Monday, January 22, 2007
Making History
Yesterday we saw not one but two Black NFL coaches win their way to the Superbowl, which is the first time this has ever happened. The way things are going, we may run out of nationally prominent "firsts" by the time my future children become adults (God willing).Which brings me to Barack Obama. Could he be the first Black president? Why not? Why not Barack Obama? Granted, we've all joked about how there may never be a Black president and the dangers he or she might face between election day and inauguration. Granted Obama has received a lot of hype without the close substantive scrutiny that, say, Hillary Clinton has been under.
But Barack's message is about hope. And why not hope for achieving the impossible? Were it not for hope and faith we would never have seen the end of chattel slavery. Were it not for hope and faith we would never have seen the end of de jure Jim Crow. Were it not for hope and faith we would never have the opportunity to see a Black NFL coach hoist the Vince Lombardi trophy above his head.
So let us keep the faith, and keep hoping. Regardless of whom you may support, do as Jesse said and keep hope alive.
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I like Obama. When I hear him speak, I think he could be this generation's Bobby Kennedy. (Hopefully, without the assassination!) Far too many politicians just give a list of programs, but Obama inspires us to work for a moral vision of a better nation and world.
I just wish he combined this with a concrete plan for getting us out of Iraq, quickly. I wish he was less cautious in the senate and would combine his great rhetorical skills with a strong progressive platform.
If he begins to articulate the latter, soon, this is one Southern white-boy who will be more than happy to not only vote for him, but campaign for him.
At this juncture it would be pure foolishness for Obama to lay out a concrete plan for anything - the election is almost two years away and that would be plenty of time for his plan to be torn to pieces without him being able to implement it. At this juncture Obama's task is to set the tone for his campaign, to lay out the Big Idea that all subsequent ideas will fall under, and we all know what Obama's big idea is: The Audacity Of Hope. Stay tuned, I'm sure that he'll develop the theme more fully - after all, he already has developed it.
Wow! I too like Obama but how do his credentials endear him to African- Americans. Is it enough that he's part recent arrived African with no connection to a slave heritage? How about he's a Hawaiian from Kansas who went to Harvard? Yeah, he's 'cute' an all but..... what's his solution to the race problem in Amerikkka, or perhaps he doesn't really notice any problem at all? How does he propose to resolve the middle-east conflict(s)? What will he do with the privileged oligarchy that intends to first strangle the american economy then the global economy? National health plan, will congress accept him as a leader allowing him to set an agenda then support him?
Let's get real, Obama's a cutie but a shill owned by a hidden hand, a tissue to be discarded once his purpose has been served. The black community should not be so easily manipulated, isolated, controlled and played such that any black from anywhere will instantly mesmerize all negroes in America.
Anonymous cowards kill me - Barack's credentials?!? Barack Obama was the PRESIDENT of the Harvard Law Review, and when you consider that some of the prominent alumni of the Harvard Law Review include Supreme Court Justices Edward Sanford, Felix Frankfurter, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Antonin Scalia, Stephen Breyer and Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr., do you really want to question Barack Obama's credentials?!?!? When he was the PRESIDENT of the Harvard Law Review, not just a member? I can understand why you wouldn't want to your their name to such silliness. After all, the one thing that America needs now more than ever is a president who understands and values the Rule of Law vis-a-vis ruling by fiat as "The Decider." Perhaps our anonymous antagonists would find Barack more endearing if Obama were a middling Yalie who couldn't find oil in Texas...