Lieberman's Speech as Delivered to the NAACP

[dolstein]

"Dear friends, anyone aspiring to leadership, particularly the presidency of the United States, must believe that the causes he or she fights for, the stands he or she takes, the decisions he or she makes are right. That's leadership.

"But leadership also means being able to admit when you're wrong. In not coming Monday, I was wrong. I regret it and I apologize for it.

"And particularly so with regard to the NAACP. I respect what you do beyond words that I can express. The values and the purposes of this organization were impressed in my heart and soul as a child by my spiritual teachers, and as a young man by my heroes, Pres. Kennedy, Dr. King. My relationship with the NAACP goes back so long that I can hardly remember when it started.

"I believe it was in the early 60's when I came back from college to join the Stamford, Connecticut NAACP in opposing the drawing of lines for our high school, which would have created de facto segregation. That was wrong and I fought it.

"In 1963, I marched with the NAACP behind Dr. King in Washington to hear the 'I Have a Dream' speech. Motivated by it, later that year I went to Mississippi to support the freedom vote candidate for Governor of Mississippi that year - the late, great President of the Mississippi NAACP, Aaron Henry.

"Then I went on into the State Legislature of Connecticut to work with the NAACP for civil rights legislation. I enforced those laws as Attorney General of my state, and for the last 15 years as a United States Senator, have had the honor to work with your extraordinary Washington office to continue that struggle.

"I have something else in common with the NAACP today - a treasurer. Frank Borges is treasurer of both the NAACP and the Joe Lieberman for President campaign and that's a good omen for both organizations.

. . .

"Dear friends, remember what MLK said, 'The arc of the moral universe is long but it bends toward justice.' I say to you today I am grateful that you have welcomed me here. I'm sorry I'm late in coming but I hope you agree with me that it is never too late to do the right thing and the right thing was to be here with you today supporting the NAACP's continuing fight for prosperity, equality, security and justice. "

http://www.joe2004.com/site/News2?page=NewsArticle&id=5449&JServSessionIdr008=2i9kuabsfw.app5a&news_iv_ctrl=1041

[arcos]

1. he did not explain why he chose to go to O'Reilly instead, though...

n/t

[dolstein]

2. No explanation necessary

You make it sound as if Lieberman skipped the NAACP meeting in order to make an appearance on O'Reilly. But the fact is that Lieberman had a previously scheduled fundraiser in New York, which is where O'Reilly's show is broadcast from. Obviously, it's a heck of a lot easier to drop by the Fox studios in New York on the way to (or from) the fundraiser than it would be to squeeze in a roundtrip flight to Miami, which is where the NAACP chose to hold its meeting. If the NAACP meeting were in New York, I'm sure Lieberman would have been there on Monday instead of with O'Reilly.

[jiacinto]

3. I defend Lieberman a lot

but he should have gone to the NAACP event.

[dsc]

4. You can't tell me the NAACP

convention wasn't planned before that fundraiser. I find that notion laughable. Lieberman never should have skipped out.