No, I’m not kidding. Here’s the scoop:
Barak Obama speaking to 1199SEIU union staffers and executive council members had a question posed to him by Kym Platt of askthisblackwoman.com asked the junior senator from Illinois “the African-American community suffer from a large unemployment problem, especially here in New York, what would your administration do to solve this problem?”
Barack Obama’s response was “that our government has failed them but also, there seems to be too many broken 40 oz bottles in the streets.”
Ouch.
Obama went on to say the way to increase employment among African-Americans was to “amend the felony laws that lock ex-offenders, especially African-American men, out of employment.”
Double ouch.
And just so you know, Kym Platt, on her site askthisblackwoman.com, wrote:
I will tell you this, when he made the comment about “broken 40 oz bottles” in black neighborhoods, I had an immediate reaction. I felt that his comment was a disrespectful one and reflective of a person who was out-of-step with the way Black people, native-born, non-Spanish speaking Black people, live
Way to go, Obama. If this presidential race comes down to candidate race, you’ve just shot yourself in the foot with a large gun, brand-name: Stereotype. Of course, we can assume that all the major news channels and networks will be playing stories of Obama’s racism as their top news item for several weeks until he resigns any and all Senate Committee positions he has and is forced to drop out of the Presidential race, right? Right?
May 8th, 2007 at 1:12 pm
People will find out about this the same way they find out about all things not covered by the MSM, including some of the stuff the GOP is up to, they will find out on line. Truth be told it will make it easier for a lot of blacks to switch to Hillary. They were torn because they have a close relationship with the Clintons (She was the only Dem to call the NAACP to ask if it would offend them to go to the SC debate) and felt guilty for following Obama. Now those that want to switch to her will do so guilt free.
Guess Obama is going to go the Bill Cosby road of “Tough Love”. Don’t know if it will work in the political arean though.
May 8th, 2007 at 1:21 pm
This was brilliant on Obama’s part. Who better to address the serious issues of high unemployment and criminal activity among African Americans than Obama? If a Republican said it, he’d be called racist before he finished the first sentence. If Hillary said it she be seen as pandering. Someone needs to address these problems and, at least until that statement, there are no black leaders anywhere willing to even discuss them (save for Cosby, who was condemned for speaking the truth). I’m not so sure this will hurt him, and it may even help, especially among white liberals on the fence about who to support.
May 8th, 2007 at 1:22 pm
It is amazing how race is such an issue to these people while at the same time, one of their own has total immunity to say something that would end the career of a non-black.
I agree that this can’t help Obama in the long run.
May 8th, 2007 at 1:29 pm
cwpete: Its called a DOUBLE STANDARD……its something the liberals invented…
May 8th, 2007 at 1:31 pm
This isn’t the first reference to “40s” by Obama. When he was in Selma, Alabama in March, marking the anniversary of “Bloody Sunday,” he said something about “cleaning up the 40s and voting” as a way for African Americans to advance. I posted a quick note on my blog when it happened: http://barackobamaquest.com/blog/?p=11
May 8th, 2007 at 1:32 pm
When was the last time you were in the “streets” Obama?
May 8th, 2007 at 1:52 pm
Its called a DOUBLE STANDARDits something the liberals invented
Hummm, Newt cheating while prosecuting. Haggard buying boy-toys while decrying gay immorality. Foley? If the Liberals invented it, the GOP has reverse engineered it to make it fit themselves.
May 8th, 2007 at 2:09 pm
Cassey,
If you want to rag on Newt and Foley, fire away. But to asociate Ted Haggard with the GOP is intelectually dishonest. No, you can’t count Evangelical leaders as Republicans simply because you THINK that they control the party. I live in Ted Haggard’s stomping grounds, and he doesn’t even control the LOCAL Republicans.
There is no conspiracy.
May 8th, 2007 at 2:12 pm
And yes, I realize that Mr. Haggard probably has an R next to his name on the voter registraton rolls – but he is not a figure in the party leadership, nor is he an elected official.
May 8th, 2007 at 2:28 pm
I happen to think that Jake (#2) has a great point
May 8th, 2007 at 2:31 pm
I was under the impression that Mr. Haggard was part of the weekly phone discussions with our current President. That would put him firmly in the GOP camp if he was some kind of advisor.
May 8th, 2007 at 2:32 pm
That should be “unpaid” advisor.
May 8th, 2007 at 2:43 pm
You know Obama is going to take some heat on this but I think it helps him among an important constituency: Black women.
About 60% of black voters are women (crazy demographic huh?). For a group that routinely laments the presence of alcoholism and criminal behavior among black _men_ what Obama said won’t be offensive.
I actually think some white liberals will be more offended because Obama is pointing out that some of the black communities woes are self-inflicted. For white liberals all of blacks problems must be related to racism, discrimination, and a lack of government services. When Obama points out this isn’t true it’s not a message white liberals will want to hear.
Perhaps this will help him with independents who prefer honesty over ideological purity. Hard to tell whether this type of candor helps or hurts overall.
May 8th, 2007 at 2:43 pm
Once per week discussions as a non-political, spiritual advisor – meaning that he probably talks to the president less than Nancy Pelosi or other prominent Dems.
Yes, I know that Mr. Haggard probably votes GOP (see #9), but he has no standing or power in the party heirarchy.
Anyway, this is a silly rabbit-trail and not worth debating, I think I’ve made my point.
May 8th, 2007 at 3:00 pm
That’s ok P4VP, the GOP have more than enough hypocrits that Haggard can be ignored. Not saying the Democrats don’t, just thought it was funny calling the “liberals” on using a double standard. I’m a liberal but not necessarily a Democrat.
May 8th, 2007 at 3:21 pm
It is better to define your weakness than let your enemies define them for you. The GOP let their enemies define them for the last 5 or 6 years, and did nothing to help themselves.
May 8th, 2007 at 3:24 pm
My opinion of HeavyM just took a real nosedive.
This is perhaps the most pathetic attempt at spin that I’ve seen in a long time.
I urge my fellow readers of this blog to actually follow the link to askthisblackwoman.com and to watch the video. You will see that the characterization of those comments are completely out of context, and that the reception that Obama got from his comments was enthusiastic. Furthermore, I think the message that he delivered was one that neither the people here, nor people like me, nor the audience he was addressing would find any real problem with.
Racism? Shooting himself in the foot? Stereotypes?
What on earth are you talking about Heavy?
May 8th, 2007 at 4:07 pm
Racism is thinking one race is superior than another race.
Racism is not pointing out flaws in a culture.
May 8th, 2007 at 4:27 pm
I think Obama is right. I spent the last few years living in inner city Chicago, and his comments fit with our experience. If it’s a stereo type it’s because its mostly true.
May 8th, 2007 at 4:37 pm
What sterotype?
A stereotype is a (usually inappropriate) generalization made about a group of people, built on a selective and usually unrepresentative selection of characteristics found in some.
Obama mentioned that those black neighborhoods that are experiencing the most difficulties, including the one that he spent years living in and working in as a community organizer, often have broken bottles lying around – that serve as indicators that some of the pathologies of those communities are things that individuals need to come to grips with, as part of a larger argument that although government could do more, individuals need to take responsibility too.
How on earth is this a stereotype of anything?
May 8th, 2007 at 4:58 pm
Tano,
I think a stereotype is whenever people give a general attribute to a group. It doesn’t have to be false or distorted, it can be relatively true, and generally they are. I don’t think stereotyping is necessarily bad.
May 8th, 2007 at 6:39 pm
Tommy (#16), are you serious? The GOP did lots to help themselves, including characterising Gore & Kerry just the way they wanted to. It won them the two elections.
May 8th, 2007 at 6:42 pm
Obama is building on his image of an honest politician who is a breath of fresh air. He’s prepared to say things that others are too scared to. I think this helps him.
It is certainly less damaging to him than Giuliani’s abortion position…
May 8th, 2007 at 6:57 pm
Keep in mind that a lot of African Americans, particularly the older age groups, and, as someone above mentioned, Black women, are socially conservative. Those who have seen their neighborhoods delve into criminal havens, or have seen their grandsons imprisoned and their granddaughters becoming pregnant at 16, those who fought the civil rights movement on the streets of Selma and Detroit and Boston, these are the voters who will support what Obama is saying. It’s very sad that there are no MLKs anymore – no African American leaders to be honest with their own people – where it’s not looking down or racial preaching, but trying to help one’s own community. If Obama can inspire his own community to make some serious changes and lift themselves up, how is this a bad thing? I don’t like his politics, but I admire his honesty and committment to his community.
May 8th, 2007 at 10:56 pm
May 8th, 2007 at 11:35 pm
Econ. . .you make a very good point there in #25!
May 9th, 2007 at 1:15 pm
Obama’s quote after saying that 10,000 people died in Kansas from the
tornado (12 people actually died).
“There are going to be times when I get tired,” he said. “There are
going to be times when I get weary. There are going to be times when
I make mistakes.”
This race is an endurance test. A good test. The next president
will be stretched to the limits.