race

Obama finally confronts the race issue. Did he gain or lose from his speech? I heard Mike Gallagher say this speech is his grand slam - what will catapult Obama to the Democratic nomination.

Or did he fall short? From Slate's John Dickerson: "Obama didn't come out and say that, though, and so in a speech with lots of first pronouns, he missed a chance to talk in a needed way about his own falling short of his standards. It was another contradiction."

What do I think? I think his speech was very inspiring at times, so deeply personal and bringing up some painful subjects. But at other times, it was very low, taking blows at Hillary and YouTube (even though YouTube arguably has helped him so much in the past). For me, it revealed the reality of who he is; he's not the image he has so carefully built for himself. He is full of words, and he knows how to craft them. He says things that are true and authentic, but he also says things that are questionable and maybe half honest. I question myself. How much do I believe his words? How much do I believe this man can really do in leading and uniting a nation? I will have to listen or read it again - it's a long speech.

Read it here.