Is he looking to reassure the white community by showing them he can call out the black community to stop laying the blame for where they are or aren't at the feet of the white community - which also separates him from Jeremiah Wright and Father Pfleger and Rev. Meeks?  

Is his government-can't-do-everything talk a message to conservatives tired of social programs?  

Is he going to give that same lecture to the next virtually all-white or all-Latino group to whom he speaks?  I mean, isn't personal responsibility something that, ahem, transcends race?

I don't know - I have to wonder if, once they stop to think about it a little, the people in the NAACP audience, in the hall, might not find themselves a little put-out that he delivered that lecture to them - probably a generally middle-to-upper scale demographic not likely to be the real target of his remarks.  Or is Obama counting on the people in his audience to go out and spread the message to those who really need to hear it?

I can't make up my mind about what he thinks he gains by giving parenting lectures to an NAACP audience.  Or to the congregation of a black church.

What's the gain? This is an honest question waiting for an honest answer. If anyone deserves the kudos for this, it's Bill Cosby: He was the one who took the heat, not Obama. We'll see.

I understand what Obama is saying. But this spin that the media puts on it is just pushing negative stereotypes.

People who call others racist when we point out that responsible procreation is a major key in overcoming poverty are simply enablers. Having one child because you're ignorant of birth control is really more than I am willing to concede, but after the first birth, you really have no excuse.

 It's not just blacks, but when 70% of black babies are born to a single mother, it's pretty sorry to be unwilling to acknowledge a problem within the community, imo.

Keven Alexander Gray:

In the days after Obama's speech, Ishmael Reed, Dr. Ron Walters and others rebutted the candidate's targeting of black men with the Boston College study which revealed - surprisingly to some - that black fathers not living in the same domicile as their children are more likely to have a relationship with their kids than white fathers in similar circumstances. Walters, an Obama supporter, warned his candidate, "Black people are not voting for a moralist-in-chief."

So, in light of the Brown study should we conclude that white men are more irresponsible than black men when it comes to spending time with their kids? Maybe Obama should find a white church and offer white men advice on Father's Day? Can we expect to hear him call them "boys?"

Or maybe he should take a trip to the hollows of Appalachia and tell the "trailer park crowd" that if they would just "pick up the garbage" from around their trailers and "stop engaging in incest" (or whatever other stereotype that comes to mind) they would not have it so bad.

Just once, I'd like to see him speak truth to power, instead of attacking the powerless.  

I think the negative perception is because Obama is quite willing to give these speeches that implicitly but strongly criticize the African American community, but not as willing to do so for other communities, or the public at large. This leads to the suspicion that the criticism is really meant for white voters who believe that racial inequality is due mainly to the failings of the African American community rather than a heritage of racism and discrimination.

This is in sharp contrast to his developing reputation as someone who says whatever pleases his current audience:

• To AIPAC, he said that Jerusalem must remain the undivided capital of Israel.

• On FOX News, he said that Republicans are better than Democrats on a "whole host of issues."

• In Ohio and Pennsylvania, he ran a protectionist campaign against free trade deals.

• I didn't check his comments to La Raza, but nothing newsworthy came out of it, so I'm guessing he didn't say anything particularly challenging to the Latino community.

Sincerely,

Until then, you can keep talking, but we won't be listening.

Love,

Instead, he goes to a historically oppressed community and tells them to turn off the television.  Gee, Barack, that might be easier if we didn't live in an economy where you need two incomes to make ends meet, whether those come from two separate parents or one.  Where 45 million Americans don't have health insurance or access to healthcare.  Where black men are incarcerated at a much higher rate than whites thanks to the idiocy that is the War on Drugs.  All of which are policies that make your friends on Wall Street rich at the expense of the people you are lecturing.

The minute you start taking responsibility for your own failings, instead of blaming Hillary, Bill, racism, bitterness, the voters, the media, John McCain and everyone including your grandmother, we will take your admonitions seriously.

...in it's wilfull ignorance. This site is chock full of what I can only assume are Republican Ratf*ckers today. Clearly, you are angry about something. Since, from your list, I can see it is not fact-based, I'm inclined to believe that your agenda is simply to diminish the prospects of the presumptive Democratic nominee. The actual content of what he says or does doesn't matter, because you can't even be bothered to read and understand his positions (which are virtually identical to one of his staunchest supporters, Hillary Clinton).

If your game is willful ignorance, you really need to try harder. Hell, anyone with Google could do better, just search "Daniel Pipes" or some other smear merchant. There are plenty of lies out there. If you're going to do this, you should at least try to make it appear credible. You know, like they do at No Quarter. They really know how to do hate over there.

In his implicit criticism that some black men neglect their children, Obama showed he was prepared to endure a breach with his political base. The move could have an upside: White voters might see it as an example of courage.