The depth of Obama's "race" speech should be the template FOR ALL ISSUES

[Armstead]

The thing that was most striking about Obama's speech yesterday was not how ground-breaking it was in its message.

It was the fact that Obama was actually speaking on the level that intelligent people talk about issues all the time in daily life. It was a Three Dimensional speech in the context of One-Dimensional Politics and Media.

For example, over the years I have had numerous discussions with friends and relatives who consider themselves "liberal" but are angry that they got passed over for a job or their kids lost a spot in a school because of affirmative action. It's the classic dilemma of self-interest versus larger social goals.

These grey areas and internal contradictions are what most issues are grounded in. No ideal can be accomplished without cost. When we get personally burned by the cost, we face this fact directly on both an emotional and intellectual level.

But these are never reflected in politics or the media dissection of campaigns. Instead it boils down to simplistic eitehr/or choices. You have to be a Republican or a Democrat. A conservative or a liberal. Pro-war or anti-war....etc.

The outcome is that we become pressured to fall into opposing "camps" based on one orthodoxy vs. an oposing orthodoxy. The logical extension of that is perpetual gridlock and stalemate.

What Obama's speech reflected was a break from that rigid mold. He was stating his views as one person. He was more eloquent than most of us, but the content was basically the same wrestling with paradoxes and complexities that we all do, both internally and among ourselves.

Obama raised the bar with this speech. What should happen is not that this is isolated as one "historic" speech. Rather it should be the way campaigns handle all issues like the war, the economy, national security and social issues.

[Armstead]

1. kick

[4themind]

2. Thank you for your thoughts -nt

[Adelante]

3. Absolutely agree

Mario Cuomo said of the primary debates that each individual debate should be on a single subject or the American voter is being cheated of what they need to know in order to make an informed decision.

[Armstead]

5. I also think they should use a PBS round table format

Forget all of the debate rules and audiences.

Just get the candidates around a table in a studio with a non-egomaniac moderator and encourage them to just talk among themselves about important issues.

[kentuck]

4. Good post.

K & R !

[Armstead]

6. Thanks and a shameless.....

:kick:

[Cha]

7. Spot on, Armstead!

We'd have to do this to counter the endless, mindless chatter of the talkinghead.