The last thing those attending the Unity: Journalists of Color convention in Chicago wanted to hear from Sen. Barack Obama on Sunday was another stump speech.</p><p>Many in attendance already had heard him deliver one at the National Association of Black Journalists convention last year in Las Vegas.</p><p>That same day, I and fellow members of the Trotter Group, an organization of black columnists, interviewed him in a private setting. Add the speech I saw Obama give at Municipal Auditorium before the Missouri Democratic primary earlier this year and I was among those ready for something a bit different: serious questions posed by serious journalists.</p><p>The Q&amp;A format broadcast live on CNN on Sunday provided a refreshing deviation from the prepared Obama we&#8217;ve grown accustomed to seeing and was just what the doctor ordered.</p><p>While there was some speculation that a room full of minority journalists might go soft on Obama with friendly questions, that wasn&#8217;t the case. Questions on reparations for Native Americans, immigration reform, affirmative action and when our men and women are coming home from Iraq aren&#8217;t softballs.</p><p>In fact, they elicited some of the more frank responses that Obama has given during the campaign.</p><p>On the surge and timetable for troop withdrawals, Obama acknowledged the progress that soldiers fighting in Iraq had made.</p><p>&#8220;I strongly believe that going into Iraq was a disaster strategically,&#8221; Obama said. &#8220;I have established in every one of these interviews that the increase in troops helped quell the violence. I&#8217;ve been saying that all week. &#8230; We are in a position to start drawing down our troops partly because we&#8217;ve got to get some troops in Afghanistan. There&#8217;s no other place for us to get them.&#8221;</p><p>He was asked to explain his trip to the Middle East and Europe.</p><p>&#8220;I basically met with the same folks that Senator John McCain met with after he won the nomination,&#8221; Obama said. &#8220;He met with all these leaders. He also had a trip to Mexico, a trip to Canada and a trip to Colombia. And nobody suggested that was audacious.</p><p>&#8220;That&#8217;s part of the job I applied for. I was puzzled by this notion that what we did was any different than what Senator McCain did or any other candidate.</p><p>&#8220;I must admit, we did it well,&#8221; he said, drawing laughter. &#8220;If I went bumbling and fumbling through this thing, I would have been criticized for that.&#8221;</p><p>If elected president, would he make an apology for America&#8217;s mistreatment of Native Americans?</p><p>&#8220;We&#8217;ve got some very sad and difficult things to account for,&#8221; Obama said. &#8220;Essentially, I believe that whether it&#8217;s Native American issues or African-American issues about reparations, the most important thing for the U.S. government to do is not to just offer words, but offer deeds.</p><p>&#8220;I must confess, I&#8217;m more concerned about delivering a better life. &#8230; The best reparations we can provide are good schools in the inner city and jobs for people who are unemployed.&#8221;</p><p>Leonard Pitts Jr., a <em>Miami Herald </em>columnist, asked Obama probably the toughest question of the day: By denouncing false rumors that he was a Muslim, did Obama do damage to the Muslim faith? And would Obama visit a mosque?</p><p>&#8220;Leonard, I have to say, this is an example of a no-win situation,&#8221; Obama responded. &#8220;I have repeatedly said on various occasions that I&#8217;m not a Muslim. But this whole strategy of suggesting that I am is indicative of an anti-Muslim sentiment that we have to fight against.</p><p>&#8220;Maybe you haven&#8217;t seen those quotes, but they&#8217;re out there. &#8230; I just don&#8217;t like the idea of somebody falsely identifying my religion. I suspect that you wouldn&#8217;t appreciate that either.&#8221;</p><p>Obama came away from the Unity Q&amp;A unblemished. With less than 100 days to go before the Nov. 4 election, everything that&#8217;s said or isn&#8217;t said is magnified and scrutinized.</p><p>Unless Obama starts making gaffes &#8212; or to borrow his words, starts &#8220;bumbling and fumbling&#8221; &#8212; in forums like the one held Sunday, this is shaping up to be his election to win.