Rachel and Keith might have their own take on Obama's speech but some people, like me, thought it did what he said it was going to do.
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In Rachel's show right after Obama's speech she mocked the fact that he ended with a pray that the pastors say before the fishermen go out to sea.
She did not think he should have ended his speech this way.
Well someone, like me, appreciated his words. The only difference was, unlike me, that person's life has been impacted by the actual crisis:
Please read this:
For whatever it's worth, I'm a native of and currently live in Louisiana, about 20 miles outside of New Orleans. My dad is a Cajun river rat in the truest sense, born and raised in Southeastern Louisiana. His father's native language is Cajun French -- literally, he had to learn English as a boy. My dad has never fished commercially, but it defines his out-of-work, weekend persona -- it dominates his spare time. He often talks about a dream life living in a shack somewhere out in the marsh, fishing all day. He's a product of the cultural fabric of southeastern Louisiana.
My dad comes home from work these days depressed about the oil spill. He thinks about it all damn day, and, like many here, he has no shortage of outrage at everyone involved in this mess.
When Obama pivoted to his remarks about "The Blessing of the Fleet," my dad started crying.
He's not someone who is going to give you a nuanced opinion about politics or policy -- in fact, he's relatively apolitical -- but he knows what he knows.
Maureen Dowd can talk all she wants about these amorphous, nebulous standards like a "Clint Eastwood moment" or whatever, and Anderson Cooper is free to think he knows the people here better than anyone because he's been here for a few weeks, but Obama connected with my dad last night -- of that I can be sure. And trust me, my dad isn't exactly a pushover.
http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.co...
I am grateful for this comment because, I too, felt the same way at the end of Obama's speech. His telling of what this prayer meant to those men an women in the gulf gave me insight into their lives and their grief if only for a brief moment.
It is a shame that Rachel with her "Fake Presidential Speech" and Keith with his rabid critique of the President missed how valuable this part of his speech was.
Obama will never do anything right for some folk. Maybe Palin and McCain would have done better in their eyes. If we are not careful we will have a President Palin in 2012. Jus' sayin.
Some people will always miss the forest for the trees.