Michelle Obama’s Remarks on American ‘Ignorance’ Elicit More Questions About Race
March 4: Barack and Michelle Obama wave to the crowd in San Antonio, Texas, following Super Tuesday II voting. (AP Photo)
Michelle Obama came under new criticism Thursday as opponents seized upon remarks the would-be first lady made in a speech in January, when she told a group of students that they need to take advantage of diversity on campus so they can stop feeling “justified in your own ignorance … That’s America.”
Obama’s speech at the University of South Carolina hit the radar only this week, after it was circulated and widely viewed on YouTube.
In the speech, she said: “We don’t like being pushed outside of our comfort zones. You know it right here on this campus. You know, people sitting at different tables — you all living in different dorms. I was there.
“You’re not talking to each other, taking advantage that you’re in this diverse community. Because sometimes it’s easier to hold on to your own stereotypes and misconceptions. It makes you feel justified in your own ignorance. That’s America. So the challenge for us is, are we ready for change?”
Conservative critics said Thursday that Obama’s latest take on America is another demonstration of her disregard for the country her husband wants to lead.
“A statement like that suggests a distorted view of America and what it’s about,” said National Review editor Rich Lowry.
“There’s no doubt she’s right about this segregation on college campuses, but to characterize America in that way is not right. What she’s describing on college campuses is true, but what she’s implying is not. It’s an unfortunate phenomenon that isn’t really America or what we want America to be like.”
“Michelle Obama is a very smart woman, wife and attorney. And I believe that Michelle Obama knew exactly what she was saying. Her remarks speak for themselves. They’re very clear. I don’t think they can be misconstrued,” said political consultant Andrea Tantaros. “It’s unfortunate because it comes at a time when Obama is looking to get back on campaign issues. So now he’s in a very difficult place. It’s going to be tough to get back on message.”
But Democratic strategist Kirsten Powers said “people are reading too much” into the remarks.
“I think that people over-analyze things that she says. People are reading too much into it. She’s not suggesting that only Americans do this. And she’s right about the fact that people tend to behave that way,” she said.
An Obama campaign spokesman said Michelle Obama’s remarks during the speech were misinterpreted. She was referring to a common phenomenon on college campuses and was asking students to step out of that mindset. It was the idea of “comfort zones” that she thought was so “America.”
Obama, a Princeton and Harvard Law graduate, says she went through the same thing when she was a student. She told the audience that if they can help elect her husband to the presidency, then it will bring hope to young people around the world and bring change globally that she has “never seen in my lifetime.”
She added that the only difference between the grandparents who raised her husband and her own parents is their race. Otherwise, they shared the same values and taught their offspring to be honest, truthful and respectful of others.
But Lowry said part of the reason Obama’s comments keep attracting attention is because “Democrats interpret many things through the prism of race.”
Republican strategist Todd Boulanger agreed.
“Race is not taboo on the campaign trail, but these comments — from both the Obama and Clinton campaigns — are just stirring the pot and it’s not healthy for our country,” he said.
Boulanger said discussing race is a “loser issue” because middle-class Americans of all races are looking at issues like home foreclosures and feeding their families.
“As far as race is concerned, I don’t think you’re going to see Republicans talk about it. They want to talk about the economy and the War on Terror,” Boulanger said.
U.S. News & World Report senior writer Michael Barone said Michelle Obama’s message of going out and meeting someone with a different background or characteristics “sounds like pretty good advice.”
“I don’t find that very objectionable,” he said, adding that earlier remarks about her being proud of her country for the first time in her adult life are much more questionable.
“Most of us have had occasion to feel really proud of our country on more than one occasion and we don’t need a spouse to run, have a good campaign for president of the United States in order to feel that.”
Barone, a FOX News contributor, said race and stereotyping are still challenges in America, but the days of appealing to voters on ethnic and racial lines “are long gone.”
“At the same time, there’s a tendency to support people with whom you have some common affinity or identifying characteristic, and you know, that’s not always a negative thing.”
Boulanger said that if talk about racial issues continues to dominate discussion, it could hurt the Obama campaign.
“If the issue of race keeps getting brought up in the context that it has, he probably cannot transcend it. Right now, I don’t think it’s something people really want to talk about. I think there has been some damage done to him, no question, and his image has certainly been tarnished. And if he keeps talking about it and responding to it, it’s not going to be good for him,” he said. “I do think, though, that even though there’s been some damage, he can come back and correct it if he’s the nominee.”
“To Obama’s credit, when he started his campaign, he was able to transcend race and he didn’t make race an issue,” Tantaros said. “But, unfortunately, others around him have made race an issue. And now it’s hit so close to home. I think it’s going to be a very delicate dance for him to get off the subject.”
Powers said the Obamas are facing hyper-sensitive scrutiny “because they’re used to having politicians be so careful in what they say. The Obamas have shown that they don’t pander to everybody, and I find that refreshing. They talk to America like they are adults.”
Click here to see the excerpted Michelle Obama remark at University of South Carolina.
between the filthy rants and raves of his pastor……..and the completely stupid remarks from michelle…….obama’s campaign could resemble a house of cards……..
LETS CUT THE CRAP ALREADY! THIS RACE IS GETTING A LITTLE REDICULOUS WITH THE MEDIA HAVING TO MAKE A BIG ISSUE OUT OF EVERYTHING THATS SAID! WE WANT TO START HEARING ABOUT THE MANY ISSUES WE’RE DEALING WITH, YOU IDIOTS!!
The Obamas are showing their colors (i.e. their hatred for America, per the teachings of their “spiritual leader.”) BTW, I just heard on Fox News that their church is building a $10,000,000 home for the “reverend” Wright in Tinley Park.
“SPARE CHANGE
$10,000,000 worth for brother Wright–and that’s just a start!”
I have voted for Republican candidates in the last several elections, so the Obamas are not my heros, BUT BOTH Obamas have faced up to an issue that has plagued this nation for hundreds of years and they have faced it with honesty and experience that transends all the “politically correct” rubbish that politicians have been feeding us for decades….I am a white, Christian, upper-middle class female,
Why is anyone surprised. Michelle Obama’s remarks have consistently illicited
dissatisfaction with her/our Country, to an integrated society. She is a racist as is
her husband. She is the one who has not been “proud” of her country. She is the
one who has sat in pews of their “family member” Rev. Wright. What do you think
we can expect to come out of Michelle Obama’s mouth. We don’t need her in the
White House. Stay in Chicago, please!
Wow! Talk about hypocrisy. These statements coming from a woman who wrote her Princeton thesis advocating in favor of (to use her words) “separationist blacks” and putting down “integrationist blacks.” A woman who attends a separationist church that calls Italians “garlic noses,” that says all “whites” are KKK affiliated, racist, greedy, rich people. A woman who after working as a corporate lawyer in one of the wealthiest and largest law firms around, serving on several corporate boards of directors, and working as an executive for a private hospital that charges 3 times the regular price of services for anyone uninsured, tells a bunch of students NOT to go into corporate careers.
But, then again, Obama’s idea of “unifying” is to say in public whatever it takes to make people feel warm and fuzzy inside while, in private, believing something else.
Obama is a liar and once people wake up to the fact, we will all be better off.
My favorite Obama lie so far has to be what I heard on NPR yesterday morning about his supposed 2002 anti-war speech that he brags about incessantly. The “speech” was given at a protest rally. He was not the invited speaker, nor any of the main speakers. In fact, eyewitnesses and those who reported on it for Chicago TV and newspapers had never heard of him because it was during his first run for Illinois state senator. Obama simply made a comment. He was not among the main speakers. The evidence shows that his comments were 13 seconds long: “I am not a pacifist but I don’t believe in dumb wars.” However, the Obama camp was “recreated” the speech by going into a studio and creating a recording of a written speech (he wrote when? in 2007?) and on top of all that, added SOUND EFFECTS of outdoor crowds, applause, background noise and so forth to make it seem authentic.
Check out the story on NPR. I wonder, if Obama is so willing to engage in fraudulent political theatrics, those stories circulating a few months ago suggesting that the “fainting women” in his rallies were staged events now seem a lot more plausible.
MOVE ON, people! WE ALL need to STOP reading into and judging every comment and every person! Can’t we all just get along!
we sit at different tables, live in different dorms, we go to different churches…don’t know who works on my nerves more, slicky-O or mrs. wacky-O. Shhh, just don’t sound so arrogant and angry all the time mrs. barackie. And they say Hillary is a female dog.
Here we go again, the more these two are in the spotlight the more we learn about them. They have lived as a privledged couple for several years and yet to listen to his wife makes it seem that they just got kicked off the bus in ______________. If you don’t think that the mentor of Obama and his wife have been warped by attending that church and listening to that preacher then I simply suggest you listen to their comments. Very few times do we get a chance to fully get a clear picture of who we will vote for before election time. Voters remorse is finding out you have elected a david duke when you thought you voted for JFK. Many have tried to compare Obama and his speeched to JFK however the clearer the picture gets of them the more they look like an angry couple who expect us to vote for them - almost like the Clintons. This is no JFK and nor is he a Reagan, it more resembles a Ted Kennedy and they are certainly not ready for “prime time”. Go back to IL and your church and continue to sit in your church listening to hate speech at all the other races except yours. Continue with the speeches abot words don’t matter and try and have us not listen to yours. No matter how much money you have or what job you have all you have is your name and your word, Obama may have a name, however they do not have their word.
There’s a lot of irony in this article and it’s author’s attempt to distort the public perception of Michelle Obama. The irony is that it’s meant to appeal to precisely the comfort zones Michelle is talking about. The message is “stick to your belief, fellow Republicans, that Michelle Obama and democrats as a whole generally have no respect for America.”
Not that this post will ever make it to the public (and destroy the intent of this article).