Obama's speech on race

Is it possible I'm starting to like -- not just tolerate -- a liberal Democrat who's good a good chance at being his party's next presidential candidate? I have to be careful. I know that before the campaign is over he'll say disappointing things, even things I'll hate. But for the moment I'll say that Obama's speech on race is one of the best things I've seen from a major political candidate in years.

The speech shows a high level of honesty. It would have been easier for him to repudiate Rev. Wright completely. Perhaps he should have. But he saw too much of value in him, for whatever reason, to reject him completely while repudiating his offensive statements. I respect that.

He recognizes that both black and white people have reason at times to be resentful. He talks about "taking full responsibility for our lives." He says that even those who face discrimination "must always believe that they can write their own destiny." He rejects the zero-sum view of society, saying instead that "your dreams do not have to come at the expense of my dreams." He rejects "the temptation to view my candidacy through a purely racial lens," to cast himself as an inherent victim because of his race.

There are things I object to. He says, "Let us be our brother’s keeper." He attacks businesses that outsource jobs "for nothing more than a profit." (What does he think they're in business for?) He mentions things which are desirable, such as "better health care," but which he would pursue in the wrong way.

There's time enough to criticize him for these things. For now, I'm simply impressed at how well he got to the heart of the race issue. I expected him to be attacked as an "Uncle Tom" for his speech, but I may have overestimated the level of current American political discourse; the attacks on him look like mostly personal grievances based on pulling single sentences out of context. His honesty appears to have cost him in the polls; many people want pettiness, and Clinton is the clear winner in that department. But I won't worry about that. Not just yet.