Obama's Speech on Race

If you watched the Obama speech on race in America, I would be surprised if you were not impressed by his words. This guy is an exceptional and convincing speaker! Many critics, Clinton supporters, and Republicans are not convinced with many of Obama’s promises. Not only was I, an Obama supporter, impressed with his literal speech, I was impressed with the topic. Besides defending himself from “incendiary language” from a friend, Reverend Jeremiah Wright, he is explaining how he has been through the worst and the best of things. When he talked about his family and their races, it really allowed him to speak comfortably about white and black people.
The truth is not everyone, including me, is a racist. And Obama is totally right when saying we as a unity need to get over the crap and work together to solve the real issues. “Two wars, a terrorist threat, a falling economy, a chronic health care crisis and potentially devastating climate change; problems that are neither black or white or Latino or Asian, but rather problems that confront us all.”
“The past isn’t dead and buried. In fact, it isn’t even past.” Quoting William Faulkner, Obama made a point I strongly agree with. Things repeat but things also change.
My grandpa told me that “today is history and tomorrow will be too.” As a veteran of two wars and a history teacher he always emphasized that history repeats itself over and over. War and things like race will always be an issue…but it doesn’t necessarily have to be a negative issue anymore. We can change today and hope for tomorrow, but we have to start now!
In class, our teacher asked if we thought Obama’s speech was great; in my opinion it is. If in fact Obama does becomes president and follows through with his words, I think this speech will be just as important as some of Mr. King or Malcolm X’s speeches.
I wonder if this sounds like rambling, but it is something I feel strongly about and it is hard for me to put it into words. I am tired, as a white American, of being accused of being racists by other races just because of color; the truth is, as Obama explains, everyone feels struggle, resentment, and prejudices. People are blaming each other for problems they have today when the only way to help is to come together for tomorrow. In the beginning of our country, we came together because of struggle and pain. In order to come together about race… there will be struggle, but we will do it.

McCain says Obama shmobama

After reading Frank Rich’s, a colomnist for The New York Times, article titled “McCain Channels his Inner Hillery”, I have learned some new things about McCain and about the author himself. Before going over the article, I read Mr. Rich’s biography; graduating with a B.A. degree in American History and Literature, Rich has worked with media and critiquing since the 1970s. Soon after joining Times, he became chief theater critic in 1980 and then Op-Ed columnist in 1994, and in 1999 he wrote the 1st double-length column for the Op-Ed page.
Frank Rich uses some sarcasim when explaining his thoughts about John McCain explains how you shouldn’t “look too hard at the fine print” when looking at McCain. He ridicules McCain quite a bit. He quotes Senator McCain about Mr. Limbaugh being a clown: “I would like to extend my apologies to Bozo, Chuckles and Krusty”. Those were McCain’s words on a Fox news show.
The author gives facts to belittle McCain; McCain is “closer to the Democrats on immigration, campaign-finance reform, stem-cell research, global warming, oil drilling in Alaska, waterboarding, Gitmo and, until a recent flip-flop, the Bush tax cuts”. These are good things for Democrats except Rich wonders if the liberal’s votes that go to McCain could be a deciding factor. McCain and Clinton have ganged up on Obama by speaking about Obama’s words about getting “Al Qaeda operatives in Pakistan’s mountains”. McCain did not mention how Obama explained this would only happen with adequate intelligences and if Pakistan’s president would not agree.
Rich claims that McCain “offers voters no tangible exit strategy from Iraq”. He also concludes with McCain and Clinton’s statements about “Mr. Obama’s race, middle name and tourist snapshot in Somali dress”. He talks about how McCain claims Obama is making impossible dreams, but that Obama’s attitude claims Americans who are “hungry for optimism”.
Rich wrote a good article and gave straight facts to back his opinions. I am, though, a little unclear who he would vote for: McCain or Obama? A big political implication for McCain. says Rich, is “he knows that history will judge him exactingly on how he runs against America’s first black or female presidential nominee, win or lose”.