There was one line I was certain Barak Obama would speak on this anniversary of Reverend Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I have a dream speech.”  And that line was, “I am the fulfillment of that dream.”  What speechwriter would miss that obvious “home run” of a line?  And when all the pundits inevitably asked, “What was the most memorable line?”, that one would have stood out "head and shoulders" above all others.

But he just couldn’t bring himself to say it—why not?   Could it be because he would alienate a huge part of his base that cannot let go of the past, including their hate for political opponents and the entire country which they blame for all manner of problems?  They would have to admit that things have gotten better even as the greatest and most obvious evidence of that improvement was speaking to them.  But he and they just can't do that and maintain their worldview.

Barak Obama is making a two fold accusation, with an additional twist: (1) that his political opposition is “playing the race card” by trying to “scare” voters in (2) an appeal to those voters’ racist tendencies. In addition to the accusation against John McCain and his campaign, the clear implication is that everyone who fails to vote for Obama is doing so because he has racist motives. The false accusation is against both those groups.

There are lies, and then there are damnable lies. A false accusation is the most damnable of lies. In fact, God thought it warranted inclusion in the “Top Ten” of sins that offended him the most (it is the 9^th commandment: “thou shall not bear false witness against thy neighbor”). 

Actually, Obama is employing an interesting twist on that most damnable of lies: His exact words were, “…what they are going to do is…”, which means he’s technically not making the false accusation that McCain’s campaign has “done it,” but that he believes they will do it! Of course, implicit in the perfidious prophecy that McCain’s campaign will do it, is that such a message will resonate with all those who fail to vote for Senator Obama.

Senator Obama has a right to his opinion just as we all do. However, it becomes a false accusation if it is a judgment upon others regarding their motives, and if there is no evidence to support that judgment. There seems to be no evidence to support Barak Obama’s accusation because he hasn’t produced any—oh, that’s right, he was predicting a future event so it is unreasonable to hold him to that standard. If we apply that standard to him, we must be racist, thereby fulfilling Obama’s prediction.

While Obama’s style isn’t angry like Reverend Wright’s, his technique, stirring up an emotional response with false accusations, is the same.  While many have commented upon Obama’s false accusation, largely overlooked is the connection to both his mentor’s message (that America is a racist in its people and its institutions) and his method (the use of false accusations). 

Also overlooked is the receptiveness of their respective audiences to such a message and method, indicating something very significant about every member of those audiences.