The reviews of Obama's speech are in
Posted: Tuesday, March 18, 2008 12:36 PM by Mark Murray
From NBC's Mark Murray
The reviews from political analysts and liberal bloggers are mostly positive. Here's a sample of their reviews and/or smart takes...
The Atlantic's Marc Ambinder: "I do think that Obama's speech was a marvel of contemporary political rhetoric. Politically, analytically and emotively, it hit many high notes. His acknowledgment of white working class resentments (busing) and about the perception that there's been no racial progress, his willingness to stick by his friends, his grasp of history, his sense that our views of race are cramped and caricatured... all of that is something that even those who disagree with the substance of his speech, can, I think, appreciate."
The Politico's Ben Smith: A smart colleague notes that this speech is the polar opposite of this year's other big speech on faith, in which Mitt Romney went to Texas to talk about Mormonism, but made just one reference to his Mormon faith. Obama mentions Wright by name 14 times.
TPM's David Kurtz: "It is remarkable for its nuance, for its long view of history, and for its decency. I am not sure, on first take, how effective it is politically. Your thoughts? Late Update: The text is one thing. Delivery is another. And Obama doesn't seem to have his A game today."
TPM's Josh Marshall: "I think I have to dissent from David's view that Obama didn't bring his A-game to the speech this morning. I was only able to listen/watch out of the corner of my eye because I was on deadline for something else. But my sense was that the tempo and tenor was suited to the occasion. The kind of stirring delivery he's made a trademark of in his victory celebrations would not have been appropriate for the moment."
The pro-Obama Andrew Sullivan: "Alas, I cannot give a more considered response right now as I have to get on the road. But I do want to say that this searing, nuanced, gut-wrenching, loyal, and deeply, deeply Christian speech is the most honest speech on race in America in my adult lifetime. It is a speech we have all been waiting for for a generation. Its ability to embrace both the legitimate fears and resentments of whites and the understandable anger and dashed hopes of many blacks was, in my view, unique in recent American history... I have never felt more convinced that this man's candidacy - not this man, his candidacy - and what he can bring us to achieve - is an historic opportunity."
The pro-Clinton Taylor Marsh: "Senator Obama gave a speech today that is larger than politics, but it in no way ends his political challenges. The national wound of race Barack didn't want to touch is now reopened nationally and in the spotlight again. While his campaign wants to move on, the country will not, because everyone will be talking about race, through the invitation of Obama's speech today."
Scout Finch from DailyKos (which is mostly pro-Obama): "This speech is amazingly honest and will hopefully spark a long overdue discussion on race in America. We'll see if it is enough to blunt to criticism of his relationship with Reverend Wright. I think he's done a spectacular job thus far of denouncing specific remarks by Reverend Wright, while still standing steadfastly by him and his community."
*** UPDATE *** Here's the take from CBN's David Brody: "We won't know for awhile how voters view Barack Obama's speech today on race relations but The Brody File saw it as a HUGE positive for Obama and a successful turning point for the future of his campaign."
*** UDPATE II *** Hotline On Call's Jennifer Skalka: "Obama gave an eloquent speech today that will do much to quiet the increasingly polarizing debate about race in the Democratic contest. But more importantly, and more tellingly, he gave a deeply personal talk about his race, about his experience as a biracial American. And voters needed to hear it. Not because his biography is, in and of itself, the answer for these confusing times, but because, perhaps, only a person of his experience can dare all of us to be our better selves."
