One returns to a speech that will, I suspect, be remembered long after the Obama presidency is over. Here’s a trip down 2008 lane from the Dish, grappling with the Wright speech. It brings up themes reignited by the Warren selection:
Much of Wright’s worldview I find repugnant. But some of it I also find inspiring. And in trying to understand it in its totality, I do try to think about the racial context and history of America. And so there is a difference, pace Jonah, between a white charlatan like Robertson who chooses to demonize minorities in the name of Jesus and a pastor like Wright who vents rage against a majority that has, in the not-so-distant past, given African-Americans every reason to be angry. And there is a difference between a white politician (like Bush) who seeks to enjoy the support of a Robertson without ever challenging his ugly dimensions and a black politician who, while remaining in a congregation like Wright’s, nonetheless has written and spoken as movingly as anyone in my lifetime about the need for racial reconciliation and understanding.
Maybe this is a bridge too far. But in thinking about Obama for this past year, and reading the subtle critique of, say, Shelby Steele, as well as the palpable racial discomfort of some white conservatives, I have to say that it is precisely the wide span of Obama’s bridge that makes me admire him. He has refused to disown Wright, while also refusing to endorse all of his message. You can call that opportunistic or expedient or cynical. You can also call it intelligent and brave and principled.
Refusing to disown Wright must now be seen in the context of refusing to disown Warren. Continued here. The full text of Obama’s speech here.
The Dish 