Obama's Speech on Race -- Good Reminders

In this fast moving Democratic political race it sometimes helps to get back to the basics. Here are some of my "bottom lines." Standing back like this helps me maintain my optimisim during tough times for my candidate.

• I have already cast my vote -- for Barack Obama. And I would not do it over because of what happened on 3/18/08, his speech on race. It can be reviewed again from the NYT: "Obama on Race."
• I will still support whomever is the Democratic nominee in the general election in November. And I hope it is Senator Obama. TPM Election Central carried good comments and the speech.
• Neither candidate is perfect. Both have baggage. Each is strong enough to carry it. From Memeorandum -- Glenn Greenwald posted on the Obama speech: Obama's faith in the reasoning abilities of the American public is powerful stuff.
  
• The news coverage of the campaign is absolutely awful. But I can tolerate PBS and C-SPAN coverage.
• Election coverage in the blogosphere can be awful, as well. I agree with artappraiser's assessment on this issue. But here is an excellent exception: "A More Perfect Union, some reflections on Obama's speech, By Michael J.W. Stickings. Reread this when you get discouraged.
  

In conclusion I include this -- From DMI Blog: Mario Cuomo blogs, came a set of the wise ex New York Governor's blog posts about governance, composed in September of last year. From the initial piece I quote:

There is still plenty of time to have a more substantively effective campaign. We can have real debates with ample time for consideration of the questions and presentation of answers; more in depth interviews conducted by thorough and objective interviewers; more published specific statements by the candidates answering the hard questions like “How will you pay for that program?”

All of these intelligent attempts at illuminating the issues and proposed solutions should replace the make believe debates that give a candidate a minute or so to deal with complex issues, distortive 28-second commercials, fierce personal diatribes and the coyness and the simplistic statements we have seen so often in the past.

Having a campaign that reveals all that voters should know – or at least most of it – would be novel, but we have never needed that kind of campaign more and voters should demand it loudly and insistently.

Some years ago I said in a speech that politicians “Campaign in poetry but have to govern in prose.” In fact, if our candidates campaign in poetry instead of good hard specifics, and win, they may wind up governing… in vain.

Mario Cuomo is my favorite politician. I wish he had been President. Now Barack Obama is my new favorite politician. I still wish he will be President.