It was supposed to be a speech where Barack Obama would address the at times controversial statements of his former pastor, Reverend Jeremiah Wright.  Instead it turned it something much bigger than that.

Obama seemed tense to some of those writing on more liberal blogs, though many felt like the Illinois Senator found his voice later in the speech in Philadelphia.

I was surprised that he was almost 45 minutes late - though that gave the cable networks more time to talk about him, I guess.

Obama did more than distance himself from Wright's statements, as the speech became more of a call for action on the race front in America.

The Associated Press labeled it a "bold effort to quiet campaign uproar over race and his former pastor's incendiary statements."

One talking head on MSNBC called it the "greatest speech on race since Martin Luther King, Junior's 'I Have a Dream' speech."

(One thing is for sure, some of the political experts being used on the cable networks right now might want to watch some tapes of themselves as they are beginning to resemble cheerleaders for their candidates of choice.)

The bottom line question to ask is this - will the Obama speech end the furor over Rev. Wright?  The answer is probably not. 

I would expect outside groups on the Republican side to get more video of Wright with more controversial sound bites and piece it together in 30 second ads that have a draconian voice over if Obama is the Democratic nominee.  ("Do you want to vote for this?")

Obama is a powerful speaker and a powerful messenger, being the product of a black father and a white mother.  What better person to carry a message about racial tolerance and intolerance in America?

It will be fascinating to watch if he is the nominee.  Race is not going away as an issue if Obama runs in November.  How he deals with it will be very interesting.

You would have laughed at me six months ago if I had predicted that Hillary Clinton would be the candidate of the lunch bucket, working man Democrat making less than $50,000 a year.

You would have cackled if I told you that Hillary Clinton would win rural counties in state after state.  Hillary?  In rural America?

Barack Obama has a difficult road ahead if he is going to be the Democratic standard bearer.  He must convince some of those white men with hard hats and those on country roads that he can be their leader.

Times do change.  Whether they have changed that much, we shall see in coming months.