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| Unflattering comments target Obama |
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| Opinion Headlines |
| Written by Don Carlisle |
| Thursday, 04 February 2010 10:46 |
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It’s nothing new to hear anti-Obama ranting coming from the likes of Limbaugh, Beck or some other right-wing fanatic. Unexpectedly, President Obama lately has been receiving denigration from Democrats and those assumed to be allies. There has been an abundance of media coverage concerning a statement made by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. The Senator from Nevada caused debate when the book “Game Change” quoted Reid saying privately that Obama as a Black candidate could be successful, thanks in part to his “light-skinned” appearance and speaking patterns “with no Negro dialect, unless he wanted to have one.” Reid’s statement was viewed a racist by some, while others see it as a lot of hoopla about nothing. Analyze this as you please, however one thing is clear this is no isolated incident. This whole slur-Obama-trend actually started with the current Vice President During the presidential campaign when Joe Biden was competing with Obama for the nomination he made a statement that was similar to the one made by Harry Reid. “I mean, you got the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy,” Biden said. Those comments fell on mostly deaf ears as Obama was elected president and the honeymoon was on. Now all of a sudden people are coming out of the woodwork taking shots at President Barack Obama. Former President Bill Clinton was lobbying the late Sen. Edward Kennedy to endorse his wife, when the so-called first Black President by saying “a few years ago, this guy would have been getting us coffee.” Harry Reid, Joe Biden and Bill Clinton are white, but race is not a factor in the bash Obama craze. Georgetown University Professor Michael Eric Dyson (aka The Hip Hop Professor) criticized President Obama for avoiding racial issues. “I think that we should push this President. The President runs from race issues like a Black man runs from a cop.” In December Maxine Waters and nine other members of the Congressional Black Caucus attacked the Obama administration, claiming the President has not been to the plight of Blacks. Waters and ten Caucus members threatened that if the President doesn’t offer some programmatic solutions, they would mobilize all forty members of the Caucus to sandbag the President’s economic agenda in the house. It’s acknowledged that President Obama enjoys a cozy relationship with many in the entertainment industry. Who could forget Oprah Winfrey crying tears of joy as Obama spoke in Chicago? However, there are some Hollywood types who are not thrilled with the President. Movie actor and activist Danny Glover compared Obama to former President George W. Bush. “I think the Obama administration has followed the same playbook as the Bush Administration. I don’t see anything different. He may be a different face, and that face just happens to be Black,” said Glover. All in all, to a large degree the Democrats and Liberals who have expressed dissatisfaction with the President are well meaning people with good intentions. They want what is best for America. Obama has kept his chin up through this ordeal. He has accepted apologies from those who apologized. It’s always good to take the high road, but there is one guy who chimed in and his apology should not be accepted. Rob Blagojevich, the disgraced former governor of Illinois, who was removed from office after allegedly being involved in an unlawful “pay to play” scandal, took a cheap shot at President Obama. “I’m Blacker than Obama. I shined shoes. I grew up in a five room apartment. I saw it all growing up,” Blagojevich declared. |
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