Last Tuesday, Barack Obama made his speech on race issues called, "A More Perfect Union." Some claim it to be on of the greatest speeches on race relations in America. Others have picked it apart. Not too surprising is that the extremely liberal media is hailing it as a masterpiece on race relations and the far right pundits are picking it apart. So is this speech historic? Is it a break through that will help our society navigate through the land mine strewn field of race relations? Maybe, maybe not here are my thoughts.

I think the first thing to consider is why Mr. Obama even made the speech. Then I think we need to consider it's content. We should all be aware that this speech was damage control. Mr. Obama's campaign had been hurt by his association with the Rev. Wright when several of Wright's inflammatory and racist remarks were publicly aired. This led many to wonder if Obama didn't hold the same views. Barack delivered this speech in his usual eloquent style. If you did not hear the speech yourself, I would encourage you to watch it.

Barack's speech contains several themes:

1. Our country was founded on ideals that we failed to meet because of slavery.

2. Barack rejects and condemns the speeches made by Rev. Wright that were at the heart of the controversy.

3. The views of Rev. Wright and others in the black community are due to anger and frustration due to past and current injustices.

4. White people are angry too over things such as affirmative action, and school busing. They feel like they had to work for what they have and Corporate America is taking that away.

5. Black people as well as White people say racist remarks in private.

6. The Rev. Wright is like a relative to Obama and he cannot disown him anymore than he can disown his White Grandmother who has privately said racial things as well.

7. We can come together to solve these problems or retreat to our corners.

All and all, I think the speech was very effective and felt that the speech would help to propel Obama's campaign forward. It seemed to me that the controversy over Rev. Wright might be a blessing in disguise. That assessment appears to be wrong. Instead, it looks like the whole incident is polarizing people. When I watched the speech, I was captivated. After waiting a few days, I was not quite as impressed with it. I agree with Mr. Obama's premise that the United States was born with an ideal that it did not live up to. Slavery was our country's original sin if you will. But think, if you could step back and consider the typical culture, values, and what was happening in the world in 1787, you would realize that the U.S. Constitution was a radical document at the time. It was filled with high minded principles that we are still struggling to live up to. This part of the speech was put in to to show Mr. Obama's belief in America.

Then Mr. Obama goes on to renounce the words of Rev. Wright that people have found to be offensive and racist; the damage control part of the speech. Then he talks about how anger and frustration are the reason why black people would make comments like Rev. Wright's. So while not condoning the words, he is not really saying that they should not have been said. Mr. Obama goes on to talk a little bit about the anger and frustration of White people and uses his Grandmother as an example of a decent person that sometimes felt or said things that could be considered racist. The problem I have with this is in the comparison. How can you say that an occasional word or feeling in private can be compared to the inflammatory words of a Pastor that is teaching his congregation that White people cannot be trusted, White people invented AIDS in order to kill Black people and other outrages claims that only promote racism. Obama talks about the good things that the Rev. Wright has said and done and I'm sure there are plenty of them. But that does not excuse his comments. A more accurate comparison would be to liken the Rev. Wright to a White Supremest Pastor from the 50's. Sure maybe the Paster cares about his White congregation but is he preaching hatred against Black people? Would that kind of behavior be tolerated today? No, of course not.

All in all the speech touched the racial issue with a broad, gentle brush. That is understandable when you consider what a political hot potato the racial issue is. I don't think it offered a very deep look into the issue and it certainly did not offer a solution. So is this one of the greatest speeches on race relations? That would depend on what Mr. Obama does with it. This incident could be an opening for him to show his true leadership. Whether he wins the Presidency or not, Barack Obama could take up the Sisyphean task of racism in American and work towards creating a more perfect union. If he was to do that, then his speech would truly rise to the level of one of the greatest speeches on racism. But if he does not take up the challenge, then it will merely became political damage control in his quest to become the next President. We probably will not know for a couple of years which one it will be.

- Thomas Paine 2

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