The moderate Republican political consultant in D.C. is wondering why black folks are still backing Obama, when he has done little for Black America: "In the 2008 presidential election, Blacks were the largest voting block [sic] for Obama (as a percentage) — 96%. But, yet, the first Black president has fewer Blacks serving in his administration than former President, George W. Bush. The first Black president thinks so little of Black women that he refused to even interview any Black female lawyers or judges for the 2 Supreme Court picks he has put on the bench. Even if he knew he would not choose them, at least interview them for the optics! Last year, in a speech to the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC), the first Black president said, 'Take off your bedroom slippers, put on your marching shoes. Shake it off. Stop complaining, stop grumbling, stop crying. We are going to press on. We’ve got work to do, CBC.'"
He discusses the president's different treatment of Hispanics and gays: "A week earlier, Obama spoke at the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute. He highlighted two specific pieces of legislation that he was actively trying to pass that would overwhelmingly be to the primary benefit of the Hispanic community — the DREAM Act and comprehensive immigration reform. Not one time did he tell them to stop complaining? A month later Obama spoke before The Human Rights Campaign, a gay rights group. Again, Obama talked about how he repealed, 'don’t ask, don’t tell,' and mandated hospital visitation rights for same sex couples. Again, not one time did he tell them to stop complaining?"
He ain't done just yet: "Now, juxtapose that with what went on in Africa. By tradition, the head of the World Bank is always an American male and the head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is always a European male (until last year when the French fought for a woman to be chosen — Christine Lagarde). But Africa challenged this arrangement very publicly. Africa’s actions was a direct challenge to Obama’s choice of Dr. Jim Yong Kim and the brazenly unfair process the World Bank used to choose the successor of the former president of the World Bank, Robert Zoellick. Oddly enough, Kim’s strongest challenger was the Finance Minister of Nigeria, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, a female from a developing country. She was universally considered the best candidate in the field, even by those who supported Kim."
And more about the African challenge at the World Bank: "You had an African woman to challenge Obama’s choice to lead the bank; she being universally considered the best qualified for the job. But, yet Black Democrats in America refuse to challenge the first Black president when he has gone out of his way to ignore them when it comes to legislation of particular interest to them. They continue to make excuses for his lack of action — he needs more time, the President can’t undo in 4 years what took Bush 8 years to create or he will pay attention to us in his second term. The Black community’s behavior is a riddle, wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma."
Raynard Jackson Op-Ed: The Riddle Of Blacks & Obama
