On March 18, 2008 Barack Obama delivered a
speech titled, “We the people, in order to form a more perfect union.” This speech was presented in order to
tame some of the controversy surrounding his campaign as a result of comments
made by Obama’s former pastor. The
now- famous pastor, Reverend Jeremiah Wright, was filmed during sermons where
he made comments such as, “God damn America” and even made remarks that could
be interpreted as saying that the US deserved the attacks of September 11th.
Jodi Kantor of the New York
Times wrote, “The address, which Mr. Obama wrote himself, seemed partly like a
historical refresher course for white voters on discrimination against African
Americans.”
I
expected Barack Obama’s speech to concentrate on why he believes Jeremiah
Wright said the things that he said. I was also hopeful Senator Obama would address questions similar to the
one Rich Lowry from the New York Post brought up. He said, “Are we to believe that the Rev. Wright had the
ushers scan the crowd at every service and, if Obama and his family were
present, reverted to a mainstream Christianity and colorblind calls for love
and mercy? That Wright suddenly hit upon his theory that the US government had
hooked blacks on drugs in the videotaped sermon of 2003, and never mentioned a
word of it before?” Unfortunately,
my expectations were way too high.
What I received was Obama’s cheap attempt to
distance himself from Revered Wright and a lecture on the troubles America is
still facing with race. Henry
Champ from CBC news wrote on March 21st, “National polling results
taken after his Tuesday address are in, and they appear to show Obama has lost
support right across the board.” It is only obvious that after video clips of a
life-long mentor who exudes anti- American critiques are released, the American
public has reasons for questioning their support for Obama.
Senator Obama publicly confronted the comments
made my Wright but not in a way that mattered. To me, he should have just taken the day off: his speech did
not discuss any of the questions that I, like many other voters, had.
Kantor’s political memo quoted Whit Ayres, a
Republican strategist, who said: “It was a speech every bit as powerful as you’d
expect from Barack Obama. But I
don’t know that it solves his problem.” Like the good politician that he is, Obama focused his speech on race
and the importance unity plays on the American population at this time instead
of focusing on Wright. These are important issues that need to be addressed, but I do not feel they had any place in this speech.
Obama’s performance was wonderfully presented. His body language was firm and
authoritative. His tone of voice
made the right pauses and allowed for a comfortable and believable setting. He connected with the audience, looking
down only once to read a quote from his book. But he did not properly respond
to the crisis facing his campaign.
Before Obama had a chance to deliver his speech
Lowry wrote, “When Wright loosed his broadsides against the United States,
members of the congregation didn’t look at each other awkwardly because their
pastor has said something uncharacteristic and embarrassing. Instead, they erupted in paroxysms of
affirmation; they were used to such statements and enjoyed them.”
Later on
Senator Obama explained that African- Americans have suffered from legalized
discrimination, a lack of economic opportunity, a shortage of basic services in
urban neighborhoods, and many more injustices. “This is the reality in which Revered Wright and other
African- Americans of his generation grew up,” said Obama.
I can empathize with what Senator Obama said, but
I do not feel his argument was persuasive or relevant. I know African-Americans have suffered
discrimination. I also know that
Revered Wright grew up during a time where hostility between African-Americans
and whites was much greater. But what
does that have to do with what could be the future president of the United
States attending a church that promotes anti-American ideologies?
There is no question that Obama presented topics
that few have failed to address. National media coverage praised Obama’s speech
because it spoke about race in a way other candidates have never tackled. “Blacks were prevented, often through violence, from owning property, or
loans were not granted to African-American business owners, or black homeowners
could not access FHA mortgages, or blacks were excluded from unions, or the
police force, or fire departments - meant that black families could not amass
any meaningful wealth to bequeath to future generations. That history helps
explain the wealth and income gap between black and white, and the concentrated
pockets of poverty that persists in so many of today's urban and rural
communities,” said Obama. It is not easy to find a political figure that is
willing to speak so candidly about the past and how those circumstances are
still lingering in 2008. The problem here is that the speech that was supposed to
thoroughly explain the controversy with Reverend Wright was molded into a
performance about race.
Obama’s speech was about thirty seven minutes long.
Of those thirty seven minutes a little less than five minutes were spent
talking about Jeremiah Wright. Obama is running for presidency of the United
States of America. And once you decide to become such an important public
figure, it is safe to assume that those who are around you, those who you
befriend, frequently share your political if not also moral values.
Once a person who utters the monstrosities
of Reverend Wright has a close connection to a man who could be the future
president of the United States, it is easy to question exactly where Obama stands
in his political views. Lowry from the New York Post wrote, “Evidently, Obama wants us to believe they never
talked about anything besides the Gospel and the weather.”
Well, I would not
count on it.
Damary Rivero is a Rutgers-Newark student. Posted June 2008.
