Bad move on Obama's part. He doesnt HAVE to clarify further, he already addressed this issue. I hope that he will focus exclusively on issues of economy, the war and healthcare from now on.

__________________
Yesterday, John McCain actually said that if he’s president he’ll take on, and I quote, 'the old boys’ network in Washington.' I’m not making this up. This is somebody been in Congress for 26 years, who put seven of the most powerful Washington lobbyists in charge of his campaign. And now he tells us that he’s the one who’s gonna take on the old boys' network,” he said. “In the McCain campaign that’s called a staff meeting!- Obama, 9/17/2008

"relatively"?? I must have missed that, I don't see it in the text nor an allusion to such.

He was clearly alluding to his speech where in he said his grandmother had made abhorrent statements based on racial make up to wit;


“but a woman who once confessed her fear of black men who passed by her on the street, and who on more than one occasion has uttered racial or ethnic stereotypes that made me cringe”.


So, “typical white person”? For the life of me, what is this man thinking? Is that how he sees us? I had not believed nor was ready to believe he bought any of Wrights bilious rhetoric, but now, I have to tell you, I have to conclude there’s something not quite right here.

This stereotype is, ridiculous.

When does someone call him to account for this corrupted thinking? Ever? His self righteousness is over the top.

__________________
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

No individual can plan his own existence in their view.

So the state planners must arrogate to themselves the right to manipulate any sector of the economic system if the good of “society” or the “general welfare” is paramount.

Ipso- if the rights of the individual get in the way, the rights of the individual must be sublimated.

The Road to Serfdom
FA Hayek (interpretation)

Maybe it should be. For better or for worse race is an issue in this country. It has been for centuries. If we just pretend as though it doesn't exist we'll never be able to overcome it.

__________________
"The nice part about being a pessimist is that you are constantly being either proven right or pleasantly surprised.”
- George Will

I agree that "typical white person" wasn't the best choice of words. But he's suggesting that sentiments, like his grandmothers, are necessarily foreign or random, but rather the typical sentiment of the average white person. If he was to come out and say, "People that get scared when they see a black person on the street are racist and should be shunned from society," everyone would be calling him racist and bigoted. We've got to stop nitpicking every little piece of phrasing that each candidate uses and start focusing on the bigger issue. What's wrong with saying we shouldn't just condemn people that feel this way, but rather should embrace them and try to change their minds?

__________________
"The nice part about being a pessimist is that you are constantly being either proven right or pleasantly surprised.”
- George Will

it's true, he didnt say she was awful, he just said she got a little nervous. The question is whether or not that is still true for white people, especially women. I actually don't know. Also, as usual, he pointed out that her change is evidence of larger possibilities.

__________________
Yesterday, John McCain actually said that if he’s president he’ll take on, and I quote, 'the old boys’ network in Washington.' I’m not making this up. This is somebody been in Congress for 26 years, who put seven of the most powerful Washington lobbyists in charge of his campaign. And now he tells us that he’s the one who’s gonna take on the old boys' network,” he said. “In the McCain campaign that’s called a staff meeting!- Obama, 9/17/2008

Obama's use of "typical white person" wasn't even meant in a derogatory sense. I'd even argue that it was used endearingly. He obviously meant that sentiments like his grandmother's are normal, not foreign. If he had said "the average white American" instead of "typical white person," two synonomous phrases, this wouldn't even be an issue. For some reason, the word typical has been given negative connotations.

__________________
"The nice part about being a pessimist is that you are constantly being either proven right or pleasantly surprised.”
- George Will

Not that I want to get into a your-preacher-is-worse-than-my-preacher debate, but there seems to be, at least to some degree, a contradiction here. Billy Graham has advised 11 presidents on spiritual matters. Reverend Graham has also expressed anti-Semetic views. Have we ever questioned the judgment of the 11 presidents that used Graham for spiritual guidance? No. Why? Because we understand that our lives are not effected by the spiritual guidance granted to our presidents. Why is Senator Obama treated differently because his pastor has made poor comments as well?

__________________
"The nice part about being a pessimist is that you are constantly being either proven right or pleasantly surprised.”
- George Will

I see, "endearingly"?....you seem to read a lot into his words, connotations abound ala relatively etc. that are not there, at elast imho..I don’t see how you got there.
And we are now going to dive deep into the semantic dictionary and parse the definitions of average as to typical? I was raised to believe that these type of stereotypes are harmful and what’s more, the speech police would have gone absolutely batty if I had uttered similar stereotype based solely on race.
You know it, I know it.

It appears an excuse can be made for just about anything he utters, or whom associates with. I hope his kids didn’t get an earful, from those sermons, lord knows what they take away from this.

I wonder; will McCain or Hillary be given similar protections and latitude? Not in this life time my friend.

__________________
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

No individual can plan his own existence in their view.

So the state planners must arrogate to themselves the right to manipulate any sector of the economic system if the good of “society” or the “general welfare” is paramount.

Ipso- if the rights of the individual get in the way, the rights of the individual must be sublimated.

The Road to Serfdom
FA Hayek (interpretation)

Billy Graham never said "God Damn America" "The US of KKK" etc........He never accused America of creating HIV/AIDS to kill black men. He never said anything like that.

nuff said.....

__________________
I think at this point there needs to be a focus on an immediate increase in spending and I think this is a time when deficit fear has to take a second seat . . . I believe later on there should be tax increases. Speaking personally, I think there are a lot of very rich people out there whom we can tax at a point down the road and recover some of the money."
-- Barney Frank, October 20, 2008

Who says he is treated differently? Must I remind you that Ron Paul was held accountable for "racist" rants that someone else wrote in his past newsletters even though he renounced those rants?

Must I remind you that Ron Paul was demonised in the media for his campaign refusing to return a donation to Stormfronter Don Black; this was a $500.00 donation.

Must I remind you that even John McCain is being held accountable for his 8-year old racial slurs made against the North Vietnamese he fought in war?

What is angering the race-baiting democrats is not that Barack Obama is being treated differently but that he is being treated the same due to his affiliation with a bigot and a black nationalist church! Obama is not being exempted from the tolerance standards set for White candidates; I firmly believe that the dems are appalled that their own cherished political correctness is coming back to bite them on their hypocritical asses; pardon my Francais!

uhm, you to it appera you are also reading into this what you wish to see- don't see a reference to her "being a little nervous"


I can no more disown him than I can disown the black community. I can no more disown him than I can my white grandmother - a woman who helped raise me, a woman who sacrificed again and again for me, a woman who loves me as much as she loves anything in this world, but a woman who once confessed her fear of black men who passed by her on the street, and who on more than one occasion has uttered racial or ethnic stereotypes that made me cringe.


The point I was making was not that my grandmother harbors any racial animosity, but that she is a typical white person. If she sees somebody on the street that she doesn't know - there's a reaction in her that's been bred into our experiences that don't go away and sometimes come out in the wrong way and that's just the nature of race in our society. We have to break through it. What makes me optimistic is you see each generation feeling less like that. And that's pretty powerful stuff"



oh and a comment I need to make here as well, he draws a comparison with his grandmother to wright? You know, this is past surreal.

You don't want him to be a man with a racial hang up, but I have to tell you at this point, he certainly sounds like one.

And the media is providing protection on a level that boggles the mind. The MSM have not covered this, and will not, they cannot, they have chosen their side and will now keep their heads in the sand for as long as they can.

If the races were reversed here, this would be above the fold on every msm print service and running none stop on the Networks. AND, I don’t think you need to have a predilection regards seeing things in a racial light to see that this is grossly unfair.

At this moment, I am beginning to wonder, if he had one thing right, as a white person should I start wondering why blacks are treated differently, I suspect at this point after seeing this all play out, he’d probably call it justice.
Because it certainly appears so in this case, that much is certain. And this I remind you, from a guy that didn’t want to inject race into the “race”. Whatever, instead of taking this on as a political character and judgment issue, he played the race card. Bravo. .

__________________
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

No individual can plan his own existence in their view.

So the state planners must arrogate to themselves the right to manipulate any sector of the economic system if the good of “society” or the “general welfare” is paramount.

Ipso- if the rights of the individual get in the way, the rights of the individual must be sublimated.

The Road to Serfdom
FA Hayek (interpretation)

I think you may be right. I cannot think of any other reason for this, defense in the face of racial stereotyping etc. Where’s the PC police when you need them?

Oh, and if this were a black republican candidate, he'd have resigned by now after being hounded to death by every mainstream media outlet in print or on television.

__________________
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

No individual can plan his own existence in their view.

So the state planners must arrogate to themselves the right to manipulate any sector of the economic system if the good of “society” or the “general welfare” is paramount.

Ipso- if the rights of the individual get in the way, the rights of the individual must be sublimated.

The Road to Serfdom
FA Hayek (interpretation)

Here is proof of the media scrutiny of Ron Paul for the 'racist' newsletters:

YouTube - Ron Paul on Old Newsletter Controversy (Part 1)
YouTube - Ron Paul on Old Newsletter Controversy (Part 2)

Clearly Obama is not being singled out as evidenced by the above videos. I firmly believe that the democrats are angered not because Obama is being treated differently but because he is being treated the same as white candidates which is a sin because the poor persecuted black man tends to be exempt from the moral standards dems set for white folks.

It seems as though all of these indictments regarding Obama's relationship with his pastor imply that Obama may himself be a racist. Am I interpreting these criticisms correctly? Or is there a different issue here? If there is not, then I think the accusations should be leveled directly. If you feel that Obama is a racist, because of his affiliation with his church and his association with his pastor, just come out and say that this is the case.

__________________
"The nice part about being a pessimist is that you are constantly being either proven right or pleasantly surprised.”
- George Will

If John McCain was an active member of Christian church that openly declared itself "unashamedly white" and declared that allegiance is to be sworn to white leaders along with demanding that resources were to be alotted to white communities alone how would you describe him?

Here is a better question; how is Obama being singled out when Mitt Romney was held accountable for his religious beliefs? Do you remember how Mitt Romney's Mormonism was made into an issue that he had to answer too in an official speech?

How is Obama being singled out or treated differently? Looks to me like he is being treated in the same manner that Romney and Paul were treated...