Cornel West yanks Obama’s credentials as a black man
I just finished reading Princeton academic Cornel West’s diatribe against Barack Obama, in which West complains that “my dear brother Barack Obama has a certain fear of free black men” and calls Obama “a black mascot of Wall Street oligarchs and a black puppet of corporate plutocrats.”
West frames his disenchantment in terms of class struggle, and argues that Obama has chosen the wrong side, selling out less fortunate Americans in return for the favor of the powerful.
“The escalation of the class war against the poor and the working class is intense,” West writes. “More and more working people are beaten down. They are world-weary. They are into self-medication. They are turning on each other. They are scapegoating the most vulnerable rather than confronting the most powerful.”
“When you look at a society you look at it through the lens of the least of these, the weak and the vulnerable; you are committed to loving them first, not exclusively, but first, and therefore giving them priority,” West writes.
Many on the left do criticize Obama for being too mainstream and insufficiently aggressive on behalf of those less fortunate. While that debate is legitimate, I think those who make such claims are for the most part politically naive about Obama himself and about the political environment in which he operates. But again, it is a legitimate topic of discussion. The issue of whether Obama has been too gentle with Wall Street and its supporters is particularly pertinent, given their role in creating our current predicament.
But West does not discuss it legitimately.
In West’s account, Obama has sided with the rich and powerful in part because he “feels most comfortable with upper middle-class white and Jewish men who consider themselves very smart, very savvy and very effective in getting what they want.” But as in most rants, this one includes a tell, an unwitting revelation of its deeper motivation.
“I used to call my dear brother [Obama] every two weeks. I said a prayer on the phone for him, especially before a debate. And I never got a call back. And when I ran into him in the state Capitol in South Carolina when I was down there campaigning for him he was very kind. The first thing he told me was, ‘Brother West, I feel so bad. I haven’t called you back. You been calling me so much. You been giving me so much love, so much support and what have you.’ And I said, ‘I know you’re busy.’ But then a month and half later I would run into other people on the campaign and he’s calling them all the time. I said, wow, this is kind of strange. He doesn’t have time, even two seconds, to say thank you or I’m glad you’re pulling for me and praying for me, but he’s calling these other people. I said, this is very interesting. And then as it turns out with the inauguration I couldn’t get a ticket with my mother and my brother. I said this is very strange. We drive into the hotel and the guy who picks up my bags from the hotel has a ticket to the inauguration. My mom says, ‘That’s something that this dear brother can get a ticket and you can’t get one, honey, all the work you did for him from Iowa.’ Beginning in Iowa to Ohio. We had to watch the thing in the hotel.”
When you committed to “look at a society … through the lens of the least of these, the weak and the vulnerable,” when “you are committed to loving them first … and therefore giving them priority,” you do not whine that the lowly person picking up your bags for you in your very expensive DC hotel somehow wrangled a ticket to the inauguration, while you, the very well-paid Ivy League academic and cultural star who walks among the elite, did not. You cannot attack another for seeking the trappings of power while complaining that you yourself were not supplied the trappings to which you feel yourself entitled.
Or if you do, you give the game away.
As Adam Serwer points out in The American Prospect, West also claims the self-anointed power to confirm or withdraw Obama’s standing as an authentic black man. West withdraws it on the basis of Obama’s ability to feel “at home” “with upper middle-class white and Jewish men” while allegedly harboring “fear of free black men.”
Serwer concludes:
“This remark made me wonder: Which of these men do you think is actually free, and which afraid of who he truly is?”
– Jay Bookman
Tell us what you think about the site
Customer Care »
Vacation stops, manage subscriptions and more
AJC Services
Sections
Other Editions
Visitor Agreement | Privacy Statement
© 2013 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
846 comments Add your comment
Southern Comfort
May 19th, 2011
6:20 pm
Gll
I understand your concern about Israel. I don’t have that same fear of Israel’s safety as you do for one simple reason, the IDF. I think when you compare military might around the world, I would put the IDF probably second to the US when it comes to deadly efficiency. I think Israel and everyone who antagonizes Israel knows that too. One only has to look at the military toys that contractors there actually import to the United States now to understand.
My prayer is that nobody pushes Israel to respond with effort behind it’s might. As things stand now, the responses they’ve had to past rocket attacks remind me of a cow swatting flies with it’s tail. They’re trying to glad hand things to keep the international community from railing against them. However, if a serious attack were to be mounted against them, I wholeheartedly believe they would uncork a can of whoopass not seen in a very long time. Not only that, when the rubber hits the road in that situation, the US will be right there in the Med to back them up, regardless to who’s in the WH.
Good little liberal
May 19th, 2011
6:20 pm
Adam
We are now involved in yet another war. Do you call that responsible?
He was offered a chance to kill bin Laden. What were his options?
If the Healthcare Bill is so great, why is it a huge political favor for the very people who pushed it down our throats to give deferments to their friends?
He has had no more influence in the expansion of the internet than Al Gore invented the internet.
Unfortunately, he did do several things he promised and a sustained 9% unemployment rate is the result.
Yes, please go on. Tell us about how he has pushed the overthrow of almost everyone of our allies that held the Muslim Brotherhood under control. Now Iranian Warships and off the coast of Rome, Barcelona, Paris and London.
Today he further endorsed the policies of al Quida by endorsing their policies toward Israel.
My posts about Obama is that if we don’t get him out of power as soon as the next election comes around, we may not survive it.
Paulo977
May 19th, 2011
6:20 pm
Adam
and to add to your list
“http://3chicspolitico.com/president-obamas-accomplishments/
md
May 19th, 2011
6:21 pm
If you don’t think providing for those that choose not to provide for themselves is enabling Adam, what would you call it?
1811/1801 - 0311/0317
May 19th, 2011
6:22 pm
Adam:
Answer the question. Should Hawaii be given its freedom?
Southern Comfort
May 19th, 2011
6:23 pm
Let’s start with something simple like the average unemploymnet rate during the Bush years compared with unemployment rate durng Obama’s rule.
You do yourself no good by trying to compare things that are obviously not equal in terms. Anybody with any level of math skills will know that using that comparison stacks the deck against Obama to make him look bad. From the jump, his average will be higher because he’s starting from a higher point than what Bush ended.
Good little liberal
May 19th, 2011
6:23 pm
Southern Comfort
If the borders are brought back to where Obama wants them, the Tel Aviv Airport will be three miles from the West Bank. What on earth would the IDF be able to do to protect the commercial airliners flying into Israel?
I’m not seeing Obama supporting Israel for any purpose. Look at what he is supporting and look at what he has done, I talk to my friend in Tel Aviv on facebook and I dread tonight’s messages. He is terrified for his entire family.
1811/1801 - 0311/0317
May 19th, 2011
6:23 pm
TaxPayer:
But I’m not a “birther” in the true sense of the word.
I believe he was born in Hawaii. I just think he’s hiding something else.
Mighty Righty
May 19th, 2011
6:23 pm
USMC
May 19th, 2011
6:16 pm
“Obama has turned out to be a much better president than GW could ever hope to be.”
More Left-wing Liberal DELUSION
Exactly–the left really should quit drugs.
Paulo977
May 19th, 2011
6:23 pm
SoCo
“I would put the IDF probably second to the US when it comes to deadly efficiency. ” And deadly it is !
md
May 19th, 2011
6:26 pm
soco,
I don’t think conventional weapons are the concern……..if you have an enemy committed to your destruction, and that enemy has no problem strapping a little bomb on their person and going boom…….I can only imagine what will happen when they get their hands on the bigger boom…………
Mighty Righty
May 19th, 2011
6:26 pm
Southern Comfort
May 19th, 2011
6:23 pm
Let’s start with something simple like the average unemploymnet rate during the Bush years compared with unemployment rate durng Obama’s rule.
You do yourself no good by trying to compare things that are obviously not equal in terms. Anybody with any level of math skills will know that using that comparison stacks the deck against Obama to make him look bad. From the jump, his average will be higher because he’s starting from a higher point than what Bush ended.
Link Report this comment
Wrong again! Unemployment was a little over 7% when the Bamster put in his program guaranteed to keep unemployment under 8%. Sorry the facts are the facts. The empty suit has been in charge for two and a half years and every category is worse than when he took over. There are no successes. Zero, zip, zilch.
getalife
May 19th, 2011
6:32 pm
Use the Google cons:
http://www.google.com/search?q=list+of+President+Obama%27s+accomplishments&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a
Then ignore the facts.
Doggone/GA
May 19th, 2011
6:33 pm
“From the jump, his average will be higher because he’s starting from a higher point than what Bush ended”
And the timeframe is drastically shorter.
josef nix
May 19th, 2011
6:36 pm
I might as well jump in on the anti Semitic thingie…there are two kinds. There is the hard kind we hear from the likes of Ahmadinejad and company, and there is the soft kind we hear from many more average John Doe’s. The former is easy enough to counter. The latter is not. The latter is the most dangerous. Sadly, in a bizarre way, it comes as often from “friends” as it does “foes.” This latter is far more dangerous since, if a Jew tries to counter it, s/he is accused of being “ungrateful” or “thin skinned.”
Jay is right when he says that we should be extremely careful in throwing the term around. He does not, however, say that we should be just as careful to ignore it when it peeks its ugly little head out in the most seeminly innoucous situations.
Southern Comfort
May 19th, 2011
6:36 pm
md
Conventional weapons might not be the concern, however, I’m of the belief that we have not seen the full force of Israel reaching out towards those who wish it’s destruction. I see it like one of those situations where the physical brutality and violence would come as such a shock, those who plot against Israel would seriously debate changing their position. Something like seeing the star quarterback picking on the science geek until the geek goes ape shiiite crazy with 5th degree black belt jujitsu and puts the quarterback in the hospital for a year. After a display like that, none of the other football players want to pick on Mr. geek again.
Mighty Righty
I tell you what then, let’s do an experiment. Since you think Obama’s numbers say what they do, here’s what we’ll do.
Let’s go to a bar. You drink 2-3 shots to put your BAC at about .5%. We’ll both drink 4 shots at the same time. After the 4th shot, we’ll both do a breathalyzer and see who’s number is higher. After an hour, we’ll do a second reading, and then we’ll take the average of the two and see which one is the higher of the two. 1000 to 1 odds says that your’s would be higher since you’re starting off with a .5% higher reading than me. Wanna take me up on it?
They BOTH suck
May 19th, 2011
6:37 pm
@1811/1801 – 0311/0317
“I believe he was born in Hawaii. I just think he’s hiding something else.”
What do you think he is hiding that both the Clinton’s money during the primary and the right leaning money working to dig up dirt since before the last election hasn’t already revealed?
This notion that he hasn’t been investigated and vetted his fantasy island games being played by his detractors.
If you do not like his politics (I’m not a fan of all his policies myself, than say so…..
“He wasn’t born here”, “he is hiding this or that” did absolutely NOTHING last term to help Republicans………….
Defeating him will not be built on the same type foundation…… It be the same result, especially with the characters who are in the race to date
Doggone/GA
May 19th, 2011
6:38 pm
“He does not, however, say that we should be just as careful to ignore it when it peeks its ugly little head out in the most seeminly innoucous situations.”
But we also have to be careful from the other side. We need to be sure that we are not seeing anti-semitism where it doesn’t actually exist.
Mighty Righty
May 19th, 2011
6:40 pm
Here is the “rosy” economic forcast by the Obama Administraton. They admit, little or no improvement in the economy during the remainder of his first term. This was reported today in the Huffington Post. Hardly a conservative journ
The Obama administration reversed course Monday in its proposed budget for fiscal 2012, forecasting slower growth and higher unemployment for the next two years in an implicit acknowledgment that the economy continues to suffer.
In prior budgets, the administration had projected robust growth and a lower unemployment rate for 2011 and 2012, giving the nation the impression of a rosy economic expansion and coloring its forecasts for tax revenue and government spending.
But in its latest spending plan, the White House revised those forecasts.
The administration now projects a growth rate of 2.7 percent this year, more than a full percentage point lower than its estimate in last year’s budget, when it predicted 3.8 percent growth. For 2012, the administration forecasts 3.6 percent growth, considerably lower than its previous estimate of 4.3 percent.
The unemployment rate reflects the grim projections.
This year, the White House estimates that 9.3 percent of workers will be jobless. Last summer, in its midyear budget update, the administration forecast a 9.0 percent unemployment rate. Next year, when President Barack Obama runs for reelection, the administration forecasts an 8.6 percent unemployment rate, a half-percentage point increase from last summer’s projection of 8.1 percent. The White House also raised its projection for the unemployment rate in 2013.
The unemployment rate has never averaged above 8 percent during a presidential election year, according to Labor Department data stretching back to 1948.
Rightwing Troll
May 19th, 2011
6:40 pm
“My posts about Obama is that if we don’t get him out of power as soon as the next election comes around, we may not survive it.”
Come out from under your bed and put on some clean shorts… it’s not THAT bad… If we survived 8 years of W, we can survive Obama.
josef nix
May 19th, 2011
6:42 pm
Doggone
“But we also have to be careful from the other side. We need to be sure that we are not seeing anti-semitism where it doesn’t actually exist.”
While I agree with you in idealistic theory, and do spend an awful lot of time contemplating just that, the bottom line is that when you’re the target, it’s often a luxury you can’t afford.
And, no, Imam, this is not po, po pitiful Josef
MarkV
May 19th, 2011
6:43 pm
One reads some amazing stupidities in these posts. A few examples:
“He was offered a chance to kill bin Laden. What were his options?”
His options were to use an order for a risky action, or wait.
“He has had no more influence in the expansion of the internet than Al Gore invented the internet.”
People still regurgitate the lie about Al Gore’s statement?
“Unfortunately, he did do several things he promised and a sustained 9% unemployment rate is the result.”
He did what he could to get us out of the mess caused by the Bush administration, which resulted in the unemployment.
“Tell us about how he has pushed the overthrow of almost everyone of our allies that held the Muslim Brotherhood under control. Now Iranian Warships and off the coast of Rome, Barcelona, Paris and London”
Apart from the funny picture of warships off the coast of Paris (LOL), the writer’s preference to dictators rather than giving democracy a chance is pretty disgusting..
Good little liberal
May 19th, 2011
6:44 pm
Rightwing Troll
Do you have any idea what the “Arab Spring” is doing to the ME?
Considering your adolescent post, I’m pretty sure that you wouldn’t know what any of this means.
Rightwing Troll
May 19th, 2011
6:44 pm
I didn’t know Iran had that many warships…
Doggone/GA
May 19th, 2011
6:45 pm
RT “If we survived 8 years of W, we can survive Obama”
I hope you don’t mind this correction. I prefer the more positive SINCE “we survived 8 years of W, we can survive Obama”
md
May 19th, 2011
6:45 pm
soco,
And I think it may come to what is left over there if the big boom ever occurs………if Israel is still able to respond, I agree with your assessment……it will be no holds barred and total destruction of any perceived as the enemy……….I see no restraint if any terrorist is able to do the unthinkable……yet I see it as a distinct possibility with places such as Iran and maybe Syria having access to the big boom…………….
getalife
May 19th, 2011
6:46 pm
I guess the cons would be happy if we get attacked and the global economy collapses again like the good ole bush days.
Good little liberal
May 19th, 2011
6:46 pm
MarkV
So he could have waited after the military was ready to kill bin Laden. While that would be expected of this clown, he did pull the trigger. Congratulations. That’s one.
The point was that he had no influence into getting the internet in rural communities. Try to keep up.
So name anything he had done that would have had a prayer to decrease unemployment.
Giving democracy a chance to kill anyone who isn’t a Muslim?
Doggone/GA
May 19th, 2011
6:47 pm
“the bottom line is that when you’re the target, it’s often a luxury you can’t afford”
Sorry, I don’t see it that way. When you’re the target it’s incumbent on you to take even MORE care that you aren’t seeing an attack where it doesn’t exist.
Good little liberal
May 19th, 2011
6:48 pm
Oh sure guys. We barely survived a stable ME and 4.6% unemployment with almost no inflation.
But those wire taps almost brought down the country.
Get a clue, libs.
Rightwing Troll
May 19th, 2011
6:48 pm
Bedwetter,
Yes I do, the people of the ME are finally throwing off thier shackles and deciding for themselves how they wish to be governed. It’s call self-determination and who are we to question what THEY want. You and your merry band of tea tards have done everything possible over the years to make us as dependent as possible on the one item that fuels the tyrants and the ME governments, oil.
Considering you have your head stuffed up your arse, I wouldn’t expect you to understand the damage you’ve wrought…
Southern Comfort
May 19th, 2011
6:50 pm
md
You have to consider the MOSSAD factor. I think we have a far more tangible chance of that boom happening within our borders than Israel. I’m not saying that our protection and intelligence is lacking, but MOSSAD is just that good. Look at what they “allegedly” pulled off in Dubai. Not too many agencies anywhere can pull something like that, which is why they were suspect #1 from the jump.
Rightwing Troll
May 19th, 2011
6:51 pm
The jury is still out on that Doggone… The bedwetters here who fear them Arabs have it all wrong, it won’t be Arabs that destroy this country, it will be the likes of Trump, Newt, and Palin…
josef nix
May 19th, 2011
6:51 pm
Doggone
Believe me, I’m not trying to stir a stink with you on this, but apply that same line of thought to your own reactions when the subject of abortion comes up…I’m not trying to draw a parallel between the pro choice position Jewish, but simply reaction when you are the target…
md
May 19th, 2011
6:51 pm
“It’s call self-determination and who are we to question what THEY want.”
I’d say it is prudent to question what they want……….we already have one Hamas through elections…..adding more would not be favorable to a stable ME………….
Adam
May 19th, 2011
6:52 pm
md: I don’t see that now……….
Metaphorically then, you are blind. Seriously, you have no idea how these “hand out” systems actually work.
Good little liberal
May 19th, 2011
6:52 pm
Rightwing Troll
Try to control that little temper.
I would debate everything you say, but apparently, you don’t have the emotional control to carry on an adult conversation.
They BOTH suck
May 19th, 2011
6:53 pm
GLL
Like it or not………… Low interest rates and the housing boom and bubble were a huge catalysts in those numbers who wish to use………………
Rightwing Troll
May 19th, 2011
6:54 pm
“adding more would not be favorable to a stable ME………….”
How can you say that? If we were to somehow wean off the ME oil, and get out of the ME, there’s no telling what could or would happen. They might just be happy to sell us oil and go about thier business.
Doggone/GA
May 19th, 2011
6:54 pm
“but apply that same line of thought to your own reactions when the subject of abortion comes up”
and I don’t think that’s a very good example. You make it sound like I’m in FAVOR of abortions. Just because I can counter the anti-abortion lies doesn’t mean I have a knee-jerk reaction and attack someone who hasn’t even mentioned it.
What we are discussing is the sort of thing like the guy that shot a black kid on the subway becuase the kid reached into his back pocket for a cigarette.
Or even more to the point, the unarmed immigrant who was shot *40* times by several “peace” officers.
I think you’d be VERY hard pressed to find a reaction of MINE to the abortion subject that even comes close (rhetorically speaking) to those events.
getalife
May 19th, 2011
6:55 pm
It is not a “spring”, it is a revolution.
It is ending dictatorships.
Freedom.
Adam
May 19th, 2011
6:55 pm
Good little liberal: We are now involved in yet another war. Do you call that responsible?
Goal post moving. I wasn’t talking about that. Good though, I see you answered my call to throw talking points at me.
He was offered a chance to kill bin Laden. What were his options?
They didn’t know with any degree of certainty that bin Laden was there in the first place. It was a huge gamble, and it paid off, for all of us, big time.
If the Healthcare Bill is so great, why is it a huge political favor for the very people who pushed it down our throats to give deferments to their friends?
See previous comments on this subject. Clearly you are not paying enough attention to what these waivers actually are, and you still think they are favors. They are not, and there is no evidence for that, not even slightly.
He has had no more influence in the expansion of the internet than Al Gore invented the internet.
I think you missed my point entirely.
Unfortunately, he did do several things he promised and a sustained 9% unemployment rate is the result.
Yep, better than 11-12%, and we still have plenty of time for this to go back down. Especially when the extended benefits expire (right?)
The rest of your post is simply not worth responding to. More talking points and fear mongering. More of the same, in other words.
Good little liberal
May 19th, 2011
6:55 pm
They BOTH suck
The allowance of unsupported housing loans brought down the economy When over 20% of mortgages fail, there is no recovery. Fanny Mae and Freddie was the reason.
md
May 19th, 2011
6:55 pm
soco,
And there in lies the difference…….Israel is roughly the size of New Jersey……….one wouldn’t necessarily have to be in the country to do a great deal of damage……………..getting in would be icing on the cake…………..
Rightwing Troll
May 19th, 2011
6:56 pm
You have me all wrong… I’m laughing not raging. I come here for fun, there’s no debate or conversation here.
Good little liberal
May 19th, 2011
6:57 pm
Rightwing Troll
Sure there is debate and conversation. If you calmed down, maybe you would see.
md
May 19th, 2011
6:57 pm
“Metaphorically then, you are blind. Seriously, you have no idea how these “hand out” systems actually work.”
More than you’ll ever know…………..but you go on being naive about it if you choose………….
Keep Up the Good Fight!
May 19th, 2011
6:58 pm
Still waiting for Scout Zero to tell us what he was looking for in the nonexistent Box 25 of the birth certificate. Trump did the sleazy “you’ll never believe what my investigators are finding”…..Scout Zero continues his innuendo campaign that somehow Obama is not legit…. its a sleazy tactic.
They BOTH suck
May 19th, 2011
6:58 pm
GLL
Really? While Frannie and Freddie are culprits in the game, would you like to stick with that statement that they were to blame?
is that in total defaults? what number are you using?
Please lets debate my friend……. I just ask that YOU don’t move the goal post and can stand by YOUR post
Adam
May 19th, 2011
6:59 pm
Scout: I think Hawaii should stay a state. Just like the US shouldn’t be turned over to the Native Americans. What’s done is done. Let’s just move towards making this nation a GOOD one to live in, eh?
Good little liberal
May 19th, 2011
6:59 pm
Wow. It is getting nasty.
Like it or not, Obama put it to Israel today. He has been supporting Muslim extremist taking power from our allies in the ME. bin Laden spoke on tape supporting the same things
Jay doesn’t want me to call that anti-sematism.
Personally, I will be praying for Israel. Because with this clown in the White House, they are going to need it.
Have a good night, everyone.
Adam
May 19th, 2011
7:00 pm
md: If you don’t think providing for those that choose not to provide for themselves is enabling Adam, what would you call it?
You missed my point. The MAJORITY of people who receive assistance DO need it. Go after the fraud and waste and so on if you want, but not through defunding or removing the program. These programs are GOOD programs, even if not 100% of the people who receive it (allegedly) do not actually need it.
Southern Comfort
May 19th, 2011
7:00 pm
md
You see a difference where I don’t. I don’t think there’s too much that doesn’t go on in the ME that Israel is not wary of. The small rockets are probably considered a nuisance, hence the restrained responses when rocket attacks occur. To do some serious damage, they would have to get a powerful nuke near the Israeli border. I may be overestimating MOSSAD, but I don’t think something that powerful would be able to get close enough to do any serious damage.
They BOTH suck
May 19th, 2011
7:02 pm
GLL
Did Frannie and Freddie or the rest of the mortgage industry provide more or less of the teaser loans, arms, sub prime?
josef nix
May 19th, 2011
7:02 pm
Doggone
I merely meant to point out the reactionary…it is the whole point I am trying to make between the “soft” and “hard.” To react to a pro lifer’s point of view as if sh/e were bombing an abortion clinic (and no, I’m not accusing you of such) is to confuse the hard with the soft. However, as an employee of an abortion clinic, can you really afford the luxury of assuming that the pro lifer is NOT of that school of thought or that his/her soft stance does not embolden the hard stance reactionaries?
md
May 19th, 2011
7:02 pm
“How can you say that? If we were to somehow wean off the ME oil, and get out of the ME, there’s no telling what could or would happen. They might just be happy to sell us oil and go about thier business.”
Even without oil, we have an ally in the ME……………if we have more Hamas type gov’ts, we will still be involved…………..
Good little liberal
May 19th, 2011
7:03 pm
They BOTH suck
If you wanted to debate the effects of Obama’s announcements today, we could do that. But spending hours showing you article after article about the effects of what Barnie Frank was responsible for doing. No thanks.
md
May 19th, 2011
7:03 pm
“You missed my point. The MAJORITY of people who receive assistance DO need it. Go after the fraud and waste and so on if you want, but not through defunding or removing the program. These programs are GOOD programs, even if not 100% of the people who receive it (allegedly) do not actually need it.”
And you may want to go back and read my initial post……..I have no problem helping those that can’t help themselves…………it’s the won’ts I take issue with………..
They BOTH suck
May 19th, 2011
7:04 pm
GLL
You mean Barney Frank who was in the minority party from 94 to 06?
That Barney? Thought so
Themistocles (a.k.a. Left Wing Mgmt)
May 19th, 2011
7:09 pm
Newt Gingrich might be the biggest laughing stock in the history of politics. Seriously.
Doggone/GA
May 19th, 2011
7:09 pm
“However, as an employee of an abortion clinic, can you really afford the luxury of assuming that the pro lifer is NOT of that school of thought or that his/her soft stance does not embolden the hard stance reactionaries?”
And it doesn’t matter what you assume about your “opponent” but it IS how you ACT UPON that assumption. THAT is where it is incumbent on the victim to be SURE. Before they act.
AnotherVox
May 19th, 2011
7:10 pm
Clearly, you DO NOT know about Cornel West. IF you did, you wouldn’t try to take what he said about the inauguration and twist it into his reason for criticizing President Obama. Facts are facts. While there was a genuine need to keep the financial markets going, and that took a massive influx of greenbacks, President Obama has failed to do certain things that would have benefited the poor and middle class. There were overwhelming majorities in the House and Senate for a time and the Man on the Street if of the opinion that Barack Obama missed an opportunity.
I support BOTH men. I’d like the POTUS to do “more”, but he has compiled an impressive, if imperfect, record. Dr. West is unimpeachable in my eyes. I am familiar with the man and his writings and I understand exactly where he is coming from. For you, Mr. Bookman–oh the irony–to suggest that Cornel West has somehow “yanked” Barack Obama’s “credentials as a black man” is asinine, offensive, and ludicrous. You know NOT of what you speak. Black America is NOT a monolith. It NEVER has been. It NEVER will be. Many of us that are college educated have seen the type of guy that Cornel West describes Barack Obama as. Dr. West was NOT being hateful or even dismissive towards Barack Obama. He is, however, questioning the man’s heart/priorities/bona fides. He has a RIGHT to do that. If you say you love the poor and working class, love them with your actions aka policies. THAT is all Dr. West is saying.
TaxPayer
May 19th, 2011
7:10 pm
Mighty Righty,
Did you say something about unemployment rate. Who was president back in 1982 during that recession when unemployment peaked out at 10.8%.
And when GW took office in January of 2001, the unemployment rate was 4.2% and when he left office in January 2009 it was 7.8% and climbing. We’ll have to wait for Obama’s two terms in office to end before we can do a fair apples to apples comparison of how each handled their respective recessions during their terms, eh.
Finn McCool
May 19th, 2011
7:12 pm
GLL just wants to send mo money to Israel. If Obama had taken the opposite stance, he would be sayiing the opposite.
Rudy
May 19th, 2011
7:12 pm
Cornel West’s feelings was hurt… *sigh*
What West doesn’t understand is that hundreds of thousands of people was out on the front lines, on the phones, going from neighborhood to neighborhood, door to door sometimes in bad neighborhoods or in bad weather campaigning for Obama. I was one of them. We were registering new voters, driving them to the polls throughout the primaries and in November, while he, said a few nice things about him on TV, had a few fundraisers. raised a lot of money which was nice but the Obama Campaign raised 100 times more from individual donors sending small donations of $10, $ 20, $50, $100+ toward his campaign. By the end of his campaign Obama had raised over $600 million from small donations alone.
But West feels that because he did all that “work” (which was only self-serving anyway) to help get Obama elected he feels that he should’ve been a part his inner-circle. President Obama is not obligated to do that.
Another thing that is bothering him is the fact that Obama put his nemesis, Lawrence Summers on his economic team. Regardless of how West feels, Obama chose Summers to be one of his advisers is because he was QUALIFIED for the job at the time, Obama wasn’t out to personally hurt him. Besides Lawrence Summers had lost his usefulness in the Administration and he has been gone for months.
They BOTH suck
May 19th, 2011
7:13 pm
AnotheVox
You fail to mention that Obama must work in the context of a Congress. Even when it is your own Party in power, the President doesn’t always get what he wants no matter what he campaigned on or didn’t campaign on
F. Sinkwich
May 19th, 2011
7:14 pm
So Hopey/Changey threw Israel under the bus today…
Shocked, I tell you, I’m shocked!
Finn McCool
May 19th, 2011
7:15 pm
President Obama has failed to do certain things that would have benefited the poor and middle class.
You aren’t aware of the Healthcare reform? They’ve been trying to revamp that since Teddy Effen Roosevelt. Everything else for the next 5.5 years this administration does is just small potatoes.
josef nix
May 19th, 2011
7:16 pm
Doggone
Again, not to beat a dead horse, but who more than the target should be determining that surity?
It is a sliding scale, imo, and, as target, it is more pragmatic to err on the side of being wrong…
Finn McCool
May 19th, 2011
7:17 pm
Israel is a drain on the US.
If you can’t MAKE IT as a country, a soverign country, without the protection/money of another country, then maybe it’s time you get out of the business?????
Doggone/GA
May 19th, 2011
7:18 pm
“Again, not to beat a dead horse, but who more than the target should be determining that surity?”
To me, it comes down to two things:
“Don’t panic” The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Universe
And to the answer to this question:
Is it better that an innocent man dies than a guilty man goes free, or is it better that a guilty man goes free than an innocent man dies?
Finn McCool
May 19th, 2011
7:18 pm
We can’t keep propping up these countries – no matter who they represent; they have to stand on their own two million feet.
Keep Up the Good Fight!
May 19th, 2011
7:19 pm
We certainly have a lot of “experts” on foreign affairs who obviously must get daily briefings from the State Dept and are able to articulate solid well-reasoned opinions about how to handle these matters based on complete and solid information….so of course they critic the President and the current Secretary of State they certainly are knowledgeable and no just throwing out contrarian “whatever Obama does has got to be wrong” silliness like “hopey/changey”….
Oh right…. this blog? Nevermind.
josef nix
May 19th, 2011
7:20 pm
SoCo
In relation to the IDF and Mossad…it is in their interest to know as much as humanly possible about those whose stated goal is the elimination of the state of which they are organs, and they are both highly competent.
I liked that analogy of a cow in the pasture swatting flies…!
md
May 19th, 2011
7:20 pm
“You aren’t aware of the Healthcare reform?”
And when those unintended (intended) added costs to the States in the form of administration costs kicks in and causes untold hardships on the residents of those states, we’ll get to discuss this all again. I wouldn’t be glad handing just yet……………
Dave R.
May 19th, 2011
7:21 pm
“President Obama has failed to do certain things that would have benefited the poor and middle class.
You aren’t aware of the Healthcare reform?”
Yeah, THAT health care reform that is actually removing low-cost policies that help the poor. And is till going to raise the deficit.
Finn McCool
May 19th, 2011
7:21 pm
Israel has been around since 1949….how long does it take to set it up and get the joint rolling? We need to bankroll another generation?
Look, I’m not anti-semitic, I just can’t understand why that country can’t work out it’s own details with it’s own neighbors. Do we call Russia when we can’t get along with the Canadians or Mexicans?
“Hey, Medved, we got a problem with the Canucks, can you come over and talk to these noisy bahstads?”
Themistocles (a.k.a. Left Wing Mgmt)
May 19th, 2011
7:24 pm
GLL : “Like it or not, Obama put it to Israel today. He has been supporting Muslim extremist taking power from our allies in the ME. bin Laden spoke on tape supporting the same things”
Do you really believe this? C’mon.
Dave R.
May 19th, 2011
7:24 pm
“Israel is a drain on the US.
If you can’t MAKE IT as a country, a soverign country, without the protection/money of another country, then maybe it’s time you get out of the business?????”
Yeah, Finn. Maybe we can just gas another couple of million of them so you won’t have to worry you little head off.
Sheesh!
poison pen
May 19th, 2011
7:25 pm
Finn McCool
May 19th, 2011
7:17 pm
Israel is a drain on the US.
If you can’t MAKE IT as a country, a soverign country, without the protection/money of another country, then maybe it’s time you get out of the business?????
Finn, I hope you feel that way towards all but 3 countries that we give money to, I personally am tired or buying our friends with our tax dollars. That money should be used here at home. I don’t see these countries giving us anything free, especially oil.
stands for decibels
May 19th, 2011
7:26 pm
If I can revert back to the original topic?
Some information has come to light, to yours truly at least.
Having not read the linked piece very carefully, before, I wasn’t aware that Cornel West had accompanied Obama to 65 campaign events. While I still think that some of his lament winds up sounding a bit whiny, I can understand a bit better why he might’ve felt a) betrayed somewhat and b) empowered to talk about it publicly.
Also, I’m gonna go out on a limb and assume that little has changed since I left this thread at around 4pm, which is to say, nobody’s talking about the big-picture stuff contained in CW’s lament?
Anyone wants to talk about that, honestly, I’m here, I’m queer, I gots big ears…
(well, two outa three ain’t bad.)
josef nix
May 19th, 2011
7:27 pm
Doggone
I couldn’t agree more on the “don’t panic.” As for the second point,
“And to the answer to this question:
Is it better that an innocent man dies than a guilty man goes free, or is it better that a guilty man goes free than an innocent man dies?”
This lies at the very heart of what Judaism is all about and it is why I said in the beginning that this is a question I spend a lot of time contemplating…and, as you said, “an innocent man dies…” Death is the ultimate finality of just such and it is for that reason that I said what I did about countering it whenever it peeks out its ugly little head in the most seemingly innocuous situations…
Mighty Righty
May 19th, 2011
7:27 pm
Southern Comfort
May 19th, 2011
6:36 pm
It a silly analogy, but I still might win since I am bigger than your average bear and weight does effect BAC. But that aside. Take any meaningful economic measurement from a dead start. Obama’s Inauguration Day onward. Unemployment, deficit, spending, gas prices, food prices, housing market, number of government workers. Come on. you know as well as I that Obama’s record will not measure up. He and you can only blame his predecessor for so long. It’s not like he inherited a bad situation and is having trouble making it better. IT HAS GOTTEN WORSE ON HIS WATCH while he has wasted three trillion of our dollars!!! Unbelievably, his solution to this mess is to continue the same wrong policy. More unbelievably, there are still, though admitidly fewer and fewer, people who think he is doing a good job. You people remind me of the old joke about an employee’s review on which his boss writes: “Employee continues to set low goals and fails to achieve them.” If Obama reported to you and you were resposible for his performance, and in spite of his lack of accomplishment, you said he was doing a good job, where I work, you would be replaced by someone who has demonstrated better judgement. He has time to turn things around but he has shown no hint of doing so.
stands for decibels
May 19th, 2011
7:28 pm
But West feels that because he did all that “work” (which was only self-serving anyway)
cite, please.
poison pen
May 19th, 2011
7:29 pm
KeepUp, We probably have more countries hating us now more than ever, a lot of these countries are ripping Obama because they have no respect for him. So when it comes to Foriegn policies I’m not so sure that some of the people on here may have a better idea.
I don’t think it was wise to inflame the Palestians ( terrorists ) by telling Isreal what to do. I know I don’t like it when another country tells our President what to do.
Keep Up the Good Fight!
May 19th, 2011
7:29 pm
stands….you’re not here?
kayaker 71
May 19th, 2011
7:30 pm
Another Vox,
Cornel West is a haughty aristocrat with an ego the size of your living room. We have all questioned Bozo’s heart/priorities/bona fides for about 18 mos. So far we have not found that he has much of a heart for America. I feel that Cornel West is in the same boat. Both of these people are narcissistic, academic aristocrats with their chin in the air. Dr. West is a prominent member of the Democratic Socialists of America which doesn’t surprise me much. He is also the head of the Center for African American Studies at Princeton. I am not sure what significance a dept of African American studies has in a university but he seems to have ridden that horse pretty successfully. He was born in Tulsa, OK, the evangelical capital of the world and while at Harvard, was the Alphonse Fletcher University Professor until he left in 2001 to go to Princeton where he has been ever since. that same chair is occupied by the infamous Dr. Gates of beer summit fame. Dr.West, similar to other tenured professors at East coast academic institutions seems to believe himself a cut above the average person, as he thinks we really give a good tinker’s damn about how he feels about Bozo. They are both sorry excuses for Americans, West probably being the worst. At least West admits he is a socialist.
Doggone/GA
May 19th, 2011
7:31 pm
” it is for that reason that I said what I did about countering it whenever it peeks out its ugly little head in the most seemingly innocuous situations”
Yes, but when you say this: “it is more pragmatic to err on the side of being wrong…” you are comeing down on the side of “it’s better that an inncent man dies than a guilty man goes free”
AmVet
May 19th, 2011
7:34 pm
To jay’s point, as the son of a woman who barely escaped the holocaust, I always shake my head when one of the know-nothings here uses terms like Hitler/Nazi so cavalierly. As if they have the slightest inkling of what they speak.
Pathetic with a capital P.
And josef, I know you made this inquiry, some hours ago, but did any of our illustrious cons explain exactly how BHO “threw Israel under the bus”?
Did a single one of them provide ANY links, facts or quotes at all?
F. Sinkwich
May 19th, 2011
7:34 pm
“If you can’t MAKE IT as a country, a soverign country, without the protection/money of another country, then maybe it’s time you get out of the business?????”
Yo, Finn, you would have fit right in Germany 70 years ago.
Pathetic.
They BOTH suck
May 19th, 2011
7:36 pm
@AMVet
“but did any of our illustrious cons explain exactly how BHO “threw Israel under the bus”?”
I guess if you state a seldom said but long standing US policy than that is throwing Israel under the bus…….. at least in their minds it is
Mary Elizabeth
May 19th, 2011
7:39 pm
Themistocles @ 12:53 p.m.
“Mary Elizabeth: ‘But Obama did get the healthcare package through Congress into law – no president in 50 years had been able to do that and I again say that he got the best deal he could have.’
I completely disagree. While it’s a good thing that a plan was passed, the plan itself left much to be desired. The president could have gotten much better had he practiced those acts of presidential leadership I cited above from the Kuttner article.
——————————–
Themistocles, I must disagree with you on this. Hindsight is easy; pulling off making any national healthcare bill into law had never been accomplished by any president at any time. Obama did it.
Give the man credit. He did it – regardless of what my opinion is or yours is.
josef nix
May 19th, 2011
7:40 pm
AmVet
I think I’m up to speed now!
Doggone
Still, erring on the side of pragmatism does not imply “killing” the innocent man. That’s why I said what I did about the ultimate extreme and erring on the side of pragmatism before it gets to that point..
DAVE
The bottom line is that the state of Israel’s most vociferous enemies are bent on it and its people’s utter destruction and say so as a matter of policy.
Question:
Has Obama called for dialogue with Hezbollah and/or Hamas?
And who knows what under the table deal he’s cut with Bibi, but the last big interview he gave, Tar Baby Netanyahu was smiling and not saying nothin’, so I don’t think right now there’s a briar patch in the state of Israel’s future…
Doggone/GA
May 19th, 2011
7:40 pm
“guess if you state a seldom said but long standing US policy than that is throwing Israel under the bus…….. at least in their minds it is”
Of course. You’re forgetting that the world began on Jan 20, 2009.
Mighty Righty
May 19th, 2011
7:42 pm
TaxPayer
May 19th, 2011
7:10 pm
And in 1936 the unemployment rate was 110%. What the hell does unemployment in 1982 have to do with anything? Wasn’t that when Billy Beer was a big deal?
Obama will not have a second term if he doesn’t turn this economy around! The one we wre in, not the one in 1982!
Doggone/GA
May 19th, 2011
7:43 pm
“Still, erring on the side of pragmatism does not imply “killing” the innocent man. That’s why I said what I did about the ultimate extreme and erring on the side of pragmatism before it gets to that point”
But if you “err” on the side of pragmatism, then you are saying the same thing I am…I think. That it’s better to be SURE before you act. If that is not what you mean, then like it or not, you HAVE said it’s better to attack an innocent man. That question only references dying as poetic exageration. You can substitute any word you like.
Is it better to torture an innocent man; is it better to imprison an innocent man; is it better to shun an innocent man…where ever you want to go with it.
TaxPayer
May 19th, 2011
7:43 pm
Yo, Finn, you would have fit right in Germany 70 years ago.
“Pathetic” does not even begin to describe Sinkwich’s comment.
TaxPayer
May 19th, 2011
7:46 pm
Mighty Righty,
I believe you brought up unemployment rate. Are you now trying to set some inane rules of debate that require one not use past president’s performances during recessionary periods, etc. If that is your game, I suppose you should just take your ball and go home because I will not play it.
Southern Comfort
May 19th, 2011
7:47 pm
Mighty Righty
Don’t bet too hard on that drinking challenge. I used to do shots of Everclear.
When comparing the unemployment levels between Bush and Obama, I think it’s better to measure the difference in the changes as opposed to the average percentage. Obama started off much higher than Bush and peaked over 10%. For Obama to average lower than Bush, he would have to lower unemployment to an extremely low number like 2% or something. It’s a lot simpler than what people think.
http://data.bls.gov/timeseries/LNS14000000
Looking at those numbers, any attempt to average them would always favor Bush since the average would be the sum of all numbers divided by the total numbers added. When the highest percentage under Bush is lower than the lowest number under Obama, there’s no way possible for Obama to have a lower average.
If you wanted to measure the difference in movement to date, that would be a better comparison, although I think the economic conditions of this recession is far more reaching than the recession Bush walked into. Any other comparisons, I think, would have to wait for Obama to at least finish his term. Otherwise, we’re just playing tiddlywinks.
Mary Elizabeth
May 19th, 2011
7:50 pm
Paulo977 @ 2:04
“Obama wanted a public option within the healthcare plan. He should not have had to waste so much time just fighting for its passage against an intransigent Republican body” I agree with you Mary Elizabeth … Obama has had to work for
what is right in shackles !!! Even many Democrats are too heavily invested in the corporate world to support him 100%!! That he has managed to accomplish even what he has is fantastic. His vision is still viable!”
__________________________________
Very well said, Paulo, and I agree with you, too!