I have heard many commentators (including local ones) say that the Sen. Obama's speech was the greatest speech since MLK or even Lincoln. To me this was a speech that tried to turn the subject from words of hate to his words of unity and hope. This was a speech by a politician who wanted to get us say he is a good guy and therefore he couldn't support the language of his pastor. To me his speech failed.
His pastor of 20 years gave these sermons of hate during the time Obama was at his church. Oprah went to the church and she realized she did not want to listen to these types of sermons or she disagreed with Mr. Wright. So she left the church. Sen. Obama instead stayed in the pews and never confronted his pastor. To me this means he agreed with the statements. I can't believe someone wants to sit in a church for 20 years and hate what his pastor is saying. I also know that if was in a church with a white racist pastor everyone who knew me would consider me a hater of race also.
Sen. Obama said the Reverend is a good man he cannot separate himself from a man who married him, baptized his children, and was like an uncle to him. Yet he said just last year he could not associate with Don Imus because of what he said and he would fire him over those comments. Yet his pastor has said far worse over 20 years and he cannot even say he is wrong. He can say I must leave because I know these words are not just wrong, they are lies about the history of this country.
The other failure of the speech was that he tried to make all of us white folk feel guilty for what whites did to blacks for in the near past and even hundreds of years ago. So I must absolve Rev. Wrights hate because the slavery in our history or the Jim Crow laws after the Civil War. The Senator is wrong to say as a white man I must continue to feel guilt and thus forgive the hate of his preacher.
His speech does not create unity nor does it lift up the subject of race. His speech divides people because he does he does not denounce the hatred and lies of our history by a teacher to any American who listens to Rev. Wright.
Bruce Caldwell
Signal Mountain
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Mr. Caldwell, are you saying Obama did not win over your vote with his latest speech? Wow, and I could have sworn from your multiple weekly posts that you were border line between him and Clinton.
Bryan Vance
Johnson City, Tn.