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Here?s What Obama Should Say

In an attempt to put the Wright wreck behind him Obama plans to give a speech tomorrow on ?the larger issue of race in this campaign.?

Here?s a part of what he could say to redeem himself and his campaign:

My desire to see our country transcend old racial antagonisms, and my belief that I could help bring about that transcendence, was my primary motive for entering this campaign. I had hoped to wage a campaign that itself was an example of what we as a nation could do, but I have failed in that effort, and I hope you will allow me to explain my failure.

When I first arrived in Chicago I was angry, like many young black men of my generation. I was bitter. I resented what my country had done over the years to black people, to people with whom I had come to identify myself. But I soon realized that anger was not only self-destructive; it was corrosive of the kind of society I believed we could, working together, create.

That realization soon led me to the Trinity United Church of Christ and its powerful, charismatic minister, Rev. Jeremiah Wright Jr. Rev. Wright himself was angry, to be sure, but his anger was channeled into a constructive, muscular Christianity on behalf of his congregation. His was, and is, a righteous anger for justice, and his mentoring based on his liberation theology literally changed the course of my life.

Because of his profoundly positive effect on my life, on Michelle?s life, and the lives of so many of his flock for years I did not hear how his anger might sound different, and threatening, to those in whose lives he had not been such a positive force for good. I literally did not hear the angry sermons -- which now sound so appalling not only to many of my fellow countrymen but to me as well -- that have been played non-stop on TV for the past few days. If I had heard them in person I would have been moved to take action sooner than I have. But even though I did not hear those particular, and particularly offensive, sermons, I heard enough through my membership in his congregation that I should have been alerted earlier than I was. Anger for justice can be liberating, but too often it turns into bitterness, and bitterness can never be the basis for building an open and accepting multiracial community, which is what we as a nation must do.

My failure to hear how Rev. Wright?s anger sounds to others was a serious personal failing, and for that I would like to ask, if not your forgiveness, at least your willingness to give me a second chance, because I still believe that I have been blessed with the ability, through no inherent worth of my own, to help us heal these wounds. I know what it is like to be angry, but I also know that anger is not the answer. I will never turn my back on Rev. Wright the man, for he has been an invaluable mentor to me, but I do urge him, and the many thousands who share his anger, to lay it down, to recognize that color is only skin deep, that as Jesus and other great religious leaders have taught us, we are all of us God?s children.

Those of us who are fortunate enough to be Americans at this time and place have a unique opportunity to place the racial conflicts that both caused and grew out of slavery and segregation and discrimination behind us. I have changed, so I know we can change. Yes, we can.

If Obama would say something like this tomorrow, I believe he might contain the damage that has been done to his campaign, and perhaps even turn it to his advantage.

Why, you may ask, do I offer him this way back? First, I?m confident no one close to him will see these words, or be willing to pass them on even if seen. Second, I doubt that Obama would be willing to confess failing on the level laid out here. But also because at this point I?ve come to suspect that, largely because of the damage done to his campaign by the Wright wreck that no rhetoric can repair, he would be easier for McCain to beat than Hillary. Thus I wouldn?t regret it if my suggestions actually did provide some help to him.

Full post as published by Discriminations on March 17, 2008 (boomark / email).