At a small, exclusive New York City fundraiser Thursday night featuring the likes of Gwyneth Paltrow and movie mogul Harvey Weinstein, Obama compared himself and his agenda to that of Martin Luther King Jr.
Barack Obama said:
“And now that King has his own memorial on the Mall I think that we forget when he was alive there was nobody who was more vilified, nobody who was more controversial, nobody who was more despairing at times. There was a decade that followed the great successes of Birmingham and Selma in which he was just struggling, fighting the good fight, and scorned, and many folks angry. But what he understood, what kept him going, was that the arc of moral universe is long but it bends towards justice. But it doesn’t bend on its own. It bends because all of us are putting our hand on the arc and we are bending it in that direction. And it takes time. And it’s hard work. And there are frustrations…”The following is purported to be the true story of how this speech was written. Here, Obama is reading the speech to his press secretary, Jay Carney:
~
* * *
Barry: “And now that King has his own memorial on the Mall…”Carney: I think it’s more like, “We have a memorial to King.” I mean, King’s dead, so he can’t have his own anything. And it sounds like he has a memorial in a shopping center.
Barry: I like my idea better. “And now that King has his own memorial on the Mall, I think that we forget when he was alive…”
Carney: I think you’re mixing tenses.
Barry: What’s a “tense?”
Carney: You know, past tense, present tense, past tense participle.
Barry: What’s a “participle?”
Carney: If I remember correctly, it’s a verbal form used as an adjective.
Barry: I have no idea what you’re talking about.
Carney: Keep going.
Barry: “…I think that we forget when he was alive, there was nobody who was more vilified…”
Carney: He wasn’t that vilified.
Barry: Yes he was.
Carney: No he wasn’t. Sure, he was vilified down south among hard-core segregationists, but the rest of the south and the country and the government lauded him.
Barry: Maybe I’m confused. What’s “vilified?”
Carney: You know, to speak ill of.
Barry: What’s “illuv?”
Carney: “Ill” – to speak ill of.
Barry: So you’re saying a lot of people liked him.
Carney: Yes.
Barry: Why didn’t you just say so? I like my idea better. “…Nobody who was more vilified, nobody who was more controversial – “
Carney: Well, not really.
Barry: You tell me who was more controversial at that time.
Carney: For one, the politicians of the south. And radical blacks who advocated violence.
Barry: What are you, in the Klan or something?
Carney: You need to be accurate.
Barry: I like my idea better. “…Nobody who was more vilified, nobody who was more controversial, nobody who was more despairing at times — ”
Carney: Too many “nobody’s.” Besides, your points are all wrong. And what are you talking about with him being “despairing?”
Barry: Who’s despairing?
Carney: King. You said nobody was more “despairing.” In fact, it’s the opposite – he had a lot of hope. Don’t you remember his whole “I have a dream” thing?
Barry: He had a dream?
Carney: Like “Dreams of Your Father.”
