Honesty feels heady right now. For seven years, we have lived with the arid, us-against-them formulas of Bush’s menial mind, with the result that the nuanced exploration of America’s hardest subject is almost giddying. Can it be that a human being, like [Obama's former pastor Jeremiah] Wright, or like Obama’s grandmother, is actually inhabited by ambiguities? Can an inquiring mind actually explore the half-shades of truth?
Yes. It. Can.
The unimaginable South African transition that Nelson Mandela made possible is a reminder that leadership matters. Words matter. The clamoring now in the United States for a presidency that uplifts rather than demeans is a reflection of the intellectual desert of the Bush years.
(From Roger Cohen's column, "America's Original Sin.")
I moved from supporting Hillary to the Barak Obama camp because of his consistent ability to raise the level of discussion and transcend politics-as-usual. I was skeptical of Obama early on, but speeches like the one he gave this week on race have shown that there is real substance behind the rhetoric. Whether or not he wins the Democratic nomination or the presidency--or even if he ends up failing us in the end like all other politicians--Obama's campaign has still been a real gift to America and challenges all of us to raise our sights higher.
I am supporting Obama, and I was also impressed by his speech on race. Unfortunately, I will never believe that a politician running for the presidency is not, on some level, a liar.
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