Jackson’s Obama Comments: Kissing The Ring (Guest Voice)
This is another Guest Voice by Tony Campbell, who writes www.examiner.com. He takes a look at Jesse Jackson’s comments about Democratic presumptive nominee Barack Obama and what it was really about:
Kissing The Ring
by Tony Campbell
In my June 20th [Examiner] column, entitled “Turning the Page”, I wrote the following insight into the power struggle between Barack Obama and the old guard of the African-American political establishment:
“The civil rights / political leaders of the African American community are from the old school of pitched rhetoric versus the institutions of the United States. Leaders such as the Reverend Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton and yes, even Jeremiah Wright, have achieved gains for the African American community by emphasizing the differences between the races and extracting concessions from corporate and government institutions on their behalf. In trying to move beyond racial divisions, Obama has left himself open to attack from the old guard that has made its living by playing the race card for their personal benefit.”
The Reverend Jackson proved me correct in my prediction by attacking Obama on perceived slights to the African-American community. This is Jackson’s explanation for his “off the record” statement:
“I said it can come off as speaking down to black people. The moral message must be a much broader message. What we need really is racial justice and urban policy and jobs and health care. There is a range of issues on the menu.”
Barack Obama has spent the last year and a half talking about these issues and how they affect Americans of every ethnicity. Make no mistake about it, Reverend Jackson made those remarks, not because of Obama’s failure to talk about issues, rather, to clearly send a signal that Obama should pay respect to Jackson.
This is all about Jackson’s ego and pride because for the first time in thirty years he is not the presumptive leader of the African-American political community. This was not the first Jesse Jackson head scratching moment of this campaign, and it will not be the last. The battle lines are drawn between the old and the new guards…this may be a better fight than the general election.
Cross posted at www.examiner.com
Cartoon by Pat Bagley, Salt Lake Tribune
[JG NOTE: The wrong cartoon was placed on this post. I'm at a hotel in Iowa where each Internet function takes 10 to 15 MINUTES. We regret the delay in getting the proper cartoon up.]
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I suspect that for Jesse Jackson, his ire for Obama may have roots in both a bit of ego, and also in real concerns.
Jackson must know that Obama having been raised to be well-off and white (for all intents and purposes) makes him less fit to represent the plight of african americans who never knew such posh and privilege. And given this, he may also resent Obama nosing his way into “greatness” by stealing one of Jackson's idol's persona: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Of all the things about Obama that actually cause me to be upset, his mimicking King's drawl during speeches is like fingers on a chalkboard. Obama is so clearly capitalizing on the color of his own skin, by happenstance only, that if I was an african american rights leader like Jackson, I'd have a few choice words for Obama as well.
Long story short, I understand Jesse Jackson's frustrated ire.
I said it before and I'll say it again. Obama is a racist. Instead of using the color of skin to beat down and oppress in spite of acheivements, he's focusing on skin color to promote and exonerate in spite of acheivements. Obama's racism I suspect, and his theft of a true American hero: Martin Luther King Jr. might be what is pissing off Jesse Jackson and a host of other people.
I agree with Silhouette. Rev. Jackson has consistently spoken on behalf of the dispossessed, the poor, the unequal treatment of African Americans in this society, their disproportionate numbers in prison, and other real issues affecting African Americans in American society.
I once heard a speech by Obama when he was talking to a group of African Americans and he affected the dialect that he felt would appeal to them: like he was one of “them” from the “hood.” It even made me, as a white man, sick to hear that phoniness.
Jackson knows quite well that Obama, the current darling of “liberals,” is just another political opportunist who will say anything, even in any dialect, that he thinks will garner him more votes to get elected. We have even seen this phenomenon in his recent dramatic shift to the Right on such issues as “faith based initiatives” and troop withdrawals from Iraq.
Also, fueling Jackson's ire, and even mine, is that Obama is just like any other politician who is likely to make no difference in the Presidency than McCain, save, presumably, for U.S. Supreme Court appointments. His capitulation to the Right, even when he clearly has most of the American people against the status quo and the way this country is headed, and his seeming inability to get to vote against FiSA, voted for by many other Democratic sellouts, justifies Jackson's anger, and the anger of anyone who genuinely seeks change in the direction of this society. A direction that Obama is not likely to take us.
The tragedy is that Jackson knows that Obama plays “White” when it suits him and plays the stereotypical “Black man from the 'hood' ” when it suits him. As a political opportunist and chameleon, he should give us no confidence that anything will change for the better on his watch.
I fully understand Jackson's frustration and anger, as I, too, share that frustration and anger.
Yes, and the political opportunist and chameleon are familiar creatures to us, so we tend to get a little numb to them and even come to expect that from candidates.
What is truly the most disgusting and counterproductive to equal rights for people based on merit is TO USE THE FOCUS OF COLOR OF SKIN TO EITHER DEMOTE OR PROMOTE SOMEONE. Both are RACISM. Obama is practicing racism and its longterm effects will undermine those acheivements of examining a person for themselves instead of the color of their skin. Could this be any more clear?
“Urban policy”? So he's still stuck in the Sixties. No surprise.
“TO USE THE FOCUS OF COLOR OF SKIN TO EITHER DEMOTE OR PROMOTE SOMEONE. Both are RACISM”
When engaged in for PC purposes, it's seen by proponents as a positive example of, ahem, “identity politics.” It's no different in Obama's case than the reverse sexism (excuse me, identity politics) in Hillary Clinton's case.
You guys are really making the comments a place to avoid. I saw 4 replies and thought, actual discussion must be going on in here. Does any body care to discuss Tony's piece, instead of attacking Obama?
We are discussing the piece. We are commenting on the possible reasons Jesse Jackson said the things he did about Obama.
I offer again that it's likely he is frustrated and sick of Obama using skin color and not actual experience to promote himself to a position of power. And it might even be the same frustration Clinton is experiencing as well.
We all know the feeling of being passed over for a lesser candidate (just pick any situation) due to political trends and not due to our outstanding qualifications. Jesse Jackson worked darn hard to carve leadship during some troubled times for african americans. Barack Obama was raised in a white household in Hawaii and just waltzes into a position Jesse Jackson strove and sweated blood for, for his whole life.
And how did Obama do it? By ASSUMING the identity of a black man like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. or Jesse Jackson… NOT by EARNING it..
To the topic at hand.
And to take Jesse Jackson's potential frustration one step further, the hubris the gall of Obama.. Barack Obama having stolen his identity as a suffering black man, then went on to exterminate real struggling minority candidate hopefuls in Chicago while running for Senate…on a platform of….*drum roll*…uplifting minorities….*urp*…*takes Pepto Bismol*..
If you are a minority, african american or otherwise and you trust Barack Obama to put you before himself…I've got news for you…http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-070403obama-ballot,0,1843097.story
Read that and you just might begin to understand Jesse Jackson's justifiable frustration with Barack Obama. If I was Jesse Jackson, I would stand my ground with his actual real opinions instead of a forced apology. Someone in the african american community needs to get some orbs (while we're on the subject) and stand up to this masquerador.
Both Clinton's did that. They also thickened their Southern accents when stumping the South.
Hell, I even do it subconsciously. I'll shift my accent depending on whether I'm in the north or south. Whether I'm with my friends or in a professional setting.
It's starting to sound like you're the racist. You're not the arbiter of who is and isn't black. Despite Obama's upbringing, he's had to deal with racism because his skin is a darker color than mine.
Jackson (and Sharpton, etc.) are upset they are not the “leadership,” namely the truly anachronistic (as opposed to what was said about Phil Gramm elsewhere) broken records arrogating the right to speak on behalf of the Forever Victimized Black Community in the USA, Incorporated [tm]. Obama is from the mainstream (even if his liberal politics and record are not those of most Americans) and not a Victim Class. Many of us don't like his and his party's reverse racism that is OK by PC standards, but the man himself is competent and mainstream just like so many other black Americans that don't make the news because they can't be exploited by the Jackson gang. Obama is mainstream. That really is Change.
Maybe Jackson was especially annoyed at Obama's remarks about unwed fathers.
I”m not moved by arguments that suggest that Obama is what we all know him to be, a politician. So by definition I expect him to be shrewd and heavy-handed when trying to seek power. His opponents were out maneuvered, just like Hilliary and the other potentials in the primaries.
Well, I'm going to largely ignore the important parts of this post and talk about something that came up in the comments, namely speaking differently when speaking to different people and different situations. You never know people might find the topic interesting….
There are various terms for the phenomenon of changing language behavior in different contexts, but it's universal, and there's nothing necessarily wrong with it. If I were to give a talk to 100 clients at a business meeting, I'm surely going to speak differently than I do when I'm watching a football game with a friend. It would be strange if I didn't. We modify our grammar, our vocabulary, and even our pronunciation to fit the situation. By speaking one way in a business situation, I signal that I understand the importance and expectations of the situation. And I signal friendship when I modify all of that at home.
Similarly, I speak with a might bit stronger southern accent (that means much stronger) when speaking to my family in Louisiana than I do when speaking to a friend from Wisconsin. Everyone does this sort of stuff, though they do it to different degrees. Many immigrants speak one language to their parents and another to their friends.
Where it becomes questionable is when the change isn't any natural part of the person. If I speak Louisiana style to my Louisiana family, no problem. If I try to sound Australian to an Aussie friend, people will likely think I should come off it, because I'm not Aussie in any way.
Sil, “Jackson must know that Obama having been raised to be well-off and white (for all intents and purposes) makes him less fit to represent the plight of african americans who never knew such posh and privilege.”
Oh puhleeze, can you just get off it? While growing up Obama and his family were on food stamps. He was a community organizer in Chicago in a (I'm sure you'll find this hard to believe) in a poor African American community where (and I'm sure you'll find this hard to believe, too) he lived. Obama (and his wife) had student loans which we paid off just a few years ago…
Your posts attacking Obama for playing at being an African American who doesn't understand what it's like to be poor are simply…. silly.
Also why do you attack Obama for trying to employ devices (such as a change in speech) to appeal to his audiences? Hillary does it, as do most if not all politicians. And Greek philosophers, whose thoughts are the basis of much of our Western civilization knew rhetoric and one of the lessons they taught and have been handed down for millennia is the importance of knowing your audience and having them identify with you (the speaker).
Stop being a sore loser and just accept that fact that Obama ran a far better campaign than Hillary, and more Americans would rather have him as their president than Hillary. Your whining and bitterness wore thin a long time ago.
The reason I think Jesse doesn't like Obama is because Obama has great ideas and Jesse can't control Obama. Obama is not one of Jesse's boys and doesn't kowtow to him.
Personally I want a president, for a change, who isn't in the pocket of special interests…. I think Obama will make a fine president for America, not just his little group. Obama understand the African American community (it is his community after all) and its concerns. But he is not beholden to them at the expense of the rest of America. I think if Jesse Jackson were prez. he would primarily focus on narrow “black” issues at the expense of the rest of the country (including at the expense of issues which affect both blacks and whites). This is why Obama is successful and Jesse is a has-been.