Comments on: Could they go too far?

By: How Insane is John McCain?

How Insane is John McCain? — Sat, 22 Mar 2008 00:41:50 +0000

It’s just so incredible for Republicans to all of a sudden be so outraged about racism in America. To any rational person it reeks of cynical opportunism.

By: Refresh

Refresh — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 22:32:13 +0000

I think it was generally seen as a gaffe, at a time Clinton I was playing with race. It was divisive, and intended to harm. Thankfully it backfired.

By: Sajn

Sajn — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 21:53:23 +0000

I don’t think Hilary said it was a favour from white America to black Americe but just that without Johnson signing it into law it would not have been possible i.e. it was a joint effort.

By: Words matter « OurKingdom

Words matter « OurKingdom — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 20:04:49 +0000

[...] has a fine assessment and links through to it HERE. Elsewhere in UK blogland from NHS Doctor to Sunny Hundal to Gracchi, to an understated gloat that the speech ‘won’t work’ on harry’s [...]

By: Refresh

Refresh — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 17:27:28 +0000

One point I have not yet seen made was Obama’s utter repudiation of Hillary Clinton’s dismissal of black america’s role in the civil rights movement:

“Dr King’s dream began to be realised when President Lyndon Johnson passed the Civil Rights Act of 1964. It took a president to get it done.”

Obama’s speech will remain the focus of the media for a little while yet – which we should be glad about – and within that period he hopefully will move it on to specifically address Hilary’s gaffe. And remind Hilary that it was a joint venture and not a favour from a white america to the black.

By: Refresh

Refresh — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 16:15:20 +0000

No, not canonising – just making the point that the US has been here before.

By: Leon

Leon — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 15:47:53 +0000

Hmmmm JFK was hardly an innocent Refresh, let’s not canonise him…

By: Refresh

Refresh — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 15:04:41 +0000

Excellent piece. This is precisely why I say that Obama has placed the US at the crossroads.

The rejection of this speech will drag the US further into the abyss, fast, as opposed to placing it on the path to recovery.

I’ve a long held belief that the Nixons, Reagans, Bushes and neocons are descendents of those that benefitted directly from the assasination of JFK.

Obama has taken them back to the missed opportunity that was Kennedy. Like JFK, he comes at it as an outsider with nothing to lose.