Williams Offers Take on Obama's Race Speech

Juan Williams, a senior correspondent at NPR, is the author of"Enough: The Phony Leaders, Dead-End Movements, and Culture of Failure That Are Undermining Black America—and What We Can Do About It." He speaks with Scoop08 Culture Correspondent Gabriel Debenedetti about the black vote and its influence on the 2008 election.

Gabriel Debenedetti: Do you think that the current presidential race has been different from previous ones in terms of the youth involvement?

Juan Williams: Very. The level of engagement is evidenced in Barack Obama's campaign. Barack Obama would not be where he is today if young people, specifically young white people, had not become energized by his appeal to their idealism. It's reminiscent of times where young people were so enthralled by the vision of Camelot that was created by John F. Kennedy. Again, you come back to the idea that on the campuses, people got involved in support of the idea of Obama as a history-maker. It was their moment in history, that they could be involved with electing a black, or immigrant, president of the United States.

GD: You've mentioned that these people are primarily white young people. From the perspective of an African-American voter, how is this race different from previous ones?

JW: Well, it's self-evident. You've got a black candidate.

GD: But is there more African-American enthusiasm than in previous years?

JW: Well it depends. Obviously, there was great enthusiasm when you had Jesse Jackson running in '84 and '88, but it was of a different kind. Those campaigns were less about politics and more about civil rights and making a statement, reminding the major candidates of the issues of concern, and that there was still work to be done on racial issues in this country. Barack Obama has run a campaign that is all about winning the presidency. In the case of a Jesse Jackson, right from the start, he was identified as"the black candidate." That's not been the case for Obama.

GD: Recently, your NPR colleague Farai Chideya spoke with author Robert Wilkins and Professor Farah Grffin on air about the issue of black patriotism. What is your take on the subject, especially pertaining to this election? Is there a difference between black and white patriotism?

JW: That there might be more white patriotism? I think that's absurd. It's insulting. The fact is, to me, black people are among the greatest patriots anywhere in the world … Going back to the starting of this country, black people have had to deal with the idea that they have not been fully respected as human beings and citizens of the nation. And yet, they always pledged their loyalty and sacrifice. So I don't know what measure of patriotism they're talking about, but it seems totally absurd to me. Even in the midst of World War II, where … you had ongoing Jim Crow laws inside the U.S. Military, what did you see? Black troops willing to go overseas and fight for the flag … willing to stand for America.

GD: Barack Obama recently gave what has been called his"race speech." How do you think the public has seen it, and how do you think they will see the speech in the future?

JW: I don't think that he wanted to give that speech. He had not given that speech before then, and he only gave that speech because he was caught up in the terrible, damaging controversy [with] Rev. Jeremiah Wright … Rev. Wright had gone over the edge, and Barack Obama, sensing that he and his campaign for the presidency was in danger, felt the need to speak to race relations in the U.S. It was a historic speech, because you don't often hear politicians speaking to represent all sides of the racial conversation in America, and I think he was trying to do that. But for me, the speech fell short, in that he needed to say … why he sat in the pews of Rev. Wright's church all those years.

GD: Bill Clinton has been called America's"first black president" in the past. How do you think his presence in his wife's campaign will affect her standing with the African-American voters that might otherwise go for Barack Obama?

JW: Well, that is something that was an invention by Toni Morrison. But, you know, I think Bill Clinton is highly regarded by African-Americans. I think there are people who felt that at times race has been injected into this contest. But my sense is that once we get past this very competitive primary, Bill Clinton goes back to being one of the most beloved presidents that black America has ever had.

GD: Do you think that Bill's being in the campaign with Hillary will help her with African-American voters?

JW: I thought it would, but obviously it hasn't. Bill Clinton, as president, put in place the network of contacts in the black community that allowed black leaders access to him, and to important government agencies, and to government funding. So, for a lot of black political figures around the country, they know Bill Clinton. They know Bill Clinton responds to them, and to their needs. And that's why they were slow to get on board with Barack Obama.

GD: Who do you think will win this election?

JW: Well, there's many a slip between cup and lip. I don't know who's going to win, but I can tell you that I don't think it's over on the Democratic side. I think that Hillary Clinton's theme is still appealing to voters and to superdelegates, even though she may lose the pledged delegate race. I think that Barack Obama has clearly won the pledged delegates; we'll see where he goes from here. And I think John McCain, in the head-to-head match-ups, is doing much better than anybody would have anticipated.