McCain praises Obama in NAACP address

[DeepModem Mom]

CNN: McCain praises Obama in NAACP address

(CNN) -- Sen. John McCain on Wednesday praised rival Sen. Barack Obama as he spoke at the annual NAACP convention and looked to close a wide divide on race in the polls. Polls show African-American voters heavily favor Obama -- with about 90 percent picking him over McCain. Republican candidates historically do not win much of the black vote. President Bush received just 11 percent of the black vote when he ran against John Kerry in 2004.

McCain opened his speech by calling attention to Obama's success. "Don't tell him I said this, but he is an impressive fellow in many ways. He has inspired a great many Americans, some of whom had wrongly believed that a political campaign could hold no purpose or meaning for them," he said in Cincinnati, Ohio. "His success should make Americans, all Americans, proud. Of course, I would prefer his success not continue quite as long as he hopes."

McCain's comments were well-received, met by applause and laughs from the crowd. "Whatever the outcome in November, Sen. Obama has achieved a great thing -- for himself and for his country -- and I thank him for it." McCain told the crowd that he and Obama have "fundamental differences" when it comes to the economy, and "honest differences" about the growth of government, but stayed away from criticizing his rival before the largely pro-Obama audience.

McCain's relationship with the black community has been rocky at times. He initially voted against the Martin Luther King holiday, and he was booed in Memphis last spring when he tried to apologize. But he was the first Republican candidate to visit the site of the famous civil rights march in Selma, Alabama. The senator from Arizona told those at the convention that he seeks their vote and hopes to earn it, but even without their support, he needs their "goodwill and counsel."

The focus of McCain's address to the NAACP was education reform and improving education for minorities....

http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/07/16/mccain.naacp/index.html

[NattPang]

1. More like McCain patted Obama on the head,

in his own patronizing tone.

[babylonsister]

2. OK, where's the video of him mocking Obama yesterday vs. this? I

know there is one, or one's being made as I type.

[Hugabear]

3. 10% of African Americans are supporting McCain? WTF

How could ANY African American support the GOP. I know about the likes of Condaliar Rice, Alan Keyes, and a few other GOP "trophies" - the people they trot out to prove their "diversity". But how can there be even 10% support among African Americans for a party that has done so much to hurt them over the past few decades?

[uponit7771]

6. I have an AA friend I'm working on, he's really busy business owner who is Muslim...you get the...

....picture, he's too busy to look at the details of the reThug party and has eaten then MsM rhetoric on what reThugs means to his low 6 figure salary that they don't care about.

[jaysunb]

7. 1 % for McCain

we don't know who these people are but suspect they were just afraid to tell the pollster how they REALLY felt. :evilgrin:

5% undecided
94% Obama

[tishaLA]

4. sounds paternalistic and condescending to me

"an impressive fellow in many ways"? WTF?

[Ichingcarpenter]

5. McCain also said that God loves Latinos too sometimes!!

"So let's from time to time remember that these are God's children."

(not all the time mind you, just time to time- my comment)

John McCain
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/m.s.-bellows/john-mccain-and-the-white_b_112228.html

[jenmito]

8. Of COURSE he praised him in front of the NAACP. I "hope" they saw McCain's ad ridiculing him for

his beautiful words and message of "hope." He's just pandering, as usual. Just like when he told a group of Hispanic leaders that he co-sponsored the immigration bill that he NOW says he'd vote AGAINST, or like when he was in Pittsburgh and told the people that he rattled off names of the Pittsburgh Steelers' defensive line to his Vietnamese captors when asked the names of his military buddies when in his book he claimed it was the Green Bay Packers.

[goletian]

9. i know two black guys that voted bush in 2004.

they are conservatives. homophobes, misogynists, antiabortionists, christian fundamentalists, quick to believe racial stereotypes, etc. those guys, are probably voting for obama simply because hes black -- one of them, im fairly certain is voting obama just because hes black. im not saying that they represent all blacks who go repub, but id say theyre like 10% of that small pool of repub supporters. blacks tend to go dem (lib) overwhelmingly, but not these.

[ErinBerin84]

10. lol, "fellow"?

[AtomicKitten]

11. It was nothing more than a patronizing pat on the head.

I'll give McBush snaps for appearing before the NAACP. * couldn't be bothered.