[pic-link]BILL CLINTON ECLIPSED
In a speech of clarity and sensitivity, Barack Obama, all but presumptive nominee of the Democratic party, codified the unspoken dialog on race in America and invited Americans to choose between emphasizing the ruts that have worn both sides thin with divisiveness for many years and moving "beyond some of our old racial wounds". He surpassed Clinton, reaching well below an abstract depth and open arms, to pull people close within the life experiences of two communities, each with their in-group, unspoken truths.
Obama's words will silence many of his critics, showing that he also was teaching constitutional law, not simply imbibing radical views in his south-side Church, during his long tenure in Chicago.
His over-arching formulation adapted the theme of a more perfect union that Bill Clinton frequently used, but filled it out with a deep and heartfelt appreciation of the divisions that hold people back.
He defended the Reverend Jeremiah Wright, while publicly disowning his views, in ways that suggested that the student had become the master. With luck, this will keep Wright from being the nexus of the confrontation with the Right on their smug, divisive, and jingoistic notions of patriotism.
It was also a display of Obama as a public educator, on a topic of great import and controversy. He achieved a good mix of problem diagnosis blended with a political slant on resolution, always a good combination in a first rate professional politician. His speech was broad and unique, at times profoundly personal and exposed, at times like a homily, at times like the campaign trail, and at times like a fire-side chat.
He left off a step-by-step prescription or a "how-to" for achieving a post-racial society, offering instead an assessment that he wasn't naive that the problems would take more than one candidacy to solve. This may well be politically savvy. By leaving the road forward in the hands of individuals, the national figurehead is left free to encourage, inspire, and push those efforts along, without being dogmatic.
best quip from the news media:
"It is perhaps fitting or ironic that a speech on race in America is 45 minutes delayed today, because of sound problems."
I don't want to distract from a very fine moment. However, there is something in Obama's cadences for me that is ...tiresome? It's hard to put a finger on, not that it matters greatly. There are some voices that you keep coming back to, because they ... refill or replenish. I'm not getting that. Maybe it is me. Reagan's voice made one feel...safe, like "Daddy President" was talking (he grew up on Roosevelt, so...). Hillary's voice exudes confidence, most often, surprisingly even when she rambles. McCain's voice is forceful. (Bush's 'Presidential Voice' is so forced that it just grates, now). Obama's voice is still the best, but, for all his mastery, he doesn't always play it like a fine instrument. Which is another way to say that maybe the best is yet to come...
