(ThyBlackMan.com) Let me say this up front: Barack Obama has not, like the 43 guys before him, been a perfect president. I certainly find him to be a considerable upgrade from his predecessor, but I wouldn’t go so far as to say he has revolutionized the position of the President. He’s delivered on some promises, but still has work to do and there is much work–like gun control–that could probably stand to get his attention. Sadly but truly, he answers to the influential more than he does to…me. I’m no so much OK with that as I am fairly keyed into how this game is played. Is this because I am a political genius? No; it’s because I am, to date, a genius at not having a lot more money and influence than most people. I voted for a centrist who I thought 
had the best chance of moving this country in the right direction in an office that has been bought by the corporations a long time ago (knowing this and doing little about it probably does nothing for my revolutionary credibility. I have a funny relationship with the US and my place in it).
To be a bit more transparent, I also voted for a smart Black dude with a smart Black wife because… I grew up around and went to school with a lot of smart Black dudes and smart Black women. I think smart Black dudes with smart Black wives are the cat’s pajamas (word to the Huxtables).
There. That’s me. That’s my brief stance on President Obama.
Why the preamble? So people could get a bead on who’s writing the “Dr. Cornel West is super thirsty and it’s kinda sad” blog piece. If you haven’t heard, moral philosopher–and Class of 1943 University Professor of African American Studies and Religion at Princeton University–feels betrayed by the president.
No one grasps this tragic descent better than West, who did 65 campaign events for Obama, believed in the potential for change and was encouraged by the populist rhetoric of the Obama campaign. He now nurses, like many others who placed their faith in Obama, the anguish of the deceived, manipulated and betrayed. He bitterly describes Obama as “a black mascot of Wall Street oligarchs and a black puppet of corporate plutocrats. And now he has become head of the American killing machine and is proud of it.”
“When you look at a society you look at it through the lens of the least of these, the weak and the vulnerable; you are committed to loving them first, not exclusively, but first, and therefore giving them priority,” says West, the Class of 1943 University Professor of African American Studies and Religion at Princeton University. “And even at this moment, when the empire is in deep decline, the culture is in deep decay, the political system is broken, where nearly everyone is up for sale, you say all I have is the subversive memory of those who came before, personal integrity, trying to live a decent life, and a willingness to live and die for the love of folk who are catching hell. This means civil disobedience, going to jail, supporting progressive forums of social unrest if they in fact awaken the conscience, whatever conscience is left, of the nation. And that’s where I find myself now.
“I have to take some responsibility,” he admits of his support for Obama as we sit in his book-lined office. “I could have been reading into it more than was there.”
In the article, he goes onto to essentially call President Obama a Jewish lapdog, saying he finds it “sad” that the president feels “at home” with “upper middle-class Jews.” Hm.
Dr. West, like any other person ever, has a right to criticize President Obama. I’d go so far as to say a person in his position has a responsibility to put forth the objections that keep perspectives in order. I’d also say his protestations, flung forth from the tony confines of Old Nassau, could probably stand a bit more scrutiny.
Given the historical relationship between Black and Jews in America–the coming together, the falling apart, the feelings of desertion on both sides–I think there are plenty of engaging critiques and points of view that can be mined from this presidency. What links can be made between the Pre-Panther civil rights moment and the moment now? Are there parallels to be drawn? Are these potential parallels dangerous? Is this a whole new ball game with a completely new set of rules? There are myriad questions here and there are plenty of talented and intelligent people–Dr. West being one–who could shed some important light on them. This particular tack taken by Dr. West is…weak.
Dr. West’s feeling of betrayal deserve a bit more attention. While presidential critique is, as I said, necessary, could it be that Dr. West’s feelings of betrayal are altogether more personal? Dr. West describes President Obama as a Black puppet of Wall Street oligarchs and the corporate. This could very well be true. These are not sentiments I have not shared myself. If someone asked me do I think the president could be bought/has been bought, I would say yes (though, perhaps I’m not the person to ask because I think anyone can be bought). Still, if this is the case, if President Obama is but a Black puppet, he and Dr. West are sharing the same sad strings as it is not appreciably more righteous to, for the right price, profess to the offspring of those same oligarchs and elite from the tony confines of Old Nassau.
So, let’s look a little deeper. 65 events on the president’s behalf. 65 times, Dr. West stood up and supported “change we can believe in”, putting his name and reputation on the line. Were this 65 acts of selfless support or could there also have been some personal incentive for supporting Barack Obama? Did Dr. West have anything to gain personally from a potential Obama victory? I’d say having the ear of the president has a certain appeal. But now, presidency securely in Barack Obama’s hands, Dr. West is not with the in-crowd. Perhaps President Obama is straying from his message and that pains Dr. West, but he’s also straying from the unwritten–but equally painful–rule: I scratch your back and you let me stunt with you in the White House. Make no mistake: Academe is only smarter than high school; it is no less petty. Dr. West used his considerable clout to support the president and has not gotten his propers. This isn’t just a “poor people got overlooked” problem; this is an “I got overlooked” problem.
If President Obama conducted his presidency no differently, but kept the confidence of Dr. West–or Michael Eric Dyson or Tavis Smiley for that matter–would we be rehashing this “Obama’s a little too down with white folks” meme?
Written By Marcus Toussaint
Via; http://www.jackandjillpolitics.com/
