You Won't Have Obama to Blame for Racial Sins

President Barack Obama

I doubt that anyone, even the most loyal fans of President Obama, will tell you that he has been what you would consider a perfect president. Of course, have we ever had a perfect president in the history of our union? Think about that and let me know, seriously.

I started to think about that as I read a CNN analysis piece that focused on race relations worsening during the Obama presidency. This headline, of course, popped up in my Facebook news feed (along with probably items from the hundreds of pages I have come to "like" during my time with a profile on the social media giant.

I digress.

Have race relations worsened under Barack Obama's presidency? A majority of those surveyed (CNN and Kaiser Family Foundation polling) said, "yes" -- rather emphatically so.

I get why some would feel this way. So, the poll suggested that "racial strife" is getting worse. Poll results further indicated that tensions among Americans of different ethnic/racial groups has increased. About 64 percent of Americans believe this to be true, including 67 percent of whites, 65 percent of blacks and 55 percent of Latinos.

Is it worse? I can appreciate how some people would see it that way. The real question is: Why is it worse (if that is what you believe)?

I do not believe it is worse. I believe that it is simply been brought from the closet to the front porch. Regardless of how you feel, the sentiments of the Tea Party and Black Lives Matter (not necessarily to equate the two, but to make a bigger point) were always there. Certain incidents, however, opened the door for individuals affiliated with these two movements to become more activist and vocal. For the Tea Party, you could argue it was the election of Barack Obama, the first black president. For Black Lives Matter, it appears to be incidents involving black people and the police.

The growing power of social media and video have given certain movements more power than they could have had in even the 1980s.

But, none of this is about Barack Obama. Feel free to try and ultimately fail to link it to the Obama presidency.

The headline of the article I linked, above, asks an important question about who will be blamed for race relations in the post-Obama era. It's a good question, indeed. Because, if you're foolish enough to believe racial issues will vanish once Obama leaves the presidency, then you were probably foolish enough to believe it started the day he became a viable presidential candidate and after he took office.

As Billy Joel once famously sang, "We didn't start the fire. It was always burning since the world's been turning ... No, we didn't light it though we tried to fight it."

Cupp Attacks President Obama For David Letterman’s Joke

S.E. Cupp, who was billed as a columnist during Sean Hannity’s right-wing Fox News television show, used the inappropriate David Letterman joking about the family of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin to attack … President Barack Obama???????????? Huh?

CUPP: This is the enduring legacy of the Obama campaign. I’m not saying this to be inflammatory. I blame Barack Obama because he allowed his surrogates in the media, and Hollywood and everyone else on the left to do this dirty talking for him. He didn’t come out and say enough is enough. I don’t want to win this way. I have two daughters, and I don’t like the way this woman or Cindy McCain is being treated or talked about. It was vile.

Cupp’s logic frankly is too bizarre and too twisted to even follow. I notice Cupp didn’t mention Michelle Obama in there and how she was portrayed as an angry black woman, a radical, a mean person, a hater of America and more during the campaign. When Barack Obamadefended his wife, people made fun of him and one person said that if he wanted someone to protect his wife he should vote for John McCain. The Obamas were told Michelle is fair game. But, how can she, in any way, hold President Obama responsible for something Letterman said? It makes zero sense. So, who is responsible for the attacks on President Obama: not being an American citizen, not showing his birth certificate, being a Muslim, being anti-American, not supporting our troops, not wearing an American flag pin, being unpatriotic, attacking America, palling around with terrorists, being a black nationalist, being angry, being a racist and more.

Hey, big-time politics is a tough business. Barack Obama made history by enduring all of that and coming out successful in the end in his bid for the presidency.

Hillary Clinton was tough enough to handle it and has been tough enough throughout most of her adult life to handle the heat.

Michelle Obama has taken the heat from people … people like Sean Hannity.

Sarah Palin has to be tough enough and smart enough to handle it the right way.

I don’t really recall Sean Hannity coming to Michelle Obama’s rescue when she was being portrayed as an angry black woman, a hater of America, a criticizer of America because … oh, that’s right … he was one of the people making those charges.

Media Matters:
http://mediamatters.org/mmtv/200906110048