Legal Commentary

Obama's Speech: Did It Save Him?

By Jeralyn

Tim Hames of the TimesOnLine examines Obama's speech and assesses its impact. He thought the speech was outstanding and moving. He thinks it will be remembered in a positive, ground-breaking way for years to come.

That said, what effect will it have on the presidential race?

Was the speech a turning point? No. Will the issue of the Rev Jeremiah Wright and his views on race be a burden to Barack Obama all the way to election day? Yes.

The Illinois senator demonstrated yet again his eloquence in his address in Philadelphia on Tuesday. The fundamental question about his candidacy, however, is whether a man who would be the least experienced president of the United States since Jimmy Carter has the judgment to serve in the Oval Office. That is the doubt that Hillary Clinton exploited in the Ohio and Texas primaries and it is the theme that SenatorJohn McCain will hammer home if Obama is his opponent for the White House.

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So Obama cannot win if race is a predominant issue in this election. Wright was a special embarrassment because he had been so close to the Obama family and what he said had been captured by television and could be replayed endlessly to a less than impressed white audience.

....It has long been clear that the senator can be the first black president only if he is not seen as a black candidate.....Obama has to be above race, not enmeshed in it. His implicit argument that by electing him Americans would somehow have cleansed themselves of past distrust will not wash. That is why the chances are that this is not the last time that the senator will find himself having to confront the matter of race in this election.

Hames says this worries the Democratic party establishment:

This is a year when it should be relatively easy for them to reclaim the Oval Office, yet there are nagging doubts about whether Obama, if nominated, could carry states such as Florida, Michigan, New Jersey, Ohio and Pennsylvania, which will determine the outcome of this battle. Obama's words will undoubtedly impress those who take the trouble to listen to him. Whether they will work with those who are watching rather than listening is far more debatable.

Full post as published by TalkLeft on March 20, 2008 (boomark / email).