The Obama Administration’s less than adequate defense of UN Ambassador Susan Rice, coupled with the lack of blacks in his Administration has left some key members of the black political élite voicing their dissatisfaction with the President.
President Obama inherited a mess, no question, he has done an admirable job, even despite historic obstruction and intransigence from Republicans in the Congress.
Barring a catastrophic screw-up in the next four years, the President will place himself among greats like Lincoln, and Franklin Delano Roosevelt. If Obama can lead and sign a comprehensive Immigration Bill, which by the way Republicans are anxious to be a part of for obvious reasons, and if he can do something about the destruction being wrought on the environment, and bring the unemployment numbers down to say 5% he will definitely be seen as a great President.
Obama will never face the electorate again, so there is no need for posturing or timidity. This is the time for Obama to look after his key constituents, the black community.
Obama was elected to office with a vast plurality of the African-American vote in 2008 and in the 2012 elections, he received an even greater share during the last election cycle with an increase of 2 percentage points over the 2008 election cycle.
This kind of loyalty cannot be scoffed at. African-Americans stood in line for up to 8 hours in order to send a message to Republicans. President Obama needs to stand with the people who made him who he is. I totally get the fact that during his first term there were pressing issues which required the President’s attention full-time. The economy, the Affordable Care Act, Winding down 2 wars, ending Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, Restoring America’s Image abroad, and a plethora of other issues.
Despite his full plate, he was able to put Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan on the Supreme Court, in addition to placing women in key cabinet positions.
| Secretary of State | Hillary Clinton |
| Secretary of Labor | Hilda L. Solis |
| Secretary of Commerce | Rebecca Blank (acting |
| Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano |
| Secretary of Health and Humanservices | Kathleen Sibelius |
Of the 15 Cabinet Positions a third went to women, when viewed in the prism of the two Supreme Court Appointees the President did an admirable job, considering women now represent the largest voting block in the country.
Solis and Sotomayor are Latinos, a step in the right direction, considering that Latinos represents the fastest growing segment of the population, and have given Obama the lion’s share of their votes both times he got elected.
Arguably Obama has shown women and Latinos that he respects their efforts in getting him elected, of the other 10 Cabinet positions however Obama could only find one slot for an African-America, Eric Holder at the Justice Department.
Some argue that Rice’s position at the UN is similar to a Cabinet Position, and Valerie Jarrett in her role as Advisor wield considerable influence over the President. The truth is African-Americans are the back bone of the Democratic Party, That voting block does not even come up in discussions, as among the groups Republicans should look to attract anymore,They are like settled Law.
There is a kind of quite resignation on the part of many, that the African-American vote will stay exactly where it is for the foreseeable future. Of course this is due largely to the bone-headed ignorant and moronic racists who occupy and permeate the Republican Party whose leaders have made it clear that African-Americans are (persona non grata ) Not welcome.
African-Americans supported the Republican Party until the 60’s, then the Republican Party made itself a safe haven for disgruntled whites Racists over the signing of the Civil Rights Act by President Lyndon Johnson.
Florida Democratic Congress man Alcee Hastings did not mince words when he lashed out at the President, for what he characterizes as (Obama’s disrespect of blacks).
Rep. Alcee Hastings is Upset with Obama
Photo by Ann Ragland/NNPA
Speaking Friday at the mid-winter convention of the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA), Hastings had a lot to say which was not complimentary to the President.
In a speech laced with humor and expletives Hastings went on a tear.
Quote: “The Black Caucus of Congress sent 61 names to the White House, “Time went by. Not one of that 61 was selected – not one”.
:The CBC pressed the Obama campaign about the paucity of advertising with Black newspapers in particular. He said a top campaign official said Obama initially planned to spend only $650,000 with Black newspapers, a figure that was raised under pressure to $1 million – which meant that $999 million went to others.
:“If I was president of the United States, there is no way in hell that I would raise a billion dollars and don’t spend but a million dollars with people who probably had as much to do with my becoming president as anybody,” .
:“It was nine months into the administration before he appointed a single person, not just at the cabinet level … ” Hasting recalled. “But when you look at the Schedule 1, Schedule 2, and Schedule 3, none in his first nine months of his administration was from a historically Black college.
Read full text here: http://sacobserver.com/2013/01/cbc-member-says-obama-disrespects-blacks/
Despite all of the female appointments over his first term, women are still out for their pound of proverbial flesh .When the picture above hit the web, showing the President and his group of top advisers, pretty much all white male, women’s advocacy groups and commentators were up in arms.
No one bothered to mention that the first African-American President elected and re-elected with over 80%of the black vote could not find a single qualified black person to be among that group.
Whether one agrees with Alcee Hastings, or some of the more strident voices on the left like former Princeton Professor Cornell West, and Media personality Tavis Smiley, there does seem to be a pattern of aloofness and disconnect of Obama from the African-American community. Maybe it’s just over-sensitivity on the part of black people, who expected that the group hit the hardest during the recession would be at the top of the agenda for attention.
Smiley and West
Whether you accept what Obama’s detractors are saying or not , it would be silly to disregard their arguments, these are actually people who supported the President, all they are asking is that the President pay attention to issues dear to them.
The issues of Hunger, Homelessness, Poverty, Declining Income, Declining Wealth, Rampant Injustice in the Justice System, Out of wedlock pregnancy, and diseases are not confined to African-Americans, but they do affect that demographic more severely than it does others.
If the spending which Republicans hearken to is removed from the Obama’s record ‚Obama is a pretty conservative President. If his first term is anything to go by. Most of Obama’s policies are continuation of Bush’s policies, some of the people who execute his policies are hold overs from the Bush Administration. Bob Gates, and David Petraeus are just a couple of the high-profile holdovers from the last Republican Administration, and he is putting Chuck Hagel another Republican back at Defense.
Additionally, Obama has shown total indifference to the plight of Immigrants except just prior to the recent elections. The issue of Immigration is incorrectly approached as a Latino issue. There are millions of people from other parts of the world who aren’t Latinos.
The Obama Deportation Policy has been a disaster for families which have been ripped apart, with mass deportations of immigrants who committed minor offences, some decades ago.
No thought is given to the fact that many of the people are plucked up and sent to countries where they have no connection, in some cases people are deported to countries they have never been to.
Those are just some of the draconian policies of the Obama first term being executed under the guise of upholding the laws, leaving children without parents, wives without husbands, all because of minor infractions.
In fact Obama has deported more people than any other President in American History, additionally Obama has granted the least amount of pardons of any American President in modern history, to include all Republican Presidents.
Whether we like these statistics or not is immaterial, these are facts, we may spin them , me may nuance them , we may try to rationalize them away , but nothing makes them any less true.
Despite the last-minute Executive Order Obama signed before the Elections granting temporary reprieve to so-called dreamers, which by the way guaranteed him more of the Hispanic vote, Hispanics are demanding that he do more on their behalf.
It is only fair that Obama come to the table with a comprehensive Urban Renewal plan aimed at the African-American population. There is approximately 40 million people in that community, and they must now demand to be heard and recognized from this President.
Thus far the president has shown very little connection to the Afro-American community. If the way the Susan Rice issue was handled is a barometer of the President’s commitment to his friends, the African-American community is in for a long four years.