I liked Obama's speech.  I didn't think it was great, but it was definitely good.  The reason it wasn't great, in my opinion, was because it was written for the campaign as a way to respond to and ameliorate the Wright problem.  That may be why the pundits loved it so much:  judged by the standard of a campaign speech, it was really quite excellent.  But by the standard of speeches about the nation, it could have been better.  In any case, here is what I liked about the speech:

1.  I liked how Obama argues that racial differences are often used as a scapegoat for economic problems.  Lower income whites, he says, often feel that the jobs of others come at their expense and that their race hasn't privileged them at all.  That's a pretty good point, but it also works to refocus the issue.  Obama's saying, "Look, we have problems that affect everyone.  Regardless of race, it's about ensuring that the United States works the way it promises; that everyone can get a decent job; that economic problems are the enemy, not people of different ethnic background."

2.  However, I also liked how Obama argued that race isn't something that we can ignore.  There are in fact some differences that can't be wished away. 

By way of personal confession, I spent most of my in very white areas.  My hometown is 90% white, 3.6% black, and 1.9% Asian.   Columbia, Missouri, where I went to college, is also largely white, and even on campus there are some clear divisions.  In the main student union, for example, there was a specific set of tables where black students congregated--evidence (at least) of some remaining segregation.  Black students and white students did not feel comfortable enough with each other to sit together.  This was at the University of Missourui, which has the highest property of black students of any university in the Big 12.  Most recently, I was living in Austin, Texas which is fairly "diverse" but also seriously segregated.  There are very few African Americans in Austin, and in any case, I-35 divides the city. 

But the neighborhood where I am now living is largely black and has a significant proportion of African immigrants.  It's been a different experience for me, and for the first time I have had to really confront some of my personal beliefs.  I haven't given up any core beliefs, but I am no longer able to simply dismiss or ignore the real cultural and experiential differences.  I suppose I have known this in an academic way for a long time, but it has finally become real to me.  Thus, I liked Obama's speech because he argued that White America needs to realize that we won't get beyond racism simply by pretending that differences don't exist.

3.  Relatedly, it is a challenging speech.  Here's a black man asking white people to admit that the anger that some black people feel is real and has a basis in fact.  That's a big challenge for a lot of people.  I worry sometimes that we're not up to it.

4.  Finally, I like how he discussed his white grandmother and her reaction to black people.  He touches on an important reality here.  The reality is that much of our culture still teaches white people to fear blacks; it teaches us that skin color does make a difference.  And furthermore, the reality is that these cultural messages are a real problem in our society.

Again, to draw on my personal experience, after college, I was lucky enough to be able to travel some in Europe.  While there I found that I felt safe even in dangerous areas of some cities because until that point in my life, I had been told that blacks are criminals and dangerous while white people are safe and can be trusted.  This is not a good assumption to operate on in societies where there are very few black people--and of course, it's not a good assumption to operate on in our society because it is manifestly false in the first place and it is wholly racist in the second.  It was a significant epiphany for me when I realized why I behaving the way I was. 

I don't mean to suggest that the United States is racist as a whole and I don't mean to suggest that things can't get better.  I just mean to say that we still have problems with the stories we tell ourselves and that racism can still stain white people as it stains blacks and hispanics.  Not in the same way and not in the same degree, but it's still there. 

Those are the four main things that I liked about the speech.  I apologize for the personal nature of the post.  I have adapted it from an email I wrote to a friend, but I thought it would be useful to put up here for discussion purposes.