Obama's speech could seal the deal

[IDemo]

Superdelegates will be wary of opening racial divide among Democrats

National Journal
By Amy Walter
updated 2:32 p.m. MT, Wed., March. 19, 2008

WASHINGTON - For months now, we've been waiting for the Democratic nomination contest to hit its tipping point. We've been fooled so many times this primary season by "phantom tips" that we're wary of even looking anymore. Remember how Iowa, then New Hampshire, and then Wisconsin marked the turning points in the campaign? But the events of this week seem to leave little doubt that the race has tipped decidedly for Barack Obama, and that Hillary Rodham Clinton's campaign has run out of ways to tip it back.

Obama's highly personal and powerful speech in Philadelphia on Tuesday, combined with Florida Democrats' decision not to push for a revote and the increasing likelihood that Michigan legislators will also reject a revote, have cut off any remaining angles for Clinton.

It's still too early to speculate on whether Obama's speech will alter the way in which race is discussed this fall. Nor can we evaluate whether or not it changed the minds of undecided voters. But this much seems certain: It will affect the way in which the issue of race is addressed in the primary. And it will certainly affect the way in which superdelegates -- the ultimate "deciders" of the Democratic nomination -- evaluate the two candidates.

Obama put himself out there in a way that no other White House candidate has done thus far. Unlike Mitt Romney, who mentioned the word "Mormon" just once in a speech designed to address concerns about his religious beliefs, Obama uttered the word "race" more than 10 times. Instead of glossing over the issue, he forced it to the surface. He has now defined the terms of debate on both the Jeremiah Wright controversy and the larger discussion of race. While he once again distanced himself from statements made by Wright, he didn't disown him. All of this was done in a way that looked and felt natural because it didn't stray from the central and consistent message of the campaign: Obama is not a typical politician who is satisfied doing the "safe" thing.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23712552/

[still_one]

1. I hope you are right, but are people really listening? /nt

[shraby]

3. If the people could hear it in the media, it might

be understood. Working people with sometimes 2 or 3 jobs don't have the luxury of looking for that in the news, they have to contend with what is being said when they have the time to listen. Right now it tends to be endless loops of Pastor Wright, not the snips from Obama's speech.

[Tarheel_Dem]

4. This is anecdotal, but yes people are listening....

The female CEO of my company stopped me in the parking lot this morning to tell me that her son, a Republican, had emailed the speech to her. She, her husband, and her daughter are all Dems. While her husband has always been firmly in Obama's camp, she and her daughter were leaning toward Hillary. Well, as of yesterday, they lean no more. They are now firmly in the Obama camp. That speech is still making the rounds, and is still captivating people, and changing minds.

Her son, whom she just assumed would support McCain, also supports Obama. These stories are becoming more and more common in my neck of woods. I received an email from my boss (CFO) yesterday, his & his partner's reactions were the same, and they were both formerly leaning toward Hillary.

[still_one]

11. Thanks I needed to hear that. I have also been circulating his speech

to those associates that were interested

Maybe I don't feel so positive because of all the background noise going on

Perhaps it was similar to Lincoln after he presented the Gettysburg Address, there was no way to understand its impact after it was given

[LaurenG]

2. If we are smart and if we are brave we will seal it.

If not, we can expect no help or empathy from DC for a while.

[gayron]

5. It has sealed the deal that he will loose in Nov.

[thevoiceofreason]

6. Here one day and 53 posts already?

Welcome to ignore

[Tarheel_Dem]

9. don't we have a spray for this particular kind of poster?

[hisownpetard]

7. As a looser yourself, you should learn how to spell it bedder.

[New Earth]

8. lol

[Window]

10. Yeah, Senator will let "loose" in November, but he won't lose.