I have noticed various people discussing this quote without including the full context, which is frustrating. As you can see, this comment was thoughtful and entirely uncontroversial.
The point I was making was not that grandmother harbors any racial animosity. She doesn’t.
But she is a typical white person, who, if she sees somebody on the street that she doesn’t know, you know, there’s a reaction that’s been bred in our experiences that don’t go away and that sometimes come out in the wrong way, and that’s just the nature of race in our society.
We have to break through it, and what makes me optimistic is you see each generation feeling a little less like that, and that’s powerful stuff.
Seriously. He didn't say anything wrong. I know there are people describing it as a gaffe but damnnit, he is just TALKING. If that is a gaffe, then anything that anyone ever says is a gaffe.
Anyway, as other people have noticed, the pundits have been remarkably reasonable. I don't know how it played on Fox News (I can only imagine...) but on both CNN and MSNBC (even on David Gregory's awful new show, and even with Scarborough on panel) everyone was like "Ah, this is silly", which I find pretty encouraging.
I think it's helpful to provide the full context every time this quote is brought up though, or it becomes part of the meme. Also, does anyone know where I can find the transcript of this interview? I believe that before this comment, Obama was saying that his grandmother was proud.
And on a far more important note: How terrific was Obama on Larry King?? He certainly looks like a president.