Posted by
CUBFAN on Wednesday, March 19, 2008 2:05:57 AM
Or: Senator Barack Obama's "I Have A Goal" Speech
------------------------------------------------------
"Obama's speech was an act of political necessity, not courage."
--Rush Limbaugh
Another commentator (I believe it was Sally Quinn of the Washington Post on CNN shortly after the speech) gushed that it was a "magnificent" speech and the most important speech on race since Martin Luther King's "I Have A Dream" speech 45 years ago...
King was appealing to a nation's better angels during a time of racial upheaval, courageously asking all of us to judge the content of one's character and not the color of one's skin. His message was from the heart--a social manifesto with political overtones to move lawmakers to action in the civil rights struggle. The public setting of the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. was fraught with danger as handlers and police mingled about in full view of an assembled throng...
Obama was attempting to recover from the public relations fiasco brought on by his "crazy uncle," Rev. Jeremiah Wright, consciously asking all of us to suspend judgment on his mentor while he interjects race in lieu of character. His message was from the head--a political manipulation of the social undercurrent of race meant to "spark a (supposed) dialogue" on this important issue. The handpicked audience in the studio setting was treated to a vivid blue backdrop of eight prominent flags and the aforementioned "rock star" hovering over them with teleprompters at the ready. Very safe...
And yet, Obama never made eye contact as he feverishly worked the teleprompters--back and forth, to and fro--delivering his speech. The current rash of "body language experts" would question his authenticity but not his delivery--it was flawless. And I suddenly found myself mesmerized by the cadence of the words and the lilt of the voice... yes, I can understand why Sally Quinn was taken in by the magnificence of the speech. SNAP OUT OF IT!! But what about the message??
He begins with the three most important words in the Constitution: "We the People." With this opening he attempts to engage us in his dialogue, but it rings hollow because he needed to focus on "He the Problem." Obama proceeds to spend the next thirty minutes deftly weaving Jeremiah Wright, faith, Grandmother, race, Geraldine Ferraro, bigotry, Black Community, understanding, White America, hate, War in Iraq, change, Health Care, hope, Global Warming, and politics as usual. (Okay, so that last one was implied.) His theme throughout the message is that we the people are still on the road to forming "a more perfect union" with he, Obama, as the new Dream Weaver. (What a coincidence that the song that comes to mind was recorded in the mid-70s by Gary Wright... "Ooh, dream weaver / I believe you can get me through the night / Ooh, dream weaver / I believe we can reach the morning light")
All in all, Obama's message was mostly about race and change. But it was just a political speech. Again, I simply label it his "I Have A Goal" speech, and that is to convince most Democrats that he is worthy of his party's nomination (emphasis on race) and to convince most Americans that he is worthy of their ultimate choice as President (emphasis on change). If he is honest about race, then Obama will acknowledge the need to tap into the white guilt that permeates our consciousness. He is the self-annointed agent of change who will transcend the politics of hate and end our long national nightmare of racism in America. (Sigh of relief.) Don't you feel better already?!
------------------------------------------------------
("What?! That's it?!") (Now you know how I felt after Obama's speech...)