It is Barack

I was an Edwards supporter. Among those who might have been electable, Edwards was closest to my prejudices.

Don't misunderstand. What I said in my previous post--too long ago--was correct. I will vote for any Democrat over any Republican who is in the race. There are good, moral and competent Republicans, but none of them have been running for the last 30 years or more. I certainly will not vote for McCain. He is neither moral, nor competent, nor honorable. He has already declared that his policies would be Bush-light. He has already pandered to the religious extremists.

I was and remain unimpressed with Hillary Clinton, who did not declare against the Bush Iraq policies until it became politically expedient. Hillary has too many ties with the corporatist elites. While some of her declared policies are okay, I remain concerned and suspicious.

Until this week, I also saw Barack as too willing to compromise, too interested in "bridging the gap" with the Republicans. I did not believe that he understood the invidious nature of the conservative political agenda. I still have concerns, but in one way, the Clinton juggernaut has contributed to his awakening, his enlightenment. In the military, they say that a soldier is not fully effective until he has been "blooded" by being in real combat. The Clinton campaign has done Obama the favor of "blooding" him. When Hillary Clinton put herself and McCain in the same category over against Obama, she did two things. First she gave McCain more respect than he deserves and second, she "blooded" Obama in a very effective way.

But Obama did something this week that pulled me over. His speech did this. He managed to reject the rantings of Jeremiah Wright without rejecting Mr. Wright himself. Wright and the talk-show loudspeakers had made that an almost impossible task. They had been bolstered by the main-stream, corporate media. Even some of the usually excellent progressive talk-show hosts had joined the chorus. (I'm thinking of Christine Kraft and John Rothman, in particular.)

Obama went even further. He demonstrated a new and different sensitivity to the feelings of "angry white men" who are also short-changed in this issue of race in this country. What is true is that the wealthy elite keep their power, in part, by keeping poor and middle-class whites, African-Americans, Latinos and other groups all divided and fighting with each other. The truth is that the present economic system short-changes all of these minorities (Economic minorities, whether racial majority or minority). He did this without, on the other hand, declaring the wealthy to be inherently, the enemy. There are some of the wealthy who are just as committed to social justice and economic equity. Obama was able to demonstrate a new vision.

If his rhetoric did not soar to the heavens as some other orators have, it certainly did well. Brother Martin was moving in part, because he was addressing the black populace in a style that spoke to them. Others have done something similar. Obama spoke to all of us--a more difficult job.

I will still vote for whichever Democratic nominee arises, but I am now a full-fledged Obama supporter.