Blacks And Obama
Dec 2, 2013 22:13:59 #
Walter Williams is a Professor of Economics at George Mason University in Virginia.
He has also been a newspaper columnist for almost as long as I can remember, and is probably one of the smartest men in the country, IMO. I would love to see him run for President in 2016.
Blacks and Obama
Walter E. Williams | Dec 04, 2013
In a March 2008 column, I criticized pundits' concerns about whether America was ready for Barack Obama, suggesting that the more important issue was whether black people could afford Obama. I proposed that we look at it in the context of a historical tidbit.
In 1947, Jackie Robinson, after signing a contract with the Brooklyn Dodgers organization, broke the color barrier in Major League Baseball. He encountered open racist taunts and slurs from fans, opposing team players and even some members of his own team. Despite that, his batting average was nearly .300 in his first year. He led the National League in stolen bases and won the first Rookie of the Year award. There's no sense of justice that requires a player be as good as Robinson in order to have a chance in the major leagues, but the hard fact of the matter is that as the first black player, he had to be.
In 1947, black people could not afford an incompetent black baseball player. Today we can. The simple reason is that as a result of the excellence of Robinson -- and many others who followed him, such as Satchel Paige, Don Newcombe, Larry Doby and Roy Campanella -- today no one in his right mind, watching the incompetence of a particular black player, could say, "Those blacks can't play baseball."
In that March 2008 column, I argued that for the nation -- but more importantly, for black people -- the first black president should be the caliber of a Jackie Robinson, and Barack Obama is not. Obama has charisma and charm, but in terms of character, values, experience and understanding, he is no Jackie Robinson. In addition to those deficiencies, Obama became the first person in U.S. history to be elected to the highest office in the land while having a long history of associations with people who hate our nation, such as the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, Obama's pastor for 20 years, who preached that blacks should sing not "God bless America" but "God damn America." Then there's Obama's association with William Ayers, formerly a member of the Weather Underground, an anti-U.S. group that bombed the Pentagon, U.S. Capitol and other government buildings. Ayers, in the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attack, told a New York Times reporter, "I don't regret setting bombs. ... I feel we didn't do enough."
Obama's electoral success is truly a remarkable commentary on the goodness of the American people. A 2008 NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll reported "that 17 percent were enthusiastic about Obama being the first African American President, 70 percent were comfortable or indifferent, and 13 percent had reservations or were uncomfortable."
I'm 77 years old. For almost all of my life, a black's becoming the president of the United States was at best a pipe dream. Obama's electoral success further confirms what I've often held: The civil rights struggle in America is over, and it's won. At one time, black Americans did not have the constitutional guarantees enjoyed by white Americans; now we do. The fact that the civil rights struggle is over and won does not mean that there are not major problems confronting many members of the black community, but they are not civil rights problems and have little or nothing to do with racial discrimination.
There is every indication to suggest that Obama's presidency will be seen as a failure similar to that of Jimmy Carter's. That's bad news for the nation but especially bad news for black Americans. No white presidential candidate had to live down the disgraced presidency of Carter, but I'm all too fearful that a future black presidential candidate will find himself carrying the heavy baggage of a failed black president.
That's not a problem for white liberals who voted for Obama -- they received their one-time guilt-relieving dose from voting for a black man to be president -- but it is a problem for future generations of black Americans. But there's one excuse black people can make; we can claim that Obama is not an authentic black person but, as The New York Times might call him, a white black person.
He has also been a newspaper columnist for almost as long as I can remember, and is probably one of the smartest men in the country, IMO. I would love to see him run for President in 2016.
Blacks and Obama
Walter E. Williams | Dec 04, 2013
In a March 2008 column, I criticized pundits' concerns about whether America was ready for Barack Obama, suggesting that the more important issue was whether black people could afford Obama. I proposed that we look at it in the context of a historical tidbit.
In 1947, Jackie Robinson, after signing a contract with the Brooklyn Dodgers organization, broke the color barrier in Major League Baseball. He encountered open racist taunts and slurs from fans, opposing team players and even some members of his own team. Despite that, his batting average was nearly .300 in his first year. He led the National League in stolen bases and won the first Rookie of the Year award. There's no sense of justice that requires a player be as good as Robinson in order to have a chance in the major leagues, but the hard fact of the matter is that as the first black player, he had to be.
In 1947, black people could not afford an incompetent black baseball player. Today we can. The simple reason is that as a result of the excellence of Robinson -- and many others who followed him, such as Satchel Paige, Don Newcombe, Larry Doby and Roy Campanella -- today no one in his right mind, watching the incompetence of a particular black player, could say, "Those blacks can't play baseball."
In that March 2008 column, I argued that for the nation -- but more importantly, for black people -- the first black president should be the caliber of a Jackie Robinson, and Barack Obama is not. Obama has charisma and charm, but in terms of character, values, experience and understanding, he is no Jackie Robinson. In addition to those deficiencies, Obama became the first person in U.S. history to be elected to the highest office in the land while having a long history of associations with people who hate our nation, such as the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, Obama's pastor for 20 years, who preached that blacks should sing not "God bless America" but "God damn America." Then there's Obama's association with William Ayers, formerly a member of the Weather Underground, an anti-U.S. group that bombed the Pentagon, U.S. Capitol and other government buildings. Ayers, in the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attack, told a New York Times reporter, "I don't regret setting bombs. ... I feel we didn't do enough."
Obama's electoral success is truly a remarkable commentary on the goodness of the American people. A 2008 NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll reported "that 17 percent were enthusiastic about Obama being the first African American President, 70 percent were comfortable or indifferent, and 13 percent had reservations or were uncomfortable."
I'm 77 years old. For almost all of my life, a black's becoming the president of the United States was at best a pipe dream. Obama's electoral success further confirms what I've often held: The civil rights struggle in America is over, and it's won. At one time, black Americans did not have the constitutional guarantees enjoyed by white Americans; now we do. The fact that the civil rights struggle is over and won does not mean that there are not major problems confronting many members of the black community, but they are not civil rights problems and have little or nothing to do with racial discrimination.
There is every indication to suggest that Obama's presidency will be seen as a failure similar to that of Jimmy Carter's. That's bad news for the nation but especially bad news for black Americans. No white presidential candidate had to live down the disgraced presidency of Carter, but I'm all too fearful that a future black presidential candidate will find himself carrying the heavy baggage of a failed black president.
That's not a problem for white liberals who voted for Obama -- they received their one-time guilt-relieving dose from voting for a black man to be president -- but it is a problem for future generations of black Americans. But there's one excuse black people can make; we can claim that Obama is not an authentic black person but, as The New York Times might call him, a white black person.
Dec 2, 2013 22:49:58 #
Ah Gitzo, the unfortunate truth here is most of the black population would rather listen to the likes of Al Sharpton, Maxine Waters, Jesse Jackson and Sheila Jackson-Lee than a principled and honorable man like Walter Williams. How sad!
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As democracy is perfected, the office of the President represents, more and more closely, the inner soul of the people. On some great and glorious day, the plain folks of the land will reach their heart's desire at last, and the White House will be occupied by a downright fool and complete narcissistic M0RON."
----H.L. Mencken, The Baltimore Evening Sun, July 26, 1920
AND 93 YEARS LATER MENCKEN'S PREDICTION FOR OUR ONCE GREAT REPUBLIC HAS COME TO PASS DURING THE REIGN OF BARACK HUSSEIN OBAMA!
---------------------------------------------------------------------
As democracy is perfected, the office of the President represents, more and more closely, the inner soul of the people. On some great and glorious day, the plain folks of the land will reach their heart's desire at last, and the White House will be occupied by a downright fool and complete narcissistic M0RON."
----H.L. Mencken, The Baltimore Evening Sun, July 26, 1920
AND 93 YEARS LATER MENCKEN'S PREDICTION FOR OUR ONCE GREAT REPUBLIC HAS COME TO PASS DURING THE REIGN OF BARACK HUSSEIN OBAMA!
Dec 2, 2013 23:21:22 #
We as black race we are hung up on color. Where have we gone in these 4yrs.
lets see: Government shutdown, Auto insurance gone higher just to name a few. Auto insurance rates going up if you dont have health insurance who would ever thought about that 4yrs ago we are having a hard enough time with insurance companies red lining
where you live.
The question always comes up nobody want to work with him in the house Now ask your self why forgot he's black
lets see: Government shutdown, Auto insurance gone higher just to name a few. Auto insurance rates going up if you dont have health insurance who would ever thought about that 4yrs ago we are having a hard enough time with insurance companies red lining
where you live.
The question always comes up nobody want to work with him in the house Now ask your self why forgot he's black
Dec 3, 2013 00:19:28 #
In the future I am confident that James Earl Carter, and Barack Hussein Obama will be seen as the persons that tried to fend off complete rule by the military industrial complex and corporations that write the bills for congress. The endless, mindless, right wing hate speech by the likes of republican leaders, such as Rush Hudson Limbaugh, Glen Lee Beck, Michael Savage (Michael Alan Weiner), and all the crew over at Roger Eugene Ailes fair and balanced opinon and pure entertainment station. It would be nice to start a topic called, Whites and Bush.
Dec 3, 2013 08:19:32 #
RockCity wrote:
In the future I am confident that James Earl Carte... (show quote)
Ah yes, and I'm quite sure principled liberals like you listen to, and support scumbags like Martin Bashir on MessNBC. Hypocrisy is certainly prevalent in the liberal democrat party today.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
As democracy is perfected, the office of the President represents, more and more closely, the inner soul of the people. On some great and glorious day, the plain folks of the land will reach their heart's desire at last, and the White House will be occupied by a downright fool and complete narcissistic M0RON."
----H.L. Mencken, The Baltimore Evening Sun, July 26, 1920
AND 93 YEARS LATER MENCKEN'S PREDICTION FOR OUR ONCE GREAT REPUBLIC HAS COME TO PASS DURING THE REIGN OF BARACK HUSSEIN OBAMA!
Dec 3, 2013 08:23:28 #
Dec 4, 2013 07:06:38 #
bill cain.......you my friend can't come up with a rebuttal so you post this?
Are you,or anybody you know better off than 8yrs ago?
Are your taxes down? Gas prices down? Race relations are at an all time low.
Can't name anything for the GOOD OF THE PEOPLE that has come out of this presidency?
bill cain.......you are an asshole !
Are you,or anybody you know better off than 8yrs ago?
Are your taxes down? Gas prices down? Race relations are at an all time low.
Can't name anything for the GOOD OF THE PEOPLE that has come out of this presidency?
bill cain.......you are an asshole !
Dec 4, 2013 07:48:22 #
Pure and utter garbage! Much of what we have come to expect from the looons on the left that have no rational argument or rebuttal. Post on troll!
---------------------------------------------------------------------
As democracy is perfected, the office of the President represents, more and more closely, the inner soul of the people. On some great and glorious day, the plain folks of the land will reach their heart's desire at last, and the White House will be occupied by a downright fool and complete narcissistic M0RON."
----H.L. Mencken, The Baltimore Evening Sun, July 26, 1920
AND 93 YEARS LATER MENCKEN'S PREDICTION FOR OUR ONCE GREAT REPUBLIC HAS COME TO PASS DURING THE REIGN OF BARACK HUSSEIN OBAMA!
---------------------------------------------------------------------
As democracy is perfected, the office of the President represents, more and more closely, the inner soul of the people. On some great and glorious day, the plain folks of the land will reach their heart's desire at last, and the White House will be occupied by a downright fool and complete narcissistic M0RON."
----H.L. Mencken, The Baltimore Evening Sun, July 26, 1920
AND 93 YEARS LATER MENCKEN'S PREDICTION FOR OUR ONCE GREAT REPUBLIC HAS COME TO PASS DURING THE REIGN OF BARACK HUSSEIN OBAMA!
Dec 19, 2013 23:01:39 #
RockCity wrote:
In the future I am confident that James Earl Carte... (show quote)
Wow, talk about the personification of an angry liberal. You obviously didn't bother to read the whole article did you?
Dec 19, 2013 23:02:47 #
Dec 19, 2013 23:08:55 #
This seems somehow appropriate...
Obama, not fix blame? Perish the thaught!
Dec 19, 2013 23:21:43 #
heyrob wrote:
This seems somehow appropriate...
:thumbup: :thumbup: Well put my friend.
Mike
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