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'There's nothing wrong with saying that,' Democratic says to applause
Published on Tuesday, Jul 15, 2008
Associated Press
CINCINNATI: Democrat Barack Obama received a prideful welcome from the annual NAACP convention Monday night, but in a stirring speech to the civil rights organization, he nonetheless insisted blacks must show greater responsibility for improving their own lives.
The man who could become the first black president urged Washington to provide more education and economic assistance. He called on corporate America to exercise greater social responsibility. But he also received his most lusty applause as he urged blacks to demand more of themselves.
''If we're serious about reclaiming that dream, we have to do more in our own lives. There's nothing wrong with saying that,'' Obama told a crowd estimated at 3,000.
He added: ''I know some say I've been too tough on folks talking about responsibility. NAACP, I'm here to report, I'm not going to stop talking about it. Because as much as I'm out there to fight to make sure that government's doing its job . . . none of it will make a difference . . . if we also don't at the same time seize more responsibility in our own lives.''
A similar speech by the Illinois senator on Father's Day prompted an awkward rebuke from the Rev. Jesse Jackson.
Jackson apologized last week after being caught saying on an open microphone that he wanted to castrate Obama for talking down to blacks.
Cincinnati Mayor Mark Mallory, the city's first directly elected black mayor, disputed Jackson's argument that Obama is ignoring other important issues for blacks.
Besides his messages about responsibility, Mallory said Obama has talked about jobs, health care, education and other ''areas where black people are disproportionately affected.''
Republican candidate John McCain is scheduled to address the NAACP on Wednesday.
In San Diego on Monday, the Arizona senator called himself ''an unapologetic supporter'' of the North American Free Trade Agreement.
''Any confident, competent country and its government should embrace competition,'' McCain told the National Council of La Raza, a major Hispanic organization.
Get the full article here.
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