# Comments on President Obama's Charleston speech and Amazing Grace **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 26, 2015, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comments-on-president-obamas-charleston-speech-and-amazing-grace/723565 "2015-06-26T21:52:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2015, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comments-on-president-obamas-charleston-speech-and-amazing-grace/723565/41 "2015-06-29T02:19:30Z")
> [@SaharaTea](#): > > I love how he paused just long enough to make people think “WTF? Did he lose his train of thought?” It made the moment he broke into song all the more powerful. It really seemed to me like the song wasn’t planned…or if it was, it was sort of a “let’s see how the moment feels” quasi-plan. Which (whether true or not, the impression) made it all the more powerful for me. He was really in the moment, and felt the waters with the words alone, and found the moment was right for singing. Very well done. I’ve been there myself as the leader of religious services, and it takes a lot of courage and a lot of faith to feel the flow and go with it, even if you’re not the best technical singer in the world. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2015, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comments-on-president-obamas-charleston-speech-and-amazing-grace/723565/42 "2015-06-29T03:53:37Z")
Apparently he did give it some thought ahead of time: > [@](#): > > President Obama was sitting across from the first lady and senior adviser Valerie Jarrett on Marine One, headed to Andrews Air Force Base and then Charleston, S.C., when he shared a thought. > > “I may sing,” he said, as the White House and the monuments of official Washington receded into the background. A good [article](http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/from-obama-a-more-confident-tone-emerges/2015/06/27/fa66cf0e-1ce0-11e5-ab92-c75ae6ab94b5_story.html) from the _Washington Post_ ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2015, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comments-on-president-obamas-charleston-speech-and-amazing-grace/723565/43 "2015-06-29T04:01:05Z")
I loved it. But I’ve been watching Veep lately, and I can’t help but imagine BO and his team-- which, naturally, in my mind is Selina Meyer’s team-- putting it all together in the days ahead of the funeral, where the president says he wants to sing a soulful rendition of Amazing Grace at the end. Back and forth it goes for a couple days, with the general consensus being that he should \*not \*do it, but no verbalized final word from the President himself. During practice runs, he never sings. Then during the actual eulogy, at the part where he says “Amazing grace…amazing grace…” and has the loooong pause, I picture [McClintock](http://image-cdn.zap2it.com/images/matt-walsh-veep-3.jpg), [Egan](http://cdn.theatlantic.com/assets/media/img/posts/2014/05/Screen_Shot_2014_05_12_at_8.03.26_AM/970f3e15c.png)and [Amy](http://cdn.theatlantic.com/assets/media/img/posts/2014/03/Screen_Shot_2014_03_31_at_2.56.42_PM/d668cce9a.png)start shitting themselves, while [Gary](http://i.lv3.hbo.com/assets/images/homepage/2012/april/series/veep/120401-ep07-gary-300.jpg)starts quietly chanting “Do it, do it, do it…” ---
**Author:** ![piepiepie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e47774/32.png) [@piepiepie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/piepiepie)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2015, 11:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comments-on-president-obamas-charleston-speech-and-amazing-grace/723565/44 "2015-06-29T11:55:03Z")
I’m not sure how many of you have been to a religious black funeral before, his eulogy was like so many of the eulogies I’ve heard given by those ministers you know will go up and _preach_. President Obama did very well, and said things many needed to hear even though he was quite literally preaching to the choir. I’m not religious. I don’t really discuss that with other family members since I’m not trying to get shunned or anything. But there’s something so moving about these going home ceremonies that you can’t help but to feel something, at least for everyone else’s sake. Greg Howard wrote [this fabulous piece](http://theconcourse.deadspin.com/president-obama-took-me-to-church-today-1714260805). Eta: I thought he sang quite well. No better or worse than the average minister or pastor. ---
**Author:** ![CGav8r](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/34f0e0/32.png) [@CGav8r](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CGav8r)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2015, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comments-on-president-obamas-charleston-speech-and-amazing-grace/723565/45 "2015-06-29T14:24:43Z")
Beautiful and moving - my wife and I had tears in our eyes as he ended with singing “Amazing Grace” and said the names of those murdered. His voice was fine, but him singing in a very public ceremony was incredible. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2015, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comments-on-president-obamas-charleston-speech-and-amazing-grace/723565/46 "2015-06-29T14:59:11Z")
I remember a standup comedian, back in the day when then-President Bill Clinton played a sax solo with a jazz band: “It’s been so long since we had a President who could actually do anything; if he can speak a foreign language, I may shit myself.” He may not have sung as well as the people in the choir, or all the preachers seated behind him, but it’s not like he’s getting lots of free time to practice. He did fine. Other singers I know think he did great. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2015, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comments-on-president-obamas-charleston-speech-and-amazing-grace/723565/47 "2015-06-29T16:19:34Z")
Maybe I have a tin ear, but I didn’t think his singing was bad at all. He did a lot better than most of us could have done! What I found a bit annoying was his black-preacher affectation. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2015, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comments-on-president-obamas-charleston-speech-and-amazing-grace/723565/48 "2015-06-29T16:30:25Z")
I thought his voice was fine, he was certainly more qualified to lead a hymn than Gerard Butler was to play the Phantom. Besides, you know that when you start singing in a black church, you’re going go be drowned out by the congregation in short order. During the speech, I kept waiting for Obama to point his finger at someone and say “I didn’t get a harrumph out of you!” But the man can give a eulogy. For both this one and the Beau Biden one, he knocked it out of the park. ---
**Author:** ![JohnGalt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johngalt/32/184_2.png) [@JohnGalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnGalt)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2015, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comments-on-president-obamas-charleston-speech-and-amazing-grace/723565/49 "2015-06-29T17:22:21Z")
I’m thinking this will be Obama’s equivalent of the Gettysburg Address. It too was delivered at a funeral (versus a cemetery dedication) during a time of racial divide. Both speeches called out for equality, that the dead did not die in vain, and both have a call to action to finish make the country a better place. The only thing Obama’s speech is missing is it’s too long to be memorized, but the last two or three minutes will be replayed over and over. I think it’ll end up being ranked among the best presidential speeches ever given. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2015, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comments-on-president-obamas-charleston-speech-and-amazing-grace/723565/50 "2015-06-29T17:27:15Z")
The song was a surprise… he doesn’t have a great voice, but it was a very effective, touching moment. The eulogy, on the other hand, was precisely the kind of partisan, opportunistic mush I expected. Far less about Reverend Pinckney than about pushing Obama’s long-standing agenda. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2015, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comments-on-president-obamas-charleston-speech-and-amazing-grace/723565/51 "2015-06-29T18:46:32Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > …What I found a bit annoying was his black-preacher affectation. You like it better when he sounds more white? > [@astorian](#): > > … > The eulogy, on the other hand, was precisely the kind of partisan, opportunistic mush I expected. Far less about Reverend Pinckney than about pushing Obama’s long-standing agenda. :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![SaharaTea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@SaharaTea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SaharaTea)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2015, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comments-on-president-obamas-charleston-speech-and-amazing-grace/723565/52 "2015-06-29T18:59:52Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > The song was a surprise… he doesn’t have a great voice, but it was a very effective, touching moment. > > The eulogy, on the other hand, was precisely the kind of partisan, opportunistic mush I expected. Far less about Reverend Pinckney than about pushing Obama’s long-standing agenda. I fail to see how anyone could have given a eulogy that did not address the issue of ongoing hate in race relations, since you know, that was the whole motive for the murder and all. President Obama admitted he did not know Pinckney that well in his eulogy, and I doubt Pinckney would have disagreed with anything he said. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2015, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comments-on-president-obamas-charleston-speech-and-amazing-grace/723565/53 "2015-06-29T19:19:17Z")
@astorian By labeling his remarks “partisan,” by which I assume you mean “Democrat,” you’re implying that Republicans ought to take a stand against what he said about hatred, history, and race relations. Boxed in a corner much? ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2015, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comments-on-president-obamas-charleston-speech-and-amazing-grace/723565/54 "2015-06-29T19:25:48Z")
> [@SaharaTea](#): > > President Obama admitted he did not know Pinckney that well in his eulogy, and I doubt Pinckney would have disagreed with anything he said. One of my Obama-hating co-workers thought it was disrespectful of Obama to deliver the eulogy because he didn’t know Pinckney, and it should have been somebody who knew him well. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2015, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comments-on-president-obamas-charleston-speech-and-amazing-grace/723565/55 "2015-06-29T20:38:25Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > @astorian > By labeling his remarks “partisan,” by which I assume you mean “Democrat,” you’re implying that Republicans ought to take a stand against what he said about hatred, history, and race relations. Boxed in a corner much? One can oppose racism without buying into Obama’s agenda. Dylann Roof is scum. When they strap him onto the gurney, NOBODY will feel the least bit bad about it, least of all myself. You’re the only one trying to box me into a corner. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2015, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comments-on-president-obamas-charleston-speech-and-amazing-grace/723565/56 "2015-06-29T20:46:13Z")
I watched most of the speech. It was extremely good. Too bad that didn’t get a lot of coverage. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2015, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comments-on-president-obamas-charleston-speech-and-amazing-grace/723565/57 "2015-06-29T21:14:41Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > One can oppose racism without buying into Obama’s agenda. Dylann Roof is scum. When they strap him onto the gurney, NOBODY will feel the least bit bad about it, least of all myself. > > You’re the only one trying to box me into a corner. Then clarify: what part was “partisan”? ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2015, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comments-on-president-obamas-charleston-speech-and-amazing-grace/723565/58 "2015-06-29T21:22:10Z")
> [@Ethilrist](#): > > One of my Obama-hating co-workers thought it was disrespectful of Obama to deliver the eulogy because he didn’t know Pinckney, and it should have been somebody who knew him well. Making excuses for their own racism, I guess. “The dignitaries in attendance included the first lady, Michelle Obama; Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. and his wife, Dr. Jill Biden; House Speaker John A. Boehner, who traveled on Air Force One for the first time during the Obama presidency; Ms. Haley; Hillary Rodham Clinton, the former secretary of state and current Democratic presidential candidate; Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina; Mayor Joseph P. Riley Jr. of Charleston; dozens of members of Congress and the South Carolina Legislature; and civil rights leaders like the Rev. Jesse L. Jackson, the Rev. Al Sharpton, and Martin Luther King III.” ---
**Author:** ![Knorf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/58956e/32.png) [@Knorf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knorf)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2015, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comments-on-president-obamas-charleston-speech-and-amazing-grace/723565/59 "2015-06-29T21:29:00Z")
What a shame that some people are too partisan to recognize a great moment in history when they see it. ---
**Author:** ![SaharaTea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@SaharaTea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SaharaTea)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2015, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comments-on-president-obamas-charleston-speech-and-amazing-grace/723565/60 "2015-06-29T21:30:29Z")
> [@Ethilrist](#): > > One of my Obama-hating co-workers thought it was disrespectful of Obama to deliver the eulogy because he didn’t know Pinckney, and it should have been somebody who knew him well. Your co-worker is certainly entitled to that opinion. But when we’re talking about someone’s funeral, the only opinions that matter are the deceased (if they had specific wishes) and the deceased’s family. Pinckney’s wife would have spoken up if she didn’t want Obama there. President Reagan gave a eulogy at the Challenger Memorial Service and I don’t believe he knew any of the seven astronauts personally. I have no problem with this when it’s a matter of national importance. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comments-on-president-obamas-charleston-speech-and-amazing-grace/723565.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comments-on-president-obamas-charleston-speech-and-amazing-grace/723565.md?page=4)