My friend Mel, after reading my prior post on Obama, pointed out this quote from an 1876 speech by Frederick Douglass, cited here, and many other places:
Viewed from the genuine abolition ground, Mr. Lincoln seemed tardy, cold, dull, and indifferent; but measuring him by the sentiment of his country, a sentiment he was bound as a statesman to consult, he was swift, zealous, radical, and determined.
I don't even think it is that it is Obama's being bound to consult the country's sentiment that moderates him. I think he believes that if he delivered the lectures he would like to, and pushed even harder than he does for what he believes in, he would quickly be ostracized and would lose what effectiveness he has.
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