How will conservatives respond to Obama’s groundbreaking speech on race? A column this morning by Michael Gerson shows how easily those who profit from division can refuse the invitation to embrace reconciliation.
Gerson, the master word smith who coined the phrase "axis of evil," calls Obama’s speech "one of the finest political performances under pressure since John F. Kennedy at the Greater Houston Ministerial Association."
Notice the way this seemingly generous praise excuses the reader from having to think about what Obama actually said. For Gerson, Obama’s speech is not an authentic rethinking of race in America. It is just a new version of the familiar Kennedy speech, a tactic executed by an ethnic candidate "under pressure."
The purpose of this tactic, Gerson suggests, is to allay the legitimate fears of mainstream voters. And in this, Gerson says, Obama failed:
The problem with Obama's argument is that Wright is not a symbol of the strengths and weaknesses of African Americans. He is a political extremist, holding views that are shocking to many Americans who wonder how any presidential candidate could be so closely associated with an adviser who refers to the "U.S. of KKK-A" and urges God to "damn" our country.
Obama asks us to see the fiery preacher and the stereotyping grandmother as part of the same American family. Gerson clears his throat and refuses. He insists on placing Wright beyond the pale, outside the border. Gerson wants Wright to be nothing beyond the frightening "Other" he appears to be on the You Tube clips.
Obama says: "Let us find that common stake we all have in one another, and let our politics reflect that spirit as well."
Gerson says: "Not this time."