Could not read all of the comments (good lawd, 226 on last count?) but I think that healthy critique makes the world goes around
That said, I was pretty underwhelmed. For the first time, his black preacher stylistics really fell flat to me and felt really contrived. I'm sad that I felt that way because I've NEVER felt that way before. And I think it is a sign o' the times if you will (and perhaps of audience expectations?)
And I don't EVER like the "blame the ghetto"/Cosby was right rhetoric. It is scarily disconnected from the reality that many, many black people here in the U.S. face and never goes down with enough critical assessment of institutionalized racism and other structures of oppression (gender, sexuality, etc. etc. etc.).
I haven't seen Pat acting a fool but if he or Chris Matthews said this speech was just for black folks they are dead wrong. This speech was especially pitched for whites in its fairly centrist rhetoric and its Executive Office talking points (health care, energy, education) as issues that we ALL face without talking about how these issues specifically impact the black community, or even the black and Latino community, (rising obesity, diabetes, hypertension, heart attacks, etc. in the black community because of inequal access to healthy food and doctors; pollution and environmental violence and gentrification in black neighborhoods; curriculum, teachers, healthy food, clean schools, safe schools, education that empowers young people, support for families and children) and what the NAACP can do about it.
I hope Obama gets his act together. But I guess as POTUS you can only do so much. And he said so in the first few minutes of his speech: Presidents got pushed to make the changes that we see today and are living with today. So our President needs to keep getting pushed. And this should be the forum where that happens and continues to happen--first black President or not.
Go to JJP and comment or discuss here.
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