[Marxism] Ishmael Reed on Obama's Scolding of Black Fathers

[Dbachmozart@xxxxxxx]

By ISHMAEL REED  
Itâs  obvious by now that Barack Obama is treating black Americans like one 
treats a  demented uncle, brought out  from his room to be ridiculed and 
scolded  before company from time to time, the old Clinton Sistah Souljah 
strategy  
borrowed from Clintonâs first presidential campaign when he traveled the 
country  criticizing the personal morality of blacks and wooing white voters by 
objecting  to what he considered anti -white lyrics sung by rapper Sistah 
Souljah.  
As in Clintonâs  case, Obamaâs June 14th finger wagging at black men was a 
case of pandering to  white conservative voters. This follows a pattern of 
using public perceptions of  black men fanned by the media and Hollywood to win 
political favor. Bush One and  his sleazy cohorts won votes by depicting black 
men as dangerous. After the  Willie Horton ad, featuring a black rapist, was 
aired, support for Bush soared  to 20% among southern white males, according to 
Willie Brown, former San  Francisco mayor. Obama, by depicting them as 
irresponsible, saw his poll numbers  climb to a 15% lead over McCain, according 
to a 
Newsweek poll. With his speech,  he received a bounce in the polls that was 
denied to him after he gained the  democrat nomination.   He also enjoyed the 
bounce in the polls from  Pennsylvania and Ohio.  
According to  pundits, the reason he lost these states during the primary was 
because he  couldnât bowl  His Fatherâs Day speech was meant to show white 
conservative  males that he wouldnât cater to âspecial interestsâ groups, 
blacks in this case.  This was the consensus of those who appeared on MSNBC and 
other opinion venues  of the segregated media on 6/16/2008 even the progressive 
ones. (Segregated? Not  quite. The two percent of African Americans who 
support Bush all seem to have  jobs as pundits, 
columnists and Op-eders).  Michael A. Cohen, writing in The New York Times, 
June 15, 2008,  acknowledging Mr. Obamaâs Sister Souljah moment wrote 
âIndeed, 
just yesterday,  Barack Obama had his own mini- âSouljah momentâ as he 
decried the epidemic of  fatherlessness and illegitimacy among black Americans. 
While it is a message  that Mr. Obama has voiced before to other black 
audiences, 
speaking unpleasant  truths about issues afflicting the black community may 
provide political benefit  for a candidate whom some working-class white voters 
are suspicious of â just as  it did for Clinton 16 years ago. â ( When is 
Cohen going to air âunpleasant  truths about issues afflictingâ his 
community?). 
full article - 
_http://counterpunch.org/reed06242008.html_ 
(http://counterpunch.org/reed06242008.html) 



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