"This country that I love"

Barack Obama’s speech yesterday on race was excellent. As those who have come to support Obama’s bid for the presidency expected, he did more than respond to the wild-eyed images of his former preacher that had been playing on all channels over the past week. He put them in context, sure, and said he disagreed with them, but he went further. He discussed the country’s past and its present, the bitterness and anger and resentment on all sides of the racial divide that may be grounded on legitimate concerns and injustices, but that also flows from ignorance and insulation. By placing both the legitimate gripes and the damaging bitterness right there on the table, Obama both contextualized those issues without excusing them, and provided a basis for discussions and possibly even some eventual healing. It was a good speech indeed.

Those who do not like Obama will not be swayed by that speech. Those who want to find flaws or quibbles will always be able to do so. They will try to recast the speech as not going far enough, or going too far, or not sufficiently damning Rev. Wright, or who knows what else they will come up with. But the question that had been floated out there by Rev. Wright’s comments, and by Michelle Obama’s comments about the country which some had found bitter, was where did Obama really stand on the notion of America as a country? Was he secretly an angry, tear down the walls kind of guy who was just good at posing as a relaxed and thoughtful fellow?

And that’s why, to me, the real heart and soul of the speech was encapsulated in that one little line Obama uttered, “this country that I love.”

Obama sees the country the way many progressives do. He doesn’t have any blinders on, and he recognizes the major challenges we face. He sees the bitterness and the anger and the way some of the more dubious corporate interests have pitted the people against each other. But he is, above and beyond all that, a man of hope, who sees the promise of America, the ideals enshrined in our Constitution and our Declaration of Independence, and believes we can continue to work toward a more perfect nation. He seems to be coming from the same place we are -- his heart is in the right place -- and that’s probably why we’re all so comfortable with him. Good job, Obama!