President Obama was propelled into office three years ago in part by a record turnout among African-Americans.
But a new Washington Post-ABC news poll found that support may be wavering. FIVE MONTHS AGO, 83 PERCENT OF AFRICAN AMERICANS HELD “STRONGLY FAVORABLE” VIEWS OF OBAMA. NOW, THAT NUMBER IS 58 PERCENT.
The black unemployment rate is also at 16 percent - the highest since 1984- and a series of black leaders have come out and publicly chastised him for not doing enough to economically help the community, the rhetoric in some circles has heated up.
On the same day the numbers were released, Howard University students marched on the White House- protesting Obama’s lack of action on the Troy Davis death penalty case. Several students got arrested.
So, with the Congressional Black Caucus week in full swing here in our backyard, we talked with some folks who are attending the event to get their take on the president as he gears up for reelection…
Losing the Black vote or even seeing a weakening of it, shows just how far this president has fallen.
Not the Hope and Change they Wanted
In a fiery summons to an important voting bloc, PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA TOLD BLACKS ON SATURDAY TO QUIT CRYING AND COMPLAINING AND "PUT ON YOUR MARCHING SHOES" TO FOLLOW HIM INTO BATTLE FOR JOBS AND OPPORTUNITY.
And though he didn't say it directly, for a second term, too.
Obama's speech to the annual awards dinner of the Congressional Black Caucus was his answer to increasingly vocal griping from black leaders that he's been giving away too much in talks with Republicans -- and not doing enough to fight black unemployment, which is nearly double the national average at 16.7 percent.
"IT GETS FOLKS DISCOURAGED. I KNOW. I LISTEN TO SOME OF Y'ALL," Obama told an audience of some 3,000 in a darkened Washington convention center.
But he said blacks need to have faith in the future -- and understand that the fight won't be won if they don't rally to his side.
"I NEED YOUR HELP," OBAMA SAID…
It’s never a good idea when you are insulting your base or your customers.
Joe Klein listens and almost learns
…Surprisingly, Klein writes- and one must say you do not expect to find this from Klein:
IT SEEMED TO ME THAT THE CLOSER THE TEA PARTY FOLKS GOT TO HOME, THE MORE LEGITIMATE THEIR BEEFS WERE. On the most basic, local level, their concern about waste and corruption seemed a good thing, a valuable revival of citizen concern after a long period of apathy. AND THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT DOES TEND TO IMPOSE LAYER UPON LAYER OF NEW REGULATIONS WITHOUT KEEPING TRACK OF HOW THEY’RE WORKING.
Anything President Obama has done to address these problems, Klein adds, “hasn’t reached Texarkana. I FOUND MYSELF IN SYMPATHY WITH MUCH THAT THE MILLER COUNTY PATRIOTS WERE SAYING,” referring to the name of the local Tea Party group. Until, that is, “one man called the President a socialist who wanted government to run everything,” and that since he went around the world apologizing for the United States, he didn’t think Obama was a patriot.
So Klein concludes: “WHEN THEY’RE TALKING ABOUT CHARACTER LOANS, I’M ALL EARS. WHEY THEY’RE FANTASIZING ABOUT SOCIALISM, I’M NOT.”
So, here, I highly recommend that Joe Klein take a look at Charles Krauthammer’s latest column. Klein has taken half a leap; unusual for a MSM liberal, he has listened to regular Tea Party folks, and has not condemned them as racist, fascist and as a bunch of extremist nuts. But he stops short at taking their view of Obama as anything but crazed.
http://pajamasmedia.com/ronradosh/2011/09/24/joe-klein-takes-a-road-trip-and-partially-gets-it/
Close but no cigar, for Mr. Klein. For a moment he seemed to realize why there is a TEA party, but he drew back when someone attacked the main reason for their frustration.
But it’s Hard!
Obama went well beyond the usual campaign promises and political rhetoric. Complete with a Greek column stage set, he cast himself as a world-historical figure who would transform America. HE WAS THE PERSON WHO WOULD PROVIDE CARE FOR THE SICK AND GOOD JOBS TO THE JOBLESS, HEAL THE PLANET, REPAIR THE WORLD, AND HALT THE RISE OF THE OCEANS. DIVISIONS WITHIN OUR COUNTRY WOULD END. WARS WOULD CEASE. AMERICA’S IMAGE IN THE WORLD WOULD BE RESTORED. Dictators from Havana to Tehran, from Caracas to Pyongyang, would bow to the power of his reason. This time would be different than all the other times. Our country, after all, had never before been graced by anyone quite like Barack Obama.
That, at least, is how the story was sold to us. But by now the cult-like chants and the “Yes We Can” refrain, the REFERENCES TO OBAMA AS A “BLACK JESUS” (BY CAMPAIGN STAFF) AND A “SORT OF GOD” (BY JOURNALISTS), THE COMPARISONS TO HIM AS LINCOLN (by pundits and historians), are a distant memory. I’m reminded what Michelle Obama said to a reporter as she watched people fawning over him at his swearing-in to the Senate: “Maybe one day he’ll do something to merit all this attention.”
As the economy continues to remain (in Bill Clinton’s words) “dead flat,” as the world ignores our wishes and goes along its merry way, as the president’s approval ratings sink to new lows, and as he continues to question the patriotism of his critics and stoke embers of resentment, IT IS WORTH RECALLING JUST HOW MUCH BARACK OBAMA PROMISED TO BE AND JUST HOW FAR HE HAS FALLEN SHORT OF IT ALL.
A little more than two-and-a-half years into the job, “Yes We Can” has been replaced with a new motto: “But It’s Hard.”
I’m reminded of a Saturday Night Skit where he called Hillary at 2 AM to get advice and he whines, “This is Hard!”
Why government doesn’t help
…A DOMINANT THEME IN AMERICA'S HISTORY OVER THE LAST 100+ YEARS, HAS BEEN OUR GOVERNMENT'S NEVER ENDING ATTEMPTS TO REGULATE AND CONTROL OUR ONCE FREE MARKET ECONOMY. History shows us clearly, that every single time government has tried to "fix" something in our economy, their actions made things worse rather than better, and oftentimes created new problems as well.
An early example of how government intervention into the free market economy never seems to work out well can be seen in THE CREATION OF THE FIRST TRANSCONTINENTAL RAILROADS. There simply wasn't sufficient traffic in the mid 19th century to justify the huge costs involved in building those railroads, but the government intervened in the belief that a coast-to-coast railway system would enhance America's prestige abroad. They did so by giving huge land grants adjacent to the rail routes to the builders of each railroad. But AS THE NATION'S ECONOMY AND RAIL TRAFFIC GREW EXPONENTIALLY, THE RAILROADS PROVED UNABLE TO HANDLE THE TRAFFIC. THE REASON WHY WAS BECAUSE THEY WERE BUILT TO GET LAND GRANTS, NOT TO CARRY TRAFFIC. …
Now our government has announced that it's filing suit against 17 of the biggest banks and financial institutions. It's being done for the simple reason that Obama needs a scapegoat to blame the poor economy on, as his blame Bush strategy has become rather tiresome at this point. But are these banks and financial institutions really to blame for the mess we're in?
Since the economic collapse began with the sub-prime mortgage fiasco, WE HAVE TO LOOK CLOSELY AT THE REAL CULPRIT, THE CRA (THE COMMUNITY REINVESTMENT ACT OF 1977)….
When government starts to interfere with the free market, things turn out badly.
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