Wait .. so giving us the finger is in America's best interest?
Yes. And in your best interest. Obama would help the black community far more than McCain will. But yet if he is seen to be pandering to, or a key supporter of the black community, then he becomes the black candidate, and he loses.
No one is asking Obama to be the black president .. but when he visits the hispanic community he's going to talk about immigration, drivers license, and all the issues they want to hear.
When he visits the jewish community he's going to talk about Israel and all the issues they want to hear .. and the same is true for women, gays, veterans, and every demographic he visits.
But when he visits the black community he talks about "absent fathers" and responsibility and does not address issues on the black agenda .. and we should be happy with the finger? What? .. It ain't our time yet?
Jesse Jackson was right about him .. so was Nader.
Sure it is. But he has to sell to the people who wouldn't vote for him anyway. He has the black community in the bag, and he knows it, so when he talks to them he has to be focusing not on them, but on how his speeches to them will be interpreted by the largely white media.
What he could talk about is the fact that America has become the greatest prison nation the world has ever known. We imprison more people than all the totalitarian nations we look down our noses at. He could talk about the FACT that the war on drugs is nothing more than a war on black people and that although whites make up as much as 72% of all illegalk drug users in America, the prisons are full with black people. He could talk about the undisputed racial injustice of the JUST-US criminal system that hands out long prison sentences to blacks for the same crimes whites get probation for.
Awesome, maybe while he is painting himself as a soft on crime, pro-drug, racialist candidate he can do something else equally as stupid to make mainstream Americans hate him. Thing is, I agree with you that those are all problems, but it is politically impossible for him to say those things.
He could couch that argument in the thing Americans care about most .. MONEY. Any idea how much it costs us to be the greatest prison nation on earth?
In his metamorphsis into republican-lite, Obama NOW supports the death penalty .. even though the REPUBLICAN governor of his own state suspended death sentences because even he recognizes the disparities and arrest and sentencing.
So what good is he?
Hes not going to fit all of your positions. I think he is an extremely intelligent guy who has morals/values similar to me (and perhaps you). He won't agree with everything I say, nor what you say, but he can't appear to be a liberal radical when running for president. If he does, he loses. Period.
Let me ask you this ... what do I say to the white politician who may be in a position to address an injustice to the black communtiy? Wouldn't his sane and sound answer be why didn't you ask Obama? Why should a white politician be more concerned about black issues than the black politician?
Your response to him is that "no, I don't need to ask the black candidate to help the black community. We are Americans, and a part of America, and you cannot ignore us because the color of your skin is different than ours". Obama is not unconcerned with black issues, do remember he spent a large part of his life in Chicago working on black issues. But no, hes not going to pander to you now. Because if he does, he loses.
Additionally, Joe Lieberman has absolutley no misgivings about his support for jewish issues.
No, he doesn't. But perhaps you've noticed that the Jewish voting bloc has just a little bit more power in this country than the black voting bloc.
Did you vote for Lieberman on the Gore ticket?
I was 16, so no. But I would have, if I could have. Not for Lieberman per se, I'm not a fan of him, but for Gore.
At what point, given that blacks have only been relatively free for 43 years out of almost 400 years in America .. at what point do we get to remove "relatively" from "freedom?"
Dunno, but Obama is a step in the right direction. Is it fucked that he has to ignore the black community so hes not considered anti-white? Yes. Is it fucked the racial "otherness" shit that is going on in the election? Yes. Is Obama, regardless, still a LOT better for blacks in this country than McCain? Yes.
Be a purist if you want. Expect the world from a presidential candidate if you want, but you'll only be disappointed. I think Obama is the best candidate to run for president for a long time. No, hes not perfect. He hasn't run a perfect campaign, and he won't be a perfect president. And who knows, in 4 years I may think it was a terrible choice. But for right now I think we finally have a viable, brilliant, committed Democratic candidate.
