On it's own, the finger thing is actually funny and endearing. I liek him more for it if it was on purpose. But he has to be honest about it and not play the innocent any more. ...via twhirl - Soulhuntre
This is just the kinda silly stuff that makes me super mad. I guess I should lighten up ...via AlertThingy - Anand Sharma
Seriously! I wouldn't have even known there was a 'gesture' there if Dave hadn't mentioned the Guacamole... ...via twhirl - Kamath
I'm not buying it. I think it was nothing. Maybe subconscious? Who knows. - jason burton
I agree with Jason, I doubt it was on purpose. - Alejandro S.
I agree... and it's almost too bad. It woudl have made him cooler. ...via twhirl - Soulhuntre
This will probably result in an increase in popularity for Obama. - Ontario Emperor
Popularity among those naive young voters - Alejandro S.
He dosen't have the testiculars enough to do it. He's too "statesmen". ...via AlertThingy - Mike Lewis
So now not only are his WORDS being twisted... - Vince DeGeorge
Careful you don't get one of those flash cards i your eye! - Alex von Halem
Show him!! I won't miss that episode - Arturo Servin
Convince him to get a twitter acount to at least get his blog posts. Maybe have him use twitterific or twurl. We are counting on you Veronica... - Anthony Farrior
This is great, but it kind of sucks for those of us who get our torrent traffic 'throttled' by our ISP's! It would be faster to download via HTTP or FTP at the 'throttle' rate of torrents. - Aaron Holverson
Wow, the double mac-n-cheese at Macaroni Grill doesn't sound so bad. I guess it's a double serving and probably doesn't offer any veggies. The rest - oh yeah - BAD! - Aaron Holverson
'“It’s a racial stalemate we’ve been stuck in for years,” Mr. Obama said. “Contrary to the claims of some of my critics, black and white, I have never been so naïve as to believe that we can get beyond our racial divisions in a single election cycle, or with a single candidacy — particularly a candidacy as imperfect as my own.”' - Bret Taylor
I think it's amazing that the NYT wants us to think that the primary message of this speech was to call the pastor divisive... It was absolutely not about that. It was a frank and necessary (and long overdue) look at race and racism, black and white. We need this man leading our country. - Stephen Foskett
The NYT seems to have two goals: 1) to sell papers, and 2) to support Clinton. I'm not sure which one is more important to them. :) - Chris White
Can't understand why Senator Obama thought this speech was even necessary. He shouldn't have to defend himself for being friends with someone who has views that differ many Americans. Barack's campaign is about diversity and he's said before that he'll be friendly with everyone. - Rob Safuto
If anything, Obama is gaining the confidence of the American people by cutting through the expected political dogma that we've been so used to. I think he made a bold political move by addressing this situation head on by delivering a blunt and direct speech, and did a great job in easing a lot of the consternation we have in his candidacy. The 800-pound gorilla that everyone can clearly see but few have brought up until now is this: can an African-American effectively lead this country? I think so. - grant
Take the time to view the speech--it is incredibly powerful. - Sheila Taylor
I agree with Grant. This guy is making all the right moves. If he doesn't go all the way, it'll be something really unexpected that'll derail him. I remember, though, meeting Dan Balz, journalist at Washington Post. He's covered politics since the 1970s. He says elections rarely go the way you predict. No matter what happens, this is already the most interesting campaign of my life (I'm 43 and started paying attention with Carter in office). - Robert Scoble
I love how honest and realistic he was. Not painting anybody or anything as 100% right or 100% wrong. He doesn't polarize people or issues to cause a stir, get ratings, or sell papers. He doesn't put two people in a reality-tv-like ring and instigate them into fighting. He addresses what opposing sides have in common. It's refreshing. - Bill Bittner
@Robert: more interesting than this? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...... Remember when Howard Dean was actually the frontrunner for the Dems? You are right, this thing can go anywhere from here. Here's hoping Obama isn't Client 10. - grant
This has been one of the most well covered, reported on, and talked about speeches to date, and I find it funny that Hillary is stating that she "Hasn't heard it" and "I haven't read it". I find this very hard to believe, especially when you are plotting every move you make based on your opponent's previous move. (http://tinyurl.com/2qs58a) - cmiper
It's important for our presidential candidates to not seem crazy. :) - Chris White
Just another politician trying to save his campaign, nothing more. - Spencer Scott
@Spencer I think it is something more. it's a candidate showing the voters how he'll handle crises. No sending minions out to speak whilst he flies around frantically on AirForceOne, e.g. 9/11. - Carla Thompson
But the pastor is divisive, and Obama is long overdue in calling him that. - Prokofy Neva
One of the most honest and open speeches from a politician I've ever heard. The comments he made today were comments that someone has needed to say for a very long time. There are a lot of real issues that are facing this country and the old guard, both Republican and Democrat, are either unwilling or unable to initiate the changes that are needed. We've got to have something different and I'm grateful that Mr. Obama has at least been able to make me believe that change is possible. - Mike Paul
"...to narrow that gap between the promise of our ideals and the reality of their time" How very true. - Michelle Lee
There are lots of great things BUT I will just say this is the least *stupid* political speech in a long time. Obama's ability to take insane complexity -- the complicity of the oppressed and oppressors; the structural unities of racism, sexism, xenophobia; the superficial reasonableness of the self-help problem; the problems with welfare -- and make them poetic and listenable. This is a man that is able to express incredible depth without losing people. - Lilly Irani
I predicted his presidency after the 04 dem. convention speech...this speech may be one of the most important of our time. - Marianne Lenox
I remember reading a profile of Obama in The New Yorker when he was running for his seat in the Senate. I remember thinking - now THIS is a Presidential candidate I would support. And I do. - Cathy Brooks
I hope this speech has set him apart from the other candidates and can lead him to victory. Unfortunately, I think too many will view it as a political stunt rather than the true honest leadership that it is. - Brandon Titus
very interesting considering the very debate we were having together on myspace. I read the article, but didn't listen to the speech (I know bad me). Still a bit cynical but his open acknowledgement of the statements made by the pastor...makes me think. - Pamela Barnes
definitely not a google reader killer... google reader is far more useful for everything RSS related, and is not nearly as restrictive as a social feed service. By the way, not sure why your google reader is so slow... I subscribed to hundreds of feeds, and have no issues. - Nicholas Pike
I agree that it is great - but TechMeme still aggregates the stories together and shows blog posts on similar topics. The swarming effect is clear but its still helpful...no full switch here yet:) - Eric
friendfeed is good, but it will take a lot to move me from google reader - Chris Jones
I still like techmeme, but I moved of google reader a while back... I like river of news style feed reading, and I can use http://planetplanet.org and friendfeed for that. - Adnan
@Scobleizer - I recently completely changed my Google Reader behavior at least in part due to receiving errors from Goodle Reader as discussed here: http://friendfeed.com/e/ba48ce... - Seek Ground
I've stopped using google reader for the speed and search capability of my desktop RSS Reader. I like Newsfire, simply for the speed and it updates every 5 mins. - Tony
Doesn't kill TechMeme nor Google Reader... May lessen my Facebook usage! - Mario Sundar
Robert, I'd seen your blog before, but Friendfeed recommended you as a friend, and I think it nailed it. I have 4 friends that were recommended and all of them seem like great fits. It's a nice feature that actually works. I added FF as my homepage a few days ago, and haven't looked back. I'm hoping we see FF apps like we have for twitter. Would make for a nice "always-on" experience. - shaun mclane
Thanks for a great link to a great interview!! I'm excited about the API, sounds like it will open up more features that would blast friendfeed forward even more than the hype it's getting already. - Aaron Holverson
