Jesse's Nod Won't Help Obama - Earl Ofari Hutchinson

[Alamom]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/earl-ofari-hutchinson/jesses-nod-wont-help-ob_b_44758.html

Jesse's Nod Won't Help Obama
Earl Ofari Hutchinson
04.02.2007

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama beamed as he sat beside Jesse Jackson as Jesse announced that he was formally endorsing Obama's candidacy. The idea was that Jackson's endorsement would give Obama a rocket boost with black voters. It won't. And there are two glaring reasons why.
The first is Jackson himself. While some polls show that Jackson is still popular among many blacks, he's not the Jackson of a decade ago or even four years ago. That Jackson could instantly heat up a crowd with a timely slogan, catchy rhyme, or well-timed phrase and he had the instant ear of presidents and heads of state.

However, the taint of sexual scandal and his fade from the headlines has wiped much of the luster off of his racial star. Jackson belongs to the older civil rights generation, and he's found it tough sledding trying to sell his civil rights pitch to upwardly mobile, younger blacks that have little inkling of past civil rights struggles. Jackson hinted at that in his little talk endorsing Obama, when he said that it was time to pass the torch to a new generation of black politicians. That was self-serving and disingenuous. Jackson has no intention of passing any torch on now. He will continue to do everything he can to micromanage a role for himself on the national political scene. In the next breath he boasted that he'd work with whichever Democrat ultimately emerges on top and that he is talking to the other Democratic contenders about his agenda. The second problem is Obama. Even if Jackson was a rock solid Obama man, and still had the sheen on his leadership badge, he wouldn't be much help to him. A Democratic presidential contender must not be afraid to dump strategies on the nation's public policy table to combat the astronomical high black unemployment rate, soaring incarceration for black men, the HIV/AIDS plague, and failing public schools, as well as a plan for drug and criminal justice system overhaul. These are the issues that stir the political juices of most blacks. Obama hasn't as yet stirred them on these issues.

Obama is a good liberal with a commendable record on some issues. The problem is there's just not enough of a record to gauge his effectiveness as a presidential possibility, or even as a good Senator at this still very early point in his jump to the national political stage. Black voters, indeed all voters, crave and deserve a candidate with a proven track record or at least a defined plan for dealing with the crucial issues. The initial reluctance of many black voters, top black Democrats, civil rights leaders, and that includes Jackson for a while; to leap on the Obama bandwagon is due to the freshman Senator's paper thin legislative record. As Obama's rock star allure fades in the gruel and heat of the presidential campaign, the questions will loom bigger about his plan for an exit from Iraq, nuclear proliferation, stimulating the economy, battling inflation, environmental and labor problems, campaign finance reform and the always explosive minefield of racial relations.

The contrast between Obama and his Democratic presidential rival John Edwards on the issues has been glaring. Edwards was a full term senator, a seasoned presidential ticket campaigner in 2004, and in the years since the election has barnstormed the country talking and listening to labor and health care advocates about working conditions and the urgent need for affordable health care for the estimated fifty million uninsured Americans. Blacks and Latinos make up a significant percent of the uninsured. He's crafted a thoughtful and detailed comprehensive plan for national health care and has talked it up at campaign stops in Iowa and New Hampshire. At a Democratic presidential candidates forum in Las Vegas in March he spelled out the plan. Obama has detailed no plan on health care, and stumbled badly when asked about it at the Las Vegas confab.


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[Mass]

1. May be he would be better off telling us why we should believe Edwards.

This thrashing is tiring and does not make candidates they are supposed to support look good.

(BTW, calling Edwards experienced is certainly a stretch).

On edit: or are we talking about a GOPer posting on Huffington. Not clear to me.

[venable]

8. it's hardly a 'thrashing'

he just says that Obama is new to the scene (true) and the Jesse is not the Jesse of old (true).

he also says Edwards health care proposal is sophisticated (true, see Krugman), and Obama isn't public with one yet, and stumbled in LV on the subject (widely recognized as true).

this is not a thrashing. is Obama not able to be commented on, other than orgiastic ecstasy?

(by they way, I'm just a middle age white guy, but I had some interesting conversations with some key, elderly NAACP folk - they think Obama is a wonderful person, with a great future, but they are annoyed that he is doing this before he has 'done the work'. And yes they know every detail of his full professional biography.)

[illinoisprogressive]

2. There have been many articles by blacks saying the opposite. So, take this one

with a grain of salt. It's one person's opinion and judging by the wide diversity of the thousands of people who come to hear Obama, I'd say this is by someone promoting Edwards.

[Connie_Corleone]

3. Nice way to belittle Obama's experience while trying to prop up Edwards.

Obama is coming out with a health care plan in a few weeks. He could've just thrown something together at the last minute for that healthcare forum, but he admitted he was still working on it.

I would rather Obama take his time and come up with a significant healthcare plan than try to one up the other candidates.

It's not like the primary is next month. Geez!

[MADem]

4. You know, all of this prancing around about endorsements is just getting silly.

The whole "Battle of the Black Preachers" nonsense between Sharpton and Jackson, it's just MEDIA HYPE and it's also a bit offensive. How long before we have the "Which WOMEN will back Hillary, and which won't?" I have already seen some snarky coverage of "John Edwards--First WOMAN president?"

It's just getting profoundly stupidER. It's always been stupid, but it seems worse this go-round.

Endorsements are nice. But they aren't the be-all or the end-all. Cash in hand is equally if not more important.

I think that if Senator Obama hits it out of the park at the debates, then it doesn't matter if Jesse, scandal-plagued, illegitimate child, girlfriend on the side and on the payroll aside, endorses him or not. Frankly, I agree with those who say that Jesse didn't help him much nationally, but he did help locally, seeing as his son is a rep out of IL, and he has a more reliable base in greater Chicago, especially.

I suppose Senator Obama has to be content with the fact that they've spelled his name right, and they're repeating it. Press is always good, unless they're talking about live boys or dead women.

Hopefully, he'll get his issues down, sketch out his ideas, understand the tiresome necessity of not going off-script too much, beware of gotcha questions, and do well when the podiums are arranged on the stage.

[Name removed]

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[PresidentObama]

6. Hmmm OPer has Hillary in their avatar, and posts an article about contrast between Obama and Edwards

:rofl: I love DU!!

[Nedsdag]

7. Absolutely!

Just come out and say: "I'm a Hillary supporter who likes to find anything negative about Obama."

FYI: I like both men (Edwards and Obama) but this is ridiculous!

[Alamom]

9. Predictable.......

http://www.thehutchinsonreport.com/





Earl Ofari Hutchinson is a noted author of nine books about the African American experience in America. His numerous published articles appear in newspapers and magazines across the country as well as some of the most popular web sites on the Internet. He is a radio host and TV commentator. He has received several awards for his writings.





This article is not negative, not written by a GOPer and certainly not a thrashing. It's the opinion of an experienced political analyst and published writer. I don't post negatives about anyone and I will not.

I assume many or most people recognized the author and decided not to flame the messenger....as it were.

Think about growing a thicker skin. Other people WILL post negatives, thrashings, lies, trash and call your candidate names. It's been going on with the other candidates for a while, in case you didn't notice.
Senator Obama will not escape this part of being a candidate.


I posted this article because I (do) share some of the author's views, mostly, the "experience" factor.
I believe that's what we try to do here......post articles and discuss the content.
Also, I don't believe I'm the first member to post an article about candidates other than the one I support.

Oh and BTW, if Senator Obama is the nominee, I will support him with all I have and very happily go to the polls and vote for him. I will stand by him and support him through his presidency. I am a Democrat above all else and would never give my vote to a repuke or lose it by not voting as many here declare about candidates other than their first choice.