The Philadelphia story

Yes, it was a good speech - the man is a consummate orator. And, on the issue of race in America, he told it like it is - he didn't pull any punches or attempt to sweeten the pill but addressed the issues head-on. And he did so with the calm dignity that has become his hallmark.

It might even have been a great speech had Obama only been concerned with the abstract and not the particular. But it was necessary that he deal with the controversy surrounding Pastor Wright and his membership of Trinity Church. Yet even here Obama turned the issue to his advantage. In saying he repudiated Wright's controversial ideas but could not and would not disown the man himself, he chose to separate the personal from the political and cast himself as someone ready to accept, acknowledge and forgive the failings of a man he has come to regard as part of his family.

And yet some nagging doubts remain.

Was it necessary (or indeed seemly) for him to "throw grandma under the bus" as some commentators have phrased it?

And, while we may understand the experiences that could lead Wright to use such fiery anti-American rhetoric in his sermons, it is difficult to regard his appointment as an adviser to the Obama campaign as anything other than a serious error of judgement.