Smart comments, liam. Obama does get pretty loose when giving speeches as if he forgets that the real audience is not there in front of him. He's got every right to be a bit self-congratulatory with the people in the room, but when it appears out of context on YouTube and CNN, it seems like he, too, is less interested in issues than in his historic candidacy. Make the networks cover sound bites that have to do with issues and McCain's soft-headed preparation to lead.

I agree with you, though I sincerely wish he could talk about his color (and the historic nature of his running) without it being a "race card" issue. In a perfect world, it wouldn't be. Perhaps after he wins, we'll be that much closer to it not being a "race card" issue.

i love it when you people say he shouldn't bring attention to his race, but yet he is getting creamed on the sly by the smarter folks who do bring attention to it every chance they can...

obama camp did make a huge mistake---THAT mistake was in denying that race is a huge issue in this race....Mccain doesnt have to come out and obama is a n_g-e-,muslim, outsider, his surrogates don't have to use those exact words either..instead they say, he cannot connect with bigoted america, he is unpatriotic by accusing him of treason, inject his middle name every chance they get to scare off those who already inclined to be bigoted, repeatedly call him an empty suit even though he has thus far outsmarted and upstaged his accusers and now they are copying his policies, he is exotic which is code word for "foreign, un-American, MUSLIM/osama bin laden long lost relative!!!

Obama is making a mistake everytime he pretends this is not happening...i agree he needs to polish up his speeches...lately, he has been grating on my nerves with his "slow way of talking", but i think he and his campaign are out of synch..obama is hell bent on calling Mccain and company out on B.S. but his campaign (white men) are running away from the reality of this and they are denying it at every turn and making Obama look stupid!!

jaja MANDY, you nailed it...WHITE america want to brush the race thing to the side at every opportunity, but in the shadows, it is often the most important factor in deciding important issues...no one wants it to dominate the conversation, but if a black man cannot say he is black, then we have a problem!!! so what do we call it when a white man or men or white men and white women on the other side and on our side use euphemisms for "black"? is it still the race card???

at this moment, i am having a huge problem with camp obama (those white men who think they know better on how to deal with the fact that obama is BLACK and that fact makes a lot of us squirm in our pants/panties..it is a fact...acknowledging that fact is smart...people need to understand that Mccain and company are not trying to knock out their opponent, they have a delicate task of reminding all of america that a black man with a muslim sounding name, who is too smart for his own good, is a threat to the legacy of all white people in america!!! at least when hrc said it, she was just trying to win and was dirty enough to do just about anything to win (i truly believe that), but the other side have a blatant racism handicap that has dogged them for an eternity, so there is no reason why we should expect that obama's race wouldn't be fair game...

where were you guys when that cartoon character of michelle and obama came out? oh i remember, that was harmless humor....if you are white, you will never ever understand what life is like as a non-white..it unfathomable to think of a world where you wouldn't be automatically revered b/c of your skin...i am a foreigner and i am well-read and travel all over..one thing rings true, deep inside all non-whites cling to that 1/18th bloodline that was white and they guard it with great earnst...

i really take offense when we say obama should not draw attention to his color...hello one cannot help but notice that he is indeed DIFFERENT from the prez on the dollar bills..that is a fact! now that we know this, let's not let the other side scare us into thinking that is enough to disqualify him for the CIC post...

I am surprised at you liam!!!

ok alright, i concede it sounds more eloquent in a formal lecture...i just think he needs to refine his rebuttal to mccain..in order to that, he must call a spade a spade....

he cannot say the words racism, but he can say and should continue to say that mccain camp is out to scare people into think obama is a risk bc he is well, DIFFERENT!!!! he can throw in a few, "one america" lines to take the edge of the 'dirty truth'

I'm sorry, but you've got it the other way round....I'm all for Truth to Power, but the Power is really the entrenched political and media interests that are doing a Swiftboating to Obama right now, taking his quotes out of context and changing their meaning, driving the negative publicity by repeating ad nauseum McCain's ads and talking points as if they're great news.

Once again, we're blaming the Candidate, why can't Kerry be less "effete", why did Gore say "He invented the internet"?, and NOT the forces that are unfairly stacked against them.

Look, McCain has TONS of material that are just as sensational. I assure you that I can blow up the "100 Years in Iraq" "Bomb, bomb, bomb Iran" comments if I get enough talking heads around on a TV show. I'll even ask if he's trigger-happy, or mentally sound to even publicly declare such a thing. I'd be saying, "We're stuck in a war that the American people want to get out of, is he proposing that we double down?" "Is he a reckless gambler?" "Did Vietnam damage him in somme way?" I'll show pie charts, I'll quote McCain's associates, I can make a truly juicy series out of this that would grab headlines. I can make McCain look like the senile, reckless gambler, PTSD victim he really is. I CAN, seriously.

If it's about ratings and audience, McCain is much richer fodder as he made so many gaffes, but these are all STUDIOUSLY avoided by the MSM, just think about it. They have *their* candidate, and all the mone we raised for Obama cannot pit against this media juggernaut.

At least I now take comfort in the fact that Obama is DEFINITELY NOT one of them, not one of the Powers that be. McCain is their pawn.

The first thing anyone in the media would do, unless they CHOOSE not to do it, is to look up the context of Obama's words to see what he was really trying to say, and what he said expressed overt humility instead of what they're splashing across the headlines.

The talking heads and the MSM have a target and right now, they're rejoicing and patting themselves in the back. How easy it is to shape Public Opinion, even yours, and they're right.

Both campaigns have been accused of playing the race card. But what about the media? When will they be called out on this? I mean, have you ever seen Sean Hannity? He thinks Obama is a black muslim terrorist. He says Obama is anti-American. He's different. He can't represent "real America". And it's not just limited to Fox.

Joe Watkins, an MSNBC correspondent has said "white people are running away from Obama in droves"

And it's the media that plays this narrative, and others repeatedly, as if they're instigating the stuff.

I think an example has to be made about the media perpetuates and at times, creates news, as opposed to reporting it.