I am so glad that this political campaign season is finally over. I can't speak for everyone else nor do I pretend to, but I have been very disappointed the events of the last 2 years. The candidates (Obama, Clinton, McCain, Biden, Romney, etc.) consistently displayed the ability to lie to the American public. For once, I would like a politician to say, "You know what - there is nothing the government can do about this problem." I would vote for that candidate in a minute. Unfortunately, that person would not have a chance to win because the majority of the citizens in this country are intellectually lazy. They only read snippets of questionable information and listen to 30 second sound bytes that play loose with the truth. There are very few citizens who challenge the politicians and the mainstream media who print their words and actions.
Now that the presidential elections are over the lies and misleading statements can desist for a while. Maybe Obama will think of a way to be really honest with the American public about the "change" he will be able to implement. On the other hand, McCain can be well - McCain again. The man who really is a maverick and not afraid to take on the system. He can be the man the conservative Republicans have never trusted or liked. It's too bad that McCain was not allowed by the Republican establishment to run for President.
I only hope that the 2012 campaign is better. Contrary to popular belief, the politicians do not determine the kind of campaign that is acceptable for that season. It is the American public who decides. The people of this country have always had the power to dictate and change the environment of this country. They just don't do it.
Jack White is a black male who is an adjunct professor at Virginia Commonwealth University. He also writes columns for the The Root web site. His latest column was entitled, "Barack, Here's How To Get The White People". White describes this column as a "unsolicited nine-point plan to Obama for winning over white voters and victory in the fall campaign". White suggests that Obama should do the following nine things:
1. Remind us who you are.
2. Keep it simple and funny.
3. Go to church every Sunday.
4. Re-channel RFK.
5. Be nice to McCain.
6. Show off your team.
7. Avoid Washington insiders.
8. Talk tough to your supporters, including blacks liberals.
9. Go to the front lines.
The author, White, believes that the issue of race is going to play a major part in this campaign. He also believes it is the reason that Obama is not out distancing McCain in the polls. White writes, "If Obama were a generic white, male Democrat of similar eloquence, youthful grace and energy, he would be a guaranteed easy landslide victor over the standard bearer for a party as deeply unpopular as the Republicans have become."
Hello Mr. White - please come back to Earth. Your aforementioned scenario already played out in the Democratic primaries - the candidates name was John Edwards and he lost. Obama beat Hillary Clinton because he picked the right message and her campaign did not know how to handle a biracial male in a primary campaign battle. Obama's campaign handlers sensed the Democratic primary voters wanted change. Obama gave them change with his soaring rhetoric and his skin color.
I agree with White that race will play a role in the general election. I just don't think it will play the decisive role that he and Obama's campaign wants the public to think it will play. If Obama can't beat McCain this fall, it won't be because Obama is black. It will be because Obama is too liberal for the majority of this country. The majority of the people in the United States are not liberal or conservative; they are moderates who believe in governing from the middle. This is why Obama and McCain are tripping over themselves to get back to the middle before the election takes place in November.
After reading his nine point plan, it's obvious that White is an Obama supporter who has been blinded by Obama's message and refuses to look deeper into the policies being espoused by his campaign. I am not critical of White for supporting Obama. However, I do take issue with some of the statements made in his nine points. For example, Point No. 7 said to "avoid Washington insiders". That's what Obama's campaign is made up of - Washington insiders. There is nothing wrong with that - it is what it is. A lot of Obama's advisors use to work in the Clinton administration - if that's not a "Washington insider", I don't know what is.
The rest of White's nine point plan is basically suggesting to Obama to use smoke and mirrors with the white voters in order to get elected. Well, Obama is already doing that like a typical politician. Obama will say or do whatever it takes to get elected. He's so bad that even Ralph Nader accused Obama of trying to "talk white".
Contrary to what White and many Obama supporters believe, this election will not answer if America is ready to elect a minority president. However, I do believe this election will answer if America is ready to elect another liberal president who happens to be white and black.
One of the things I always like about competition is the reaction of the losing team in the days and months after the game or in this case, the campaign. One of the architects of Hillary Clinton's losing campaign was strategist Mark Penn. In an interview with GQ, he gave his opinion on what went wrong with Clinton's campaign and why she lost to Barack Obama. I found it interesting that he never once said that Clinton lost because he gave her some bad advice. However, Penn was able to point the finger at the failings of other people involved in Clinton's campaign, namely former campaign manager Patti Doyle. Penn may be right about in criticizing the roles and decisions of others in the campaign, but before he starts chirping he needs to take a really long look in the mirror.
I have returned to the blogging world from my self-imposed exile with a new focus and renewed energy. I am still relatively new to blogging, but I am disappointed with the attitudes of a lot of people in the blogosphere. I have found it to be a place where people can hide and say anything that they want. Their commentary can be full of lies and misleading statements. Some readers leave comments that make you wonder how they graduated from high school and found any kind of employment.
I have always lived by the adage that I would never say or write something about someone that I could not say to their face. I have never felt compelled to hide behind a letter or computer screen to voice my opinion. The blogging world is full of cowards who like to make comments that are sexist, racist, unintelligent, deceitful and devoid of any truth. There are some people who actually take the time to see if they can be a bigger jerk than someone else on the site. These people are cowards in public and these people are cowards tapping away on their laptops. The blogosphere has almost made it cool to be a jerk to other people.
I have always had a problem with people who are ignorant or who do not have any common sense. I don't knowingly deal with these types of people nor do I coach them. I make a conscious effort to weed these people out of my life. This is why I am not accepting comments any more on this site. For example, people know that I have not been a big fan of Barack Obama's political views or his old church membership. However, I have more of a problem with the racist language people have used to criticize Obama and his family. I have also hated the language Obama supporters have used towards John McCain and Hillary Clinton.
I know that people blog to express their feelings and expertise on various subjects. However, that does mean I have to provide a forum for shallow people to spew vile and hateful comments that do not have any place in this society.
While reading Political Punch, I was led to an interesting, entertaining and thought provokingblog written by Ta-Nehisi Coates. While I don't agree with some of the content of his postings, I appreciate and respect the fact that he makes intelligent arguments. For example, I liked his post regarding the myth of the black racist voter.
There are some whites who believe that the overwhelming support of blacks for Obama is a racist act. I strongly disagree with that. Coates writes:
"Whereas we have several anecdotal reports
of folks categorically
voting against Obama because he's black, I've yet to hear a black voter
say she couldn't vote for Hillary--under any circumstance--because
she's white."
I agree with Coates on this issue. I have never during my lifetime heard a black person say they would never vote for a candidate because they are white. Now I am sure there are blacks out there who do harbor racist feelings and do feel that way regarding white candidates. I'm just saying that I have never encountered any. That's probably because I have an aversion to being around racists of any color.
However, as a result of being born and raised in St. Louis, I have had a front row seat to the hardcore racist sentiments some whites have towards black candidates. I remember when Freeman Bosley Jr. ran for mayor of St. Louis. You would have been hard pressed to find a white person who would have admitted that they voted for him. I think it's a fear that some whites have that if a black person is elected to a position of power that they will invoke some form of apartheid that will in turn have whites living as second class citizens.
Obama is getting approximately ninety percent of the black vote for a couple of reasons. There are many blacks who are voting for Obama because of his political platform. However, in my opinion, the majority of blacks are supporting Obama for reasons of pride and wanting to see history made by seeing a man of color as President of the United States. For example, I have been called an "Uncle Tom", traitor, and other names by blacks because I am a registered independent voter who has not jumped on the Obama bandwagon. Some of these people are my family members who do not like to hear that I believe Obama and Clinton are both flawed candidates who are promising a lot of things that they will not be able to deliver if they were to become president.
As I have said before, I am torn by the Obama candidacy. I would love to see a member of a minority group elected to the highest office in the land. I am just not convinced yet that Obama is the right person to break that glass ceiling. Unlike Clinton, he still has time to convince me otherwise - I am listening.
When the presidential inauguration is held in January, I am sure that Hillary Clinton will have another episode of "what if" on her mind.
- What if Clinton had been aggressive in attacking Barack Obama from the beginning of the campaign?
- What would have happened if the Clinton campaign team had not acted as clinching the nomination was just a formality?
- What would have happened if the Clinton campaign had given the caucus states the same respect they had given to primary states?
- What would have happened if the Clinton campaign team had not completely mismanaged their campaign contributions to the point that Clinton has had to loan her campaign approximately 11 million dollars?
I cannot wait for the day when Clinton will sit down and answer questions like those mentioned above. It has to drive her crazy to think that the Democratic nomination was hers to lose and that is exactly what she proceeded to do. Don't get me wrong, Obama and his campaign team deserve much of the credit for Clinton losing the nomination. Obama's game plan was organized, strategically better and well executed. Obama campaigned to win while Clinton campaigned not to lose. Obama has soundly beaten Clinton in every phase of the game. I know everyone wants to blame her loss on statements made by Bill Clinton. Some of the pundits are also saying that the country is tired of a Bush or Clinton being in the White House. I will admit there are some people who hold those sentiments, but the fact is that Clinton just got her butt kicked.
Does that make Obama the best candidate for the Democratic Party? Not exactly. However, Obama's performance for the past year says that he competed well enough to win the nomination and that is all that counts in politics.
Once again, Obama is asking the American public to take a leap of faith and believe him when he says that he never heard Jeremiah Wright say anything that the general public would find offensive. Now that Obama has finally denounced Wright and some of his views, some people want to know why it took so long for him to make the right decision.
I have said it before and I will say it again. I do not have a problem with Wright saying the stuff that he does. If he wants to act crazy and say hateful things then that is his right to do so. Just as it is my right to question the sanity and judgment of the members of Trinity United Church of Christ who continue to sit and listen to Wright. I still have a problem that Obama was a member of this church for twenty years.
Obama continues to say he was unaware that Wright was delusional and controversial, but there is evident that says otherwise. Tom Bevan does a great job of documenting Obama's awareness of how problematic his relationship with Wright could be to the day he announced his candidacy for the presidency on February 10, 2007. According to Wright, Obama called him the night before the announcement to tell him that he no longer could do the invocation.
"Mr. Wright said that in the phone conversation in which Mr. Obama
disinvited him from a role in the announcement, Mr. Obama cited an
article in Rolling Stone, "The Radical Roots of Barack Obama." According to the pastor, Mr. Obama then told him, "You can get kind
of rough in the sermons, so what we've decided is that it's best for
you not to be out there in public."
I have questioned Hillary Clinton's sanity and inability to tell the truth after her "sniper" fantasy played out on national television. Therefore, I also believe it is fair to question Obama's judgment and decision making in regards to Wright. I have come to the conclusion that Obama is either lying about what he knew about Wright's controversial beliefs and sermons or he is a member of a church that he rarely attended. Time will tell what the real truth is, but by then it may be too late for Obama.
I remember it wasn't that long ago when most black people wondered aloud if Obama was black enough. Some blacks did not trust him because of his biracial background. He did not have the similar life experience that the majority of blacks have as a result of living in the United States. Blacks who doubted Obama pointed to the fact that he was the son of a Kenyan father and a white mother. He also attended and graduated from some of the best schools in the country. Therefore, some blacks questioned his authenticity on his knowledge of being black in America.
Now approximately 90 percent of the voting black community supports Obama and his quest for the presidency. Even though he is biracial, Obama has allowed everyone (black, white, media, etc.) to say that he could be the first African-American president of the United States. For the record, I respect Obama's decision to identify with his African heritage, but I am of the opinion that Obama would be the first biracial President who happens to identify as a black male. I only say this because I believe when people say Obama is African-American, they totally disregard his white mother and her family. Obama is the man he is because of his white mother and her parents who basically raised him as a young man in a white household.
When Obama won the Iowa Primary, most black people were stunned that a predominantly white state would vote for someone of color. The Iowa victory and his strong showing in New Hampshire gave some blacks the courage they needed to support Obama. For example, Jesse Jackson won 77 percent of the black vote in 1984 and 92 percent of the black vote in 1988. Currently, Obama is getting numbers close to what Jackson got in 1988.
Despite the support he gets from the majority of black voters, Obama has to be careful of his perception in all segments of the black community. There are already rumblings from some members of Indiana's black communities that Obama and Hillary Clinton are basically ignoring them while concentrating on courting the blue collar white voters.
Obama is also being watched to see how he handles the Jeremiah Wright and Trinity United Church of Christ controversies. When Obama denounced Wright yesterday, most people knew he did it for more political reasons than for personal ones. For Obama to have any chance of making inroads into the white blue-collar vote that Clinton has consistently beat him in he knew he had to strongly denounce Wright. However, Obama has to be careful how he denounces Wright so as not lose many members of his black voting bloc. Obama knows that there is a risk that some blacks will think he's just criticizing Wright to appease some white voters. I believe young black voters are more likely then older black voters to understand why Obama had to give the speech he gave yesterday. I think older black voters will understand, but will be less likely to forgive him for it.
Obama has to continue to find the balance that allows him to criticize Wright's views while not making it look like he's selling Wright out to white America because he needs their votes. For example, Obama was allegedly criticized by Al Sharpton for trying to "grandstand for white people" by appealing for calm after the controversial verdict in the Sean Bell shooting trial.
Obama is in a delicate situation but he can overcome it by just being himself. The trouble is I don't know if Obama really knows who he is because I sure don't. The man is being pulled in all directions by all people on a daily basis. This is one reason why most people do not run for President of the United States. I wish him well even though I will not be voting for him in the fall because he's too liberal for my blood. However, I am willing to overlook the flaws or political leanings of any candidate who would be willing to forgive student loan debts over $50,000.
It has been very interesting watching all of the news shows and reading all of the various newspaper articles discussing the the fractured relationship between Jeremiah Wright and Barack Obama as a result of Wright's appearance at the National Press Club on Monday. I have been amused by some of the comments I have heard and I have been confused by others. My perception of the falling out between Obama and Wright is a little different then what is being largely reported in the media. My opinion is based on my life perspective as a black male who grew up in Missouri. My grandfather is a minister of two black churches in west Tennessee, so I have an understanding of the widely discussed and misunderstood black church experience.
Obama could have eliminated the Wright issue years ago when he decided to enter the world of politics as a Illinois state senator. However, Obama did not see Wright as a problem until he announced his presidential candidacy on February 10, 2007. The fact is Obama sought out Wright and Trinity United Church of Christ for several reasons. First of all, as a biracial male living in the South Side of Chicago, Obama needed and wanted the black half of his life to be validated. I did not have a problem with his decision to identify himself as a black male. For the most part, depending on the color of the individuals skin, American society will assume a biracial person is black if one of their parents is black. It is very rare for society to identify a biracial individual as white unless the person's skin is so light that they could pass for white. I digress because this is all a subject that will be discussed on another day.
When Obama made the decision to identify himself as a black man he basically needed a "reference". Wright and Trinity provided Obama with his "ghetto pass" that he knew he needed if was going to succeed in the Hyde Park area of Chicago. This "pass" allowed him to do a lot of good work in the South Side neighborhoods. Wright made Trinity into an institution in Chicago. It became the thing to do to become a member of the Trinity congregation. Therefore, Obama became a member of Trinity and began making the political connections he needed to make it in the Chicago political wars.
Obama did not have to hide or worry about his relationship with Wright while running for the Illinois State Senate or the U.S. Senate. The majority of the people in his district do not disapprove of Wright or his message. Obama and his campaign team knew that Wright would be problematic when he made the decision to run for president. However, what the Obama camp curiously underestimated was how the content of Wright's sermons was going to negatively impact the majority of Americans. This is why the Wright cloud has continued to hang over Obama's campaign. Obama was also helped by the fact that the mainstream media kept a reasonably tight lid on issues regarding Wright because they did not think the Wright problem was newsworthy and they did not want to be viewed as racist for harming Obama's presidential march.
Obama finally addressed the Wright issue in Philadelphia with his much ballyhooed speech on racial relations in America. He eloquently discussed the issues of race in this country in a way that John McCain or Hillary Clinton could not. Obama also said that he did not agree with what Wright's comments, but that he could not disown him. The speech satisfied his supporters, but it did not resonate with his detractors. The speech may have helped him with some undecided voters, but not enough to help him win the Pennsylvania primary. The Obama campaign was feeling pretty confident that they handled the Wright fiasco and now they were focused on winning Indiana and North Carolina. Little did they know that a storm was coming down the road.
Wright is an intelligent and proud man. I cannot imagine how Wright felt having the entire world view snippets of his sermons without the full context of the respective sermons. He was being blasted by the national media on a daily basis as a racist. To make matters worse, a member of his congregation for 20 years, decided to go in front of the national media and make a point to say that he didn't know of Wright's previous comments and did not agree with those that he heard. There was no way Wright was going to stay silent and allow himself to be made into some sort of racist caricature by the national media. He was going to fight back and he was going to do it the only way he has known how - he was going to speak his mind. I do not believe Wright was trying to intentionally hurt Obama's campaign by going on his talking tour that began last Friday on the the Bill Moyers Journal show. However, I do believe that Wright was not going to continue to allow himself to be misrepresented to the American public without defending himself. He did not care about the negative effect it would have on Obama's campaign. Political campaigns come and go. If you look at the transcript from Wright's Moyer's appearance, this fight was about how his life's work was being portrayed.
Wright's speech and comments made the National Press Club forced Obama to do what he should have done a long time ago. Obama was forced to cast aside a man (Wright) who he looked up to and held in high regard. If you look at Obama's speech below, it is obvious that Wright's comments have upset him and he is saddened that he has to have a public breakup with a man who he saw as a father-figure.
Before I go on any further, I want to make it clear why Obama supporters are mad. It is not what Wright said during his appearances. Wright did not say anything new; he just repeated the same old controversial comments he has said for many years. Obama supporters, especially the approximately 90 percent of black voters who support Obama are mad about the timing of his speaking engagements.
Please understand that the majority of blacks are not mad about what Wright has said in the past or will continue to say in the future. They are mad that Wright did not wait until Obama was elected president before he started defending himself. Obama's quest for the presidency is very personal for the majority of the black community. They see Obama's candidacy as their chance to finally get to the White House where he can change the way the game is played in Washington. If Obama is elected president that would be a dream come true for many blacks, especially older blacks like my parents and grandparents who lived during the Jim Crow days in the south. This is why there is this almost naive belief among blacks that President Obama will make it easier to be black in America and this is why so many blacks are currently upset with Wright.
It will be interesting to see how Wright will respond to Obama's forceful public denunciation of him. Is Wright going to be quiet and lay low in Chicago because he has said what he had to say? On the other hand, is Wright going to return to the podium to respond to Obama's remarks about him and his beliefs? This is a difficult time for those people in the black community who support both of these men. They do not want to see Wright or Obama fail.
Obama and Wright are playing a game neither man can win. They have both already lost in ways that they could not have imagined a year ago. Obama has lost his shine as the candidate who can lead this country to a new place and help heal the racial divide. Wright has lost the respect and admiration of some blacks because they feel he has irreparably damaged Obama's campaign. You would be hard pressed to find a black person who does not think that Wright should defend himself. However, I would also venture to say that you would find it difficult to find many blacks who support Wright's defending himself at the expense of Obama's campaign for president.
Like I said - neither Obama or Wright can win this game.
I am so glad that Representative Jim Clyburn (D-SC) has not "officially" endorsed Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton for the Democratic nomination. He's so influential with the black community that his endorsement will sway the support of many black voters especially those who are undecided. Because the first thing that most blacks do when they wake up in the morning is they look in the mirror and wonder aloud, "I hope Rep. Clyburn has made up his mind today because I don't know who to support for the nomination." Yeah - right.
Clyburn has again blasted Bill Clinton's rhetoric in support of his wife's campaign. This time he did it in a interview with the New York Times. He went as far as calling the former president's behavior "bizarre" and said that "black people are incensed over all of this". Clyburn may not say it, but I will. Clyburn and other so called "black leaders" are upset that the Clinton's are being so tough on the campaign trail with Obama that he may be damaged for the campaign against John McCain.
Most blacks are so happy that there is finally a candidate of color that is making a serious run at the White House. I will admit it is hard for me to be anti-Obama because I would love to finally see a minority be elected president, whether it be a woman, black, Hispanic, etc. However, unlike many blacks, I have not ever voted for a candidate because of the color of their skin. Nevertheless, this is why Clyburn and other blacks are so upset with the Clinton's. They feel like since they have always supported the Clinton's through the good and bad times, it is only fair that the Clinton's finally support the wishes of many blacks - the election of Obama to the Oval Office. Clyburn offers this quote as evidence,
“When he was going through his impeachment problems, it was the black
community that bellied up to the bar,” Mr. Clyburn said. “I think black
folks feel strongly that this is a strange way for President Clinton to
show his appreciation.”
This is such an unintelligent argument and unbecoming of a member of the Democratic leadership. It is sad that Clyburn continues to use the same old script that many blacks continue to use - if you do not agree with us, you must be racist. Clyburn's comments insinuate that blacks were the only people to support Clinton during his impeachment. Someone should ask Clyburn how Clinton should repay the white and Hispanic people that supported Clinton during the impeachment crisis. My response to Clyburn is this - yes, the majority of blacks supported Clinton during his impeachment period, but a lot of blacks also supported O.J. Simpson during his murder trial. It seems to me that the majority of blacks were wrong on both accounts. Bill Clinton lied and suffered the consequences and ensuing embarrassment. Simpson murdered two innocent people and got away with it because of a inept prosecution of the case.
In his Political Punch column, Jake Tapper of ABC News writes that Clyburn is also speculating that Hillary Clinton is continuing to run, not to win the nomination, but to damage Obama so that he cannot beat McCain in the general election. While adding to the long list of conspiracy theories embraced by many blacks, Clyburn also said,
"I heard something, the first time yesterday (in South Carolina), and I
heard it on the (House) floor today, which is telling me there are
African Americans who have reached the decision that the Clintons know
that she can’t win this," Clyburn said. "But they're hell-bound to make
it impossible for Obama to win."
Clyburn and other Democrats have only themselves to blame if Clinton has made it "impossible" to win. He and the other superdelegates should stop cowering behind their desks and throw their support behind Obama. Then Clinton would have no choice but to leave the race because it would remove her only viable path to victory. Instead Clyburn and other superdelegates have allowed the race for the Democratic nomination to become drawn out and nasty.
Thanks for the leadership Rep. Clyburn. Now I know why South Carolina elected you in 1993. Now show some real leadership and resign or stop making wild accusations in the media. By the way, who and where are these black people that Clyburn has talked to about the campaign? I'm black and I still have not heard nobody say the things that Clyburn alluded to in the article. Never mind - I forgot - people know not to bring that conspiracy B.S. to my face.
