are these women standing next to their stup!d husbands and allowing them to be humiliated when they're giving press release for their unethical behaviors. :mad:

Sorry Lazy your gal can't have it both ways. Obama told supporters YOU HAVE TO MAKE A CHOICE in this election...you can't have your cake and eat it too. I am glad he showed little backbone for a change.

I picked up "The History of Love" by Nicole Krauss at a airport cuz of a long delay and couldn't put it down until the last page. Very interesting read.

Originally posted by Afromantic GirL: tupac changes, quote: Originally We ain't ready, to see a black President, uhh It ain't a secret don't conceal the fact i'd like to see it happen, but it ain't gonna happen If you can believe it, you can achieve it. No one thought he would reach this far and now he has better chance of becoming the next president than Clinton and McCain.

^Yeah that was slap in the face. What really gets to me is all this not so subtle talk from the Clinton folks of teaming up with Obama. I don't think it will be in his best interest or the interest of the democratic party to have them on the same ballot. That will be sure way to have another 8 yrs of republican administration.

Actually some of the most arrogant men are also very short.

Usually, I am highly skeptical of any self help books as I find them empty rhetoric with no substance. But the Resilience Factor almost made me believer of these types of books. It describes how positive psychology helps individuals develop greater reserves of resilience to deal with life's inevitable obstacles. The authors premise is that your thinking style determines your resilience, and you can boost resilience by changing the way you think about adversity. Overall I think it's an excellent book with lots of practical examples on ways to navigate unexpected challenges and/or setbacks.

Well I dunno I couldn't get past the ashy feet

I was never fond of open book exams - it fools you into thinking you don't have to study for the exam when the reality is you must still study for it and only look up stuff once or twice to double check your work.

Majarafarad = dustpan Badeel = Shovel

Originally posted by Hunguri: ... I beleive, Somalis are the best and most decent ppl with such tragedy. Waayo, never ever, will you see a Somali man beggin in the street. Where, forget about the Arabs, or other Asians, but the GCC countries citizen begging in the streets. ..... I had the displeasure of seeing 2 Somali men begging in the streets of Chicago for bus fair and food on two different occasions. Before that I never expected to see Somali homeless in the USA

Weirdest advice I ever got on losing weight - just throw up after every meal. That was told to me in a cheerful authoritative voice Very tempting I tell ya