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CNN reports Senator Barack Obama in a speech Tuesday addressed the controversy surrounding his former minister, using it as an opportunity to challenge Americans to take a closer look at race relations.
Speaking at Philadelphia's National Constitution Center, the Democratic presidential candidate said he rejected racially charged comments made by the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, but he tried to explain the root of those remarks.
"That anger is not always productive; indeed, all too often it distracts attention from solving real problems," he said. "But the anger is real; it is powerful; and to simply wish it away, to condemn it without understanding its roots, only serves to widen the chasm of misunderstanding that exists between the races."
BlogHer CE Catherine Morgan at the Political Voices of Women has posted the video of the speech.
Michelle Malkin, on the radio with John Gibson, discusses the speech:
Pam's House Blend says, "That said, people have to acknowledge part of the reason for the discomfort lies in Wright's delivery of the message. It's so black, isn't it? It sounds militant to tender ears outside the traditional black church. For that matter, it doesn't resemble the delivery of sermons in other denominations of black churches -- I was raised Episopalian, and those folks aren't the hooping and hollering types of congregations. That said, what does that all mean? If the same messages were delivered with a velvet glove, with less inflammatory language, would it generate the same reaction? I doubt it. But what does that mean in the bigger picture. I'm not sure. I think it requires more dialogue. Dialogue too many of us are afraid to engage in."Frogs and Ravens writes, "I've been thinking about race lately. Partly it's because when one teaches post-Civil War history, it's pretty hard to ignore. Partly it's been in the context of the current political season, and the on-going question of whether racism or sexism is the bigger unsolved problem. Certainly Obama's recent Speech offers powerful commentary on the experience of race in this country. Right now I am getting the most pleasure and having the most thoughts provoked by the site Stuff White People Like."
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Author Arthur C. Clarke, of "2001:A Space Odyssey" fame, has died at age 90. Clarke had been wheelchair-bound for several years with complications stemming from a youthful bout with polio and had suffered from back trouble recently, said representatives of the nonprofit Arthur C. Clarke Foundation.
Sharon Weinberger at the Wired Blog writes, "If ever there was a need for a good biography, it is about Clarke. Revered as both a futurist and science fiction writer, he is also credited with proposing geostationary communications satellites. The breadth of his work and mysterious private life would make for an intriguing story."
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Contributing Editor Erin Kotecki Vest also blogs at Queen of Spain Blog
