Senator Obama delivered yesterday a speech that was among the best of his political career. In a forceful, yet graceful and calm demeanor, he eloquently defined the problems associated with race in the U.S.

He spoke to a wide array of racial groups-white, black and brown- and addressed the need to come together to achieve fundamental change. Most significantly, he elaborated on how we all have a stake in each other, how we all, despite our heritage, have a reason to feel cheated, left out, or underrepresented. He spoke those feelings, while at the same time urged us to think differently about our politics and reconsider the issues that exist below the surface. A truly magnificent speech. Outstanding.

“A More Perfect Union” - Philadelphia, PA, Tuesday, March 18, 2006

Reactions:

Scout Finch from DailyKos: “This speech is amazingly honest and will hopefully spark a long overdue discussion on race in America. We’ll see if it is enough to blunt to criticism of his relationship with Reverend Wright. I think he’s done a spectacular job thus far of denouncing specific remarks by Reverend Wright, while still standing steadfastly by him and his community.”

Andrew Sullivan: “Alas, I cannot give a more considered response right now as I have to get on the road. But I do want to say that this searing, nuanced, gut-wrenching, loyal, and deeply, deeply Christian speech is the most honest speech on race in America in my adult lifetime. It is a speech we have all been waiting for for a generation. Its ability to embrace both the legitimate fears and resentments of whites and the understandable anger and dashed hopes of many blacks was, in my view, unique in recent American history… I have never felt more convinced that this man’s candidacy - not this man, his candidacy - and what he can bring us to achieve - is an historic opportunity.”

Marc Ambinder: “I do think that Obama’s speech was a marvel of contemporary political rhetoric. Politically, analytically and emotively, it hit many high notes. His acknowledgment of white working class resentments (busing) and about the perception that there’s been no racial progress, his willingness to stick by his friends, his grasp of history, his sense that our views of race are cramped and caricatured… all of that is something that even those who disagree with the substance of his speech, can, I think, appreciate.”