What Obama's mea culpa proves...

[RandySF]

Is that not even a black PRESIDENT dare speak his mind on race and profiling.

[falcon97]

1. I was tempted to think the same thing.

I'm hoping it was in order to focus the g*d damned media's attention back on health insurance reform.

[MarjorieG]

2. Diffuses what otherwise was starting a GOP circus against Obama and healthcare.

He was accurate, personal, loved what he had to say and that he said it, but his usual carefulness would have said 'cooler heads should have prevailed' -the first time.

That he said he didn't know the facts-even if he did-did not help.

[EmilyAnne]

3. It seems to me that the worst thing a black person can do is talk about racism.

I haven't seen anything else rile up so many people.
War, health care, corporate corruption, greed, etc. are nothing compared to a discussion of race and racism.

Nothing else gets people whipped up like Reverend Wright, Sotomayor's comment about "wise latinas" and the simple idea that a police officer may have treated a man differently based on his race.
I swear, if you accused an innocent person of being both a murderer and a racist, the first thing out of his mouth would be, "some of my best friends are black!"

[timeforpeace]

4. Does it also mean he can be taken to the woodshed by party leaders?

[MADem]

5. America only likes black presidents if they're toffee colored and "act white" I think.

The old Morgan Freeman paradigm.

I think America wants their black presidents to not be too close to their own community. To be fair, they didn't like Clinton or Carter or LBJ to be too southern or cornpone, and they even tut-tutted at Kennedy (people forget, because after "the martyrdom" no one dared speak ill) for being too "East coast/northeastern" and Ivy League.

However, it's a little more visceral when it gets down to race, I think.

I think America still has a lot of growing up to do.

[spanone]

6. i think his choice of 'stupider' was regrettable. i'm glad he defused it.

[redqueen]

7. Did he actually say "stupider"? Wasn't it "stupidly"?

And IMO "stupidly" is accurate.

[spanone]

8. you're right stupidly, still regrettable imo

[fascisthunter]

9. what mea culpa?

[BlooInBloo]

10. (shrug) Sounds like it's time for another episode of What Digby Said...

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2008/08/jackie-robinson-rules-by-digby-it-turns.html

"I know the last thing Obama wants to do is talk about race all the way to November. It's a minefield. To me that, in itself, says that the issue is still live in our culture. But I guess most people have shifted their view to suggest that even mentioning race is a sign of racism itself.

So, Obama is going to have to be a modern day Jackie Robinson and stoically endure the more subtle forms of racial ugliness that the right throws at him without ever fighting back or even mentioning that it is happening. If he's as good a politician as Robinson was a baseball player, he'll do it by sheer talent and force of will (and by boldly stealing home in the world series ...)"

[N7255Q]

11. It just shows that any president can make a gaffe.

That will always be true until Jebus is elected.

[WI_DEM]

12. No he's trying to get the focus back on health care.

[reflection]

13. You think he made that statement under duress?

I thought he was trying to defuse the situation and get the focus back on health care, myself.

[bertman]

14. RandySF, that is one of the most ignorant things I have ever seen posted on this site.

And that is saying something.

President Obama spoke off the cuff and made a very damning statement without having all of the information about the situation. It's obvious that he has now heard the FULL story and is anxious to amend his original comments.

I thought he was wrong by saying what he did on Wednesday night because he admitted he did not know all of the details AND that a personal friend was involved.

Now that it's come full circle, he is saying that both men are good men and both men were at fault. That's called admitting that you made a misstatement. It takes a big man to do that and I'm glad that President Obama has chosen to do the right thing.

[ecstatic]

15. It wasn't quite a mea culpa--it was a clarification

that made perfect sense, just like his original comment made perfect sense. However, his comments about the officer being a "fine man" were bullshit but we've known since last year that Pres. Obama likes to keep things classy. LOL

I see your point, but I think that Obama can and will continue to talk about race issues as they come up.