Mike Luckovich| Atlanta Journal-Constitution  Obama lifts debate
to higher ground  Obama&#8217;s speech Tuesday went beyond
damage control to attempt to break the stalemate on race in
America.  Associated Press   Barack Obama set out to deal with
an explosive political problem and wound up lifting the national
debate on race to a higher ground. ¶ In an extraordinary moment
in presidential politics, Obama tried to put behind him the
inflammatory ravings of the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, his pastor and
spiritual adviser for 20 years. But in his speech in
Philadelphia on Tuesday, he went beyond damage control and
challenged the nation to break the ''stalemate'' on race and try
to better understand the anger and resentment on both sides of
the racial divide. Just as whites need to recognize the
lingering problem of racism, he said, blacks should try to
understand the resentment of white Americans over affirmative
action, busing, crime and "other legitimate concerns.''
Finally, race is out in the open in this campaign