Liveblogging Obama's speech

Obama is scheduled to speak on race starting in a few minutes -- a running summary and some commentary below the fold. What's your reaction?

CNN says the speech might get started a bit later than 10:15. That seems reasonable considering it is now 10:15 and the speech hasn't started yet.

My guesses as to Obama's stance: (1) He clearly condemns the specific controversial statements of Wright (2) He explains the broader context -- ie, race is still a genuine issue for many Americans (3) He states that addressing current concerns over poverty, incarceration, etc are important for all Americans and transcend race (4) He makes a case for people of all races trying to see things from all perspectives and for working together. We shall see...

Other reaction threads from dueling political perspectives: Daily Kos and Redstate .

CNN has gone back to their guests. Wonder why the speech is delayed?

Apparently there are some technical difficulties with the audio... still waiting. Meanwhile, Charles was kind enough to point to the transcript up on Drudge.

Obama is up! Transcript appears accurate, so I will skip ahead and post some quotes:

On one end of the spectrum, we’ve heard the implication that my candidacy is somehow an exercise in affirmative action; that it’s based solely on the desire of wide-eyed liberals to purchase racial reconciliation on the cheap. On the other end, we’ve heard my former pastor, Reverend Jeremiah Wright, use incendiary language to express views that have the potential not only to widen the racial divide, but views that denigrate both the greatness and the goodness of our nation; that rightly offend white and black alike.

[...] Given my background, my politics, and my professed values and ideals, there will no doubt be those for whom my statements of condemnation are not enough. Why associate myself with Reverend Wright in the first place, they may ask? Why not join another church? And I confess that if all that I knew of Reverend Wright were the snippets of those sermons that have run in an endless loop on the television and You Tube, or if Trinity United Church of Christ conformed to the caricatures being peddled by some commentators, there is no doubt that I would react in much the same way.

But the truth is, that isn’t all that I know of the man. The man I met more than twenty years ago is a man who helped introduce me to my Christian faith, a man who spoke to me about our obligations to love one another; to care for the sick and lift up the poor. He is a man who served his country as a U.S. Marine; who has studied and lectured at some of the finest universities and seminaries in the country, and who for over thirty years led a church that serves the community by doing God’s work here on Earth – by housing the homeless, ministering to the needy, providing day care services and scholarships and prison ministries, and reaching out to those suffering from HIV/AIDS.

[...] The fact that so many people are surprised to hear that anger in some of Reverend Wright’s sermons simply reminds us of the old truism that the most segregated hour in American life occurs on Sunday morning. That anger is not always productive; indeed, all too often it distracts attention from solving real problems; it keeps us from squarely facing our own complicity in our condition, and prevents the African-American community from forging the alliances it needs to bring about real change. But the anger is real; it is powerful; and to simply wish it away, to condemn it without understanding its roots, only serves to widen the chasm of misunderstanding that exists between the races. ...Just as black anger often proved counterproductive, so have these white resentments distracted attention from the real culprits of the middle class squeeze – a corporate culture rife with inside dealing, questionable accounting practices, and short-term greed; a Washington dominated by lobbyists and special interests; economic policies that favor the few over the many. And yet, to wish away the resentments of white Americans, to label them as misguided or even racist, without recognizing they are grounded in legitimate concerns – this too widens the racial divide, and blocks the path to understanding.

Huge applause for this: The fact is that the comments that have been made and the issues that have surfaced over the last few weeks reflect the complexities of race in this country that we’ve never really worked through – a part of our union that we have yet to perfect. And if we walk away now, if we simply retreat into our respective corners, we will never be able to come together and solve challenges like health care, or education, or the need to find good jobs for every American. Overall, he's delivering the speech in a firm but muted manner -- deliberately avoiding rhetorical flourishes, I guess.

The speech seems to hit all the right notes. It acknowledges legitimate concerns on all sides while seeking to unite people of all races in working for common goals.

Heh... applause also for Talk show hosts and conservative commentators built entire careers unmasking bogus claims of racism while dismissing legitimate discussions of racial injustice and inequality as mere political correctness or reverse racism.

And more for: Contrary to the claims of some of my critics, black and white, I have never been so naïve as to believe that we can get beyond our racial divisions in a single election cycle, or with a single candidacy The audience seems to be warming to his somewhat nuanced theme.

I particularly liked this line, which to me describes the motivations (if not always the results) underlying liberalism: In the end, then, what is called for is nothing more, and nothing less, than what all the world’s great religions demand – that we do unto others as we would have them do unto us. Let us be our brother’s keeper, Scripture tells us. Let us be our sister’s keeper. Let us find that common stake we all have in one another, and let our politics reflect that spirit as well.
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Come, my friends. 'Tis not too late to seek a newer world -- Tennyson