'Not this time'
Barack Obama yesterday gave one of the most honest and compelling speeches I've ever seen or read. But I have to ask: Has he or has he not just made race central to his campaign? Is race the most important issue facing America today? Will healing America's racial wounds really lead to better health care and education? Precisely because his speech was so honest and compelling about race, I found myself thinking his campaign is now strangely less compelling in other areas. Addressing our nation's racial problem is critical. But it's not critical to addressing the ailing economy, the threat of terrorism and other major issues. ... Despite the disconnect, I was highly impressed with the speech for how it eloquently tied together America's past and current racial problems. Read it -- especially the part, a third of the way through, when he talks about how legalized discrimination of the past wrecked the hopes of generations of African-Americans. ... One last thing: Hillary looks very small and almost irrelevant after a speech like this. I simply can't imagine her being as honest on any issue. That's why I loved Obama's line, 'Not this time.' ...  ¶ 6:56 AM