Posted on 12/04/2013 7:34:10 AM PST by Kaslin
In a March 2008 column, I criticized pundits' concerns about whether America was ready for Barack Obama, suggesting that the more important issue was whether black people could afford Obama. I proposed that we look at it in the context of a historical tidbit.
In 1947, Jackie Robinson, after signing a contract with the Brooklyn Dodgers organization, broke the color barrier in Major League Baseball. He encountered open racist taunts and slurs from fans, opposing team players and even some members of his own team. Despite that, his batting average was nearly .300 in his first year. He led the National League in stolen bases and won the first Rookie of the Year award. There's no sense of justice that requires a player be as good as Robinson in order to have a chance in the major leagues, but the hard fact of the matter is that as the first black player, he had to be.
In 1947, black people could not afford an incompetent black baseball player. Today we can. The simple reason is that as a result of the excellence of Robinson -- and many others who followed him, such as Satchel Paige, Don Newcombe, Larry Doby and Roy Campanella -- today no one in his right mind, watching the incompetence of a particular black player, could say, "Those blacks can't play baseball."
In that March 2008 column, I argued that for the nation -- but more importantly, for black people -- the first black president should be the caliber of a Jackie Robinson, and Barack Obama is not. Obama has charisma and charm, but in terms of character, values, experience and understanding, he is no Jackie Robinson. In addition to those deficiencies, Obama became the first person in U.S. history to be elected to the highest office in the land while having a long history of associations with people who hate our nation, such as the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, Obama's pastor for 20 years, who preached that blacks should sing not "God bless America" but "God damn America." Then there's Obama's association with William Ayers, formerly a member of the Weather Underground, an anti-U.S. group that bombed the Pentagon, U.S. Capitol and other government buildings. Ayers, in the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attack, told a New York Times reporter, "I don't regret setting bombs. ... I feel we didn't do enough."
Obama's electoral success is truly a remarkable commentary on the goodness of the American people. A 2008 NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll reported "that 17 percent were enthusiastic about Obama being the first African American President, 70 percent were comfortable or indifferent, and 13 percent had reservations or were uncomfortable." I'm 77 years old. For almost all of my life, a black's becoming the president of the United States was at best a pipe dream. Obama's electoral success further confirms what I've often held: The civil rights struggle in America is over, and it's won. At one time, black Americans did not have the constitutional guarantees enjoyed by white Americans; now we do. The fact that the civil rights struggle is over and won does not mean that there are not major problems confronting many members of the black community, but they are not civil rights problems and have little or nothing to do with racial discrimination.
There is every indication to suggest that Obama's presidency will be seen as a failure similar to that of Jimmy Carter's. That's bad news for the nation but especially bad news for black Americans. No white presidential candidate had to live down the disgraced presidency of Carter, but I'm all too fearful that a future black presidential candidate will find himself carrying the heavy baggage of a failed black president. That's not a problem for white liberals who voted for Obama -- they received their one-time guilt-relieving dose from voting for a black man to be president -- but it is a problem for future generations of black Americans. But there's one excuse black people can make; we can claim that Obama is not an authentic black person but, as The New York Times might call him, a white black person.
Obama’s electoral success is truly a remarkable commentary on the goodness of the American people.
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Walter, Walter, Walter. WTF is wrong with you?
I don’t know that future black candidates will be judged based on Obama’s failures.
For example, if a conservative black candidate, such as Allen West, came forward to run for president, the conservatives who dislike Obama would be thrilled with his candidacy. While the liberals who still support Obama would consider an Allen West as an “Uncle Tom”, and not consider him truly black. I think it would all come back to the liberal/conservative split we see. Liberals don’t consider conservative minorities to be true minorities.
How long before Obama cheerleaders start blaming his White Momma for all the country's ills?
This is my biggest disagreement with the good professor Williams. BO has bumped Jimbo Carter into third place as worst president in American history . . . and he has another three years to surpass James Buchanan for the top spot.
But he's spot on about BO lacking the skill set of a Jackie Robinson. Hell, he doesn't even have the skill set of an Oscar Gamble. Gamble was a fair pinch-hitter as I recall.
I too wonder that. But with so much superficial thinking going on inside the voting booth these days it’s a good possibility especially with the misery index about to explode. People don’t think too deeply these days. I think he will be the last black candidate for a very long time and that’s sad.
Successful candidate what I meant to say
I really started paying attention in 2008 to things re: Obama — more and more came out with not only Rev. Wright but his Communist associations from his youth by way of his mentor Frank Davis. If anyone was a Manchurian Candidate it has been Obama. Why all the secrecy about this guy —and I am leaving out the stuff about the birth cert. -—school records for one thing. If I were to vote for any black person —even if I did it from the perspective of “ok this is the first time a black guy had a good chance of attaining the presidency” — it would have been Colin Powell —even though I wouldn’t agree with him 100%, but he is a man who served his country and is respectable. The only good thing I can say about Obama is that he seems to be a good father. There are many good fathers out there -— but most of them shouldn’t be president. Carter was a good father but a crappy president.
To vote for him once, out of pride, I can forgive. To vote for him TWICE, despite his spectacular failure and ruination and promotion of corruption throughout this land I just can’t understand.
No other explanation except pure racism, endless victimhood, and tribalism.
Well all that secondary stuff is a fruit of pride too.
Egotistical pride.
Yes it is possible to have a pride in degradation... hey at least we’ve shucked off that fuddy duddy old heaven! (So goes the thinking.)
Well pride (egotistical) always did go before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall. It will eventually punish itself.
The more important thing is for someone to be ready with the gospel when our dear black pity-party, gutter racists finally get the message that this proud degradation is not the way to go. “God BLESS America” instead of damn America.
I told my wife months ago that this must especially be hard for black people. Having the first black president fail so spectacularly must be hard for them to watch. Oh sure, there are the excuses they make, and they will still back him on account of his race, but that still doesn't hide his failures
Years ago I was naïve enough to think that the first black president WOULD be a conservative.
I didn’t think the left would actually allow a black person in power, as we would, given he had the caliber that Williams referred to.
Of course, I left out the idea of the “cover” that skin color would be for the first Marxist president. He’s able to get most of that agenda through because of this “cover”.
they will not view him as a failure. he will be a success as he was elected twice and pushed through obamacare along with all of the other free goodies.
Buchanan? James Buchanan?
I’ll have to study up on what makes Buchanan the worst. IMO, Lyndon Baines Johnson is the worst president ever. And day by day Obama is closer to overtaking him.
But thanks to LBJ we have the Vietnam War debacle, but much worse we have the after effects of his Great Society which still to this day is tearing apart the country.
Goodness? Rather the 'wishful thinking' and ignorance (low information) of voters who ignored the facts of his political agenda.
A 2008 NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll reported "that 17 percent were enthusiastic about Obama being the first African American President, 70 percent were comfortable or indifferent, and 13 percent had reservations or were uncomfortable."
We know it's how the quesstions are asked, but I considered the percentages skewed. More than 17% seemed enthusiastic, more than 13% had reservations.
Why historians pick Buchanan is because of what he did to usher in the Civil War. He weakened the army by sending them west on idiotic missions to war against Indians and Mormons, creating or ramping up hostilities where they were either non-existent or marginal before (with the exception of the Comanchee). He p*ss*d away opportunities to keep southern states in the union which had little appetite for succession (Virginia, North Carolina, east Tennessee). He generally treated the presidency like a plaything to live high on the perks of the office and treat his Nancy Boy as royal family.
That's not new... minorities in America (especially Blacks) are routinely diddled by politicians of every class and color.
NOW, at last a minority President in the WH and what does he DO????
He pees in their soup!
For a lot of people...it will be a long time before the ‘minority shtick’ will ever mean a damn thing!!
Bullshite.
Alan West would not. Dr. Carson would not. There are a great many other people who would not. They would be excoriated as Conservatives first. If that did not work then, and only then, would race be brought into the picture.
“...on the goodness of the American people”
Perhaps also wishful thinking, ignorance, etc., but goodness belongs in the list.
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