I've always thought Huckabee was a pretty shady pol, and would never in a million years vote for him for an office, so it's almost embarrassing to me that he is virtually the only person (apart from Obama, of course) who could bring himself to exhibit the slightest degree of empathy or decency in this whole overblown mess.

Woah. A white southern conservative that groks why black people might be just the teeeeeensiest bit surly about the historical treatment of black people by the US?

I am dead serious that I never thought I'd see the day.

Sadly, Hillary was depending on the Wright "issue" to damage Obama in the eyes of the supers. I've yet to see her take the high ground, once this campaign got tight. I used to think much more highly of her.

Joe Scarborough was so shocked that he was left kind of speechless. That alone was worth watching.

In every realm of life other than electoral government, people have to work together even when they don't share the same politics. Republicans and Democrats in Washington are Republicans and Democrats, but put those same people as team-teachers in a classroom or in a squad car or whatever, and more likely than not, they'll figure out a way to work together. In some ideal world of government, Barack Obama and Mike Huckabee would work together on something and manage to accomplish positive goals. This doesn't mean I'm an advocate of "bipartisanism" because that usually means finding the center in every issue which doesn't always work. All I'm saying is that Huck's comments re: Obama help me to remember that people are often more than their political affiliation, and in most walks of life, this acknowledgment ends up being a good thing.

It's a lot shorter than Senator Obama's speech, but it does get to the point. Not that I would ever vote for him, but it sounds like he's a lot more sane than I gave him credit for.

Um, the "good cop" is always trying to get a confession. That's the game.

Huck's statement was classy, but would he have said it had he still been in the game?

This makes me happy, but it doesn't suprise me like it sounds like it does everyone else. Huckabee has always been more than just your average christian conservative candidate that everyone on the left was trying to stereotype him as.

Of course in the real world Huckabee has little national political future while Hillary has tied the national polls.

Huckabee's own sermons haven't been released, so there might be a 'there but for the grace...' element here. But kudos anyway.

Like I said elsethread, this really is a generational thing.

"Joe Scarborough was so shocked that he was left kind of speechless".

Then he recalled how black kids were cheering when Reagan was shot. What a shmuck.

I don't think it's Hillary's job to make his case for him.

Any more than Obama apparently thinks it's his job to mention women's struggles (more than perfunctorily) in his whole long (otherwise beautiful) speech about oppression and resentment.

It kind of sounds like you're arguing she should have done this decent thing - for purely political gain? And you would totally have given her credit for her decency, without letting the mercenary motive get in the way?

Sure.

And yet, somehow, reading between the lines, easy to miss, is that typically right-wing, and very revealing, assumption that you can't be justifiably outraged by an injustice unless you have been a victim of it.

That's the same logic that led them to call John Edwards a hypocrit (after all, he ain't poor) and underlies all right wing sudden conversions to decency "I hated gays until my son turned out to be one" "I was against abortion until my daughter got pregnant three months before leaving for college" " I was against stem cell research until I heard it could cure an illness I might actually get."

So, I tend to agree with the poster who says Huckabee thought of what could have happened to him had his sermons be made public.

That's a pretty low bar for decency, but I guess in the word we live in, that's the best we can hope for.

You know, it's not just Huckabee- there are a fair number of evangelicals, even quite conservative ones, who actually have internalized, and act upon, the fact that according to the religion they profess, racism is a serious sin. I've met a few myself. I hate to give credit to religion, especially of that variety, but I have to give credit where it's due.

I don't get too excited about a religious bigot supporting another religious bigot.

Obama handled the Wright situation masterfully but a downside to the whole 'anger is legitimate' argument is how the right can pull it out at a latter date. If they are able to frame the issue as 'Obama thinks we should understand gay-bashing, nut job, evangelical X' it will be much harder to combat hateful religious and political views.

Obama's speech would have been more powerful and avoided giving the right an out, had he given it in 2007 instead of as part of an effort to counteract the Wright fallout.

Huckabee probably agrees with Wright about AIDS. I am sure the only reason he wanted those infected quarantined was because he felt if the government gave it to people, they ought to have the responsibility to fix the problem.

If Hillary could have said it, we'd be talking about a very different candidate and candidacy.

You know, a guy who released rapist Wayne Dumond because he "only" raped a girl who happened to be related to Bill Clinton (with some lame justification that the All Powerful Clinton Family had framed the guy, despite no evidence whatsoever), can't really be called "decent" no matter how many nice things he says. Especially as said rapist went on to rape and kill two women before being caught again. Too much blood on this idiot's hands.

link here:
http://www.arktimes.com/Articles/ArticleViewer.aspx?ArticleID=154e1aad-fd18-4efd-8d80-b5dab8559419

Religionists on the right believe everything they are told by their preacher.

What is the “Wright Affair?”

I imagine we can all agree that:

1. Obama isn’t a closet black nationalist
2. Obama doesn’t hate the U.S.
3. We don’t agree with everything everyone in our inner circle believes (that’s the Bush Administration)

So, it seems the whole “Wright Affair” boils down to this: Whether or not “other” people will believe these things. That’s what this entire “Affair” is predicated on.

Hillary doesn’t believe any of these things about Obama. Nor does Karl Rove, Sean Hannity or Lanny Davis. Their game is to hope “other” people believe these things.

Painful but true.

You make the statement about Hillary as if it would be a campaign strategy.

I would prefer to think that it would be who she is... wait she didn't do it. I guess that says who she is...

This post, as well as a comment read on another blog, made me realize: isn't it amazing how silent the Democratic establishment has been during this entire flap? Does anyone think that's kind of odd? I mean, even if you don't want to endorse a candidate, or had endorsed another candidate, wouldn't you want to prevent another Democrat from getting torn apart? Especially since, regardless of the outcome, it's likely that Obama will be pretty important to the party's future?

Obama was pretty classy when Biden called him "clean and articulate." Don't you think Biden could return the favor here?

Jennifer,
Biden has been very complimentary about the speech.
But yes I am stunned at the silence from other Democrats and disgusted by so called democrats in blogs who have rushed to the side of National Review and The Corner mimicking their talking points line by line.

Is anyone else noticing that the "Wright clips" are being played silently now, as the background footage to almost any of "race" story on TV?

The premise being, I guess, that footage of Rev. Wright preaching is now the visual for any discussion of race in America, which is exactly what FOX and Brian Ross at Good Morning America wanted.

Great point on the silence of HRC, btw, I've been saying that for days now.

This divisive attack isn't about political football, it's actually bigger than this primary season, it's about who we are as Americans and the prospect of any non-white running for national office.

Do we come together? Can we? Can we negotiate a new level of mutual respect that allows us to work from a space about what we have in common?

And, more to the point, how do households making less than $50,000/year (the majority of Americans) define a common interest and a common ground in 2008?

Fahey: I hadn't heard anything about Biden commenting on the speech. Then again, it seems like all of the media is getting its talking points from Newsmax, et al, these days. So, I take it back!

I really hate how annoying I sound when I complain about the media.

The last few comments are ridiculous.

Where was Obama when the Clintons were being pilloried for being racists? His national co-chair was implying Hillary was so self absorbed she didn't care about black Katrina victims and a member of his South Carolina campaign team was leaking memos implying the Clintons were racists. Race has been an underlying subtext of this entire campaign from the beginning yet Obama doesn't say a word until it starts to hurt his electability.

Lest we forget, when HRC repeatedly stated Obama wasn't a Muslim all the Obamanots who now demand a comment, jumped on her for using the conditional once during the six or seven times she said no.

Nice to see kid O bringing the Obama spin to another blog.
Wright=race relations in America is the Obama campaign's 'go big' spin on a political controversy. It is ingenious but essentially false. If this speech was so important why didn't Obama give it before the controversy began? Better yet, why not after a Clinton supporter made racially insensitive remarks?

Do you guys actually believe your own comments?

It wouldn't occur to Hillary to do anything that might help Obama.

Which is exactly why I will never support her candidacy.

Anonymous has it right on Huckabee. He feels bad about releasing a known rapist who then killed out of Huck's own political hatred of Clinton. To hear anybody defend Huckabee's admittedly sane comments as "decency" is living in the Land of Kos.

Neither McCain and Huckabee don't want heat because their own connections to wacko ministers can't be denied.

Once we have a one on one race, McCain's affliations will take a more prominent place also. Not much to do with decency -- more like CYOA.

Still, the Democrats seem determined to lose in 2008, bouyed by poor candidate choices and Obama purity trolls over at that orange sports fantasy site where any supporter of HRC is deemed a troll or puppet.

It's hilarious to watch the phony progressives eliminate voters from their big tent. And sad.

Exactly my point Ezra! Hillary missed an opportunity to woo Obama supporters, especially African-Americans she will need in the general, by standing up for Obama.

It's interesting you don't address my question about bringing together households who make under $50,000/year across racial lines...finding common ground.

I think that's the core discussion here in PA and IN and NC. It's an appropriate discussion to have right now.

I'd say that speech will get Obama a chance to address economic issues in a new way.

We'll see what he does with it.

christian,

What you don't seem to realize is that this isn't just about Obama, it's about defending a major part of the Democratic base.

So you seriously expect me to believe a candidate who has purposefully run a wine-track campaign and who's voting coalition is primarily affluents boosted by overwhelming African-American support has suddenly turned into an economic liberal or even John Edwards because he 'understands' white resentment and knows how much the Iraq war is costing us?

Obama supporters have spent at least six weeks labeling white working class voters as ignorant or racists. 'Those people' were to be scorned not incorporated into the coalition. When I pointed out that Obama was to the right of Clinton on pocketbook issues so it was perfectly reasonable for these voters to back her, the collective hissed and dismissed class as an issue. Obamabot views apparently really are entirely dependent on the last thing Obama said.

Obama could have clinched this nomination a long time ago by actually leading on healthcare and econcomic justice. He chose not to because he is an economic centrist who will not go beyond tweaking the current system at the margins. Now after four months of trashing mandates (not to mention his economic team and social security "slip") to appeal to affluents we are now told to believe risk adverse Obama 2008 is really progressive Jesse Jackson circa 1988.

Obama knows he has a problem going forward with downscale whites and Latinos so he is modifying his rhetoric. It is smart politically but the Obama Collective isn't designed to be the Rainbow Coalition.

I seriously think calling yourself "Wellstone weeps" while throwing insults at other democrats shows a lack of knowledge of Paul Wellstone.

I must have missed your outrage when the comments section here was filled with claims and innuendo that the Democratic base were racists. Surely you spoke up and opposed this ugly slander since they are a much larger group of democrats than the small collection of pro-Obama spinmeisters who comment here.

You don't think Paul Wellstone would agree that Barack Obama is no Jesse Jackson? You don't think Wellstone would also note that he used grassroots organizing as a means to produce progressive change on both social and economic issues? You apparently embrace Wellsone's tactics but dismiss his message. Their is a reason the Star Tribune once called Wellstone "the go-to guy to advance the causes of educators, environmentalists, consumer and labor groups, the elderly and the poor."
The man preached 'farm and factory populism' not post-partisan platitudes designed to win over affluents.

You might want to read Conscience of a Liberal again particularly Chapter 5 or 'check the website' as you kids say.
http://www.wellstone.org/about/elections.aspx

No, I think he would tell you to try real discourse instead of slinging insults.

And I'm pretty sure that if Wellstone were alive today and had endorsed a candidate in the primary, it woudn't be Hillary.

And I'm pretty sure that he would be offended by your cynical cries of racism.

The gosh-all-shucks bible thumper works his magic and fools legions of progressives. Hillbilly common sense beats highbrow gullibility again.

Look, this is a campaign, and HRC and Obama are fighting against each other. HRC shouldn't be expected to clean up after Wright any more than Obama should have been expected to clean up after Ferraro or Bill Clinton. She said her piece, complimented the speech and went on. It was always going to be Obama's responsibility to address this mess. We can admire his audacity without having to complain about Clinton.

How about this concerning what Hillary should or should not do.

With the way that she has been treated by the media for things not her fault, mayeb when her opponent is treated the same way we could all say-

And you know what? Sometimes people do have a chip on their shoulder and resentment. And you have to just say, I probably would too. I probably would too. In fact, I may have had more of a chip on my shoulder had it been me.