And while this will, no doubt, not be enough for those people on the right who cling to the hopes that Barack's association with Pastor Wright will be the unbearable burden come election time, for Progressives on the left, this speech represented an exercise in something that was sorely missed from John Kerry's candidacy in 2004...common sense. While John Kerry routinely layed on the ropes and refused to use this tool when attacks were levied, Barack has been famously quick in denouncing things that shouldn't matter. He often uses common sense and today he did the same.
Common sense tells us that one's association with another person, no matter how intimate, does not automatically equate with an unwavering identity with that person's ideas and ideals. Hell, if that were the case I'd have ZERO conservative friends. And if the right wing insists that I'm wrong, then perhaps they ought to question their own candidates endorsement by this guy. An endorsement that was SOUGHT after by his campaign, and wasn't given without solicitation as was the case with B.O. and Rev. Wright.
Common sense tells us that although the comments made by Reverend Wright weren't true of America in general and that the overarching bitterness he displayed isn't shared by everyone associated with his congregation, that there is a rational and dare I say REASONABLE explanation for having the views underlying the comments.
And most importantly, common sense tells us that B.O. needn't distance himself from the person so much as he must distance himself from the comments he, as well as plenty of the rest of us, found incendiary. He did so, and concluded that:
"I can no more disown him than I can disown the black community. I can no more disown him than I can my white grandmother - a woman who helped raise me, a woman who sacrificed again and again for me, a woman who loves me as much as she loves anything in this world, but a woman who once confessed her fear of black men who passed by her on the street, and who on more than one occasion has uttered racial or ethnic stereotypes that made me cringe."
And again, why should he? I have a friend in Colorado that listens to Lars Larson religiously. He and I agree on roughly .01%, politically. Should I cut him out of my life entirely and distance myself from all of the other aspects of his personality? After all, as was the case with Barack's pastor, the basis for our friendship was grounded in something completely separate from his political views. Commons sense tells me No. In fact, common sense tells me that doing so would be ridiculously shallow and reactionary. Common sense tells me that the views of my friends really mean nothing in my ability to do my job, raise a family etc. And to those on the right that can't quite grasp this fairly simple idea, would you also wish for him to distance himself from everyone in the congregation that holds some bitterness toward their treatment by the USA? And to those conservative bloggers out there that still believe B.O. must answer more questions regarding his association with Rev. Wright I pose a question...are you responsible for each and every post that occurs on your website? If you are, is it your responsibility to ban each and every poster that voices viewpoints different than yours simply to maintain your credibility? (On a side note, what I find incredibly amusing is that every "conservative" blog out there right now spends 85% talking about B.O. and about 15% talking about things "conservative" in nature. )
In addition to the much-needed dose of common sense, B.O. also infused his speech with a decent dose of reality. There are plenty of people who simply refuse to believe that racial tension still exists. There are plenty of people that, no matter how much evidence to the contrary, refuse to accept that racial tension and inequality MAY have a reasonably provable basis in past incidents of discrimination. And there are more people still that accept the past and the ramifications that it has caused, but refuse to accept that they must be a part of the solution, citing that they were not part of the problem. The speech touched on this. And now it's out there.
Remember too when you read/watch it...he didn't have to do this. In fact, as has been stated by numerous spinsters, the politically efficient thing to do would be to slink away and allow ones minions to deal with it. Indeed, Barack himself stated that perhaps the smarter thing to do would be to try to let it "fade into the wookwork". But he's shown that he simply cannot let things like this stand alone and in the process he has produced a truthful expose about the racial problems in America. I'll tell you what, the critics had it coming.
To me, the only negative thing about B.O.'s speech is the notion that that one should have to make such a speech in front of numerous reporters to illuminate this point, despite it being so clear. But apparently, it was necessary. It was heartfelt. It was powerful.
