Does Obama Employ Nation of Islam Personnel In His Campaign?

At least one blog with some knowledge of those inside Obama’s campaign have had this to say:

Barack Hussain Obama represents Farrakhan’s residential neighborhood.  He does it for the votes. He employs some NOI people, and that’s that,or maybe that is not all of it.

By Debbie Schlussel – Copyright 2008

**** EXCLUSIVE: Must Cite Debbie Schlussel and/or DebbieSchlussel.com ****

Responding to criticism by Washington Post columnist Richard Cohen, Barack Obama declared his strong opposition to Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan:

I decry racism and anti-Semitism in every form and strongly condemn the anti-Semitic statements made by Minister Farrakhan.
Obama also went on to condemn his Church’s award to Farrakhan and his minister’s tight relationship with him.

But a former Obama insider says that Obama’s sudden aversion to NOI and Farrakhan is belied by the fact that Obama employed and continues to employ several Farrakhan acolytes in high positions on his Illinois and U.S. Senate campaign and office staffs. I have verified that this person–who agreed to talk on the condition of anonymity–held a key position in the Obama campaign. The insider was so close to Senator Obama that they frequently personally discussed and exchanged direct e-mail messages on campaign and policy matters. This person is not connected with the Clintons and is not a disgruntled employee.

Barack Hussein & Michelle Obama with Palestinian Activist, PLO/Arafat Advisor Edward Said @ Arab Fundraiser
(Photos From Electronic Intifada)
The insider says he frequently objected to Mr. Obama’s placement of Cynthia K. Miller, a member of the Nation of Islam, as the Treasurer of his U.S. Senate campaign. When I contacted Miller, now a Chicago real estate agent, to verify whether she was a member of the Nation of Islam and whether she shared Louis Farrakhan’s bigoted views about Jews, she responded, “None of your business! Where are you going with this?” She said her resignation as Obama’s treasurer had nothing to do with her Nation of Islam ties. Then, she hung up.

The Obama insider says he also objected to Obama’s involvement with Jennifer Mason, whom he says is also a member of the Nation of Islam. Mason is Obama’s Director of Constituent Services in his U.S. Senate office and is also in charge of selecting Obama’s Senate interns. She did not respond to repeated calls for comment.

But it’s not just that he employed these individuals in positions of power in his office, it’s that when the former associate raised objections, he says Mr. Obama’s position was that he saw nothing wrong with the Nation of Islam and didn’t think it was a problem. If true–and the fact that Ms. Mason still holds her prominent Obama Senate staff position bears that out–Obama’s condemnation of Farrakhan, this month, is phony.

But the insider says there is more to it than that. Obama’s Illinois State Senate district consisted of prime Nation of Islam territory, including Hyde Park, home to Farrakhan’s mansion. It is not possible, Illinois politicos say, to win that district without the blessing of the NOI leader. NOI members, including consultant Shakir Muhammad, held important roles in the Obama state senate campaign.

How many Nation of Islam members will work in an Obama White House?

Then, there is the issue of Israel. When Obama first ran for the U.S. Senate, he gave militant responses to the Chicago Jewish News about Israel. Obama denounced Israel’s fence–which he called a “wall” and “barrier to peace”–to keep out terrorists and favored working with Yasser Arafat. When members of the Chicago Jewish community circulated his responses, Obama said that the answers were not his positions, but the work of a low-level intern. He submitted new answers. But that was a lie, the insider says. In fact, they were the work of Obama’s Policy Director, Audra Wilson. Moreover, Obama told the insider that he blamed the Mideast conflict on the Jews:

Barack told me that he felt that Jewish community was too inflexible, and that was why the situation in the Mideast could not be resolved.
This is the man who says in a new campaign ad that Hillary Clinton will say anything but change nothing. Barack Obama will say anything, but change his answers.

Palestinian activist and Islamist Ali Abunimah, who was a close friend of Obama’s, attended an Arab fundraiser at which the late Edward Said–plagiarist, fabricator, and prominent PLO/Arafat advisor–was the keynote speaker, and at which the Obamas were notably in attendance. Pictures on Abunimah’s site, posted above, show Obama and wife, Michelle, sitting next to Said and engaging in conversation. Abunimah, in a must-read article, says the Senator has since “changed” his proclaimed views from those he expressed privately, in order to get Jewish donors and votes.

And he has succeeded in spades. Lee Rosenberg a top Illinois official of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), the pro-Israel lobby is a big Obama donor. Ditto for former national AIPAC official Bob Asher. And Penny Pritzker of the pro-Israel family that owns Hyatt hotels. And there are so many others who have bought in to Obama’s newly pro-Israel views. The insider says Obama pulled the wool over their eyes.

Then, there’s Bettylu Saltzman, also Jewish and one of Obama’s first major supporters and donors. She is a major Peace Now devotee, officer of the far-left, pro-capitulation New Israel Fund, and wrote a letter to a Chicago newspaper praising Jimmy Carter’s book calling Israel an apartheid state. The Obama insider says she has Obama’s ear on the Mideast and “will be a major policy person for Barack. Very dangerous.”

The insider points to Mr. Obama’s changing views in Iraq as another area of uncertainty. He has highlighted his opposition to the War in Iraq. The insider says there is strong speculation that Obama attempted to get his crony, Federal Indictee Tony Rezko, a contract to build a nuclear power plant in the new Iraq. Rezko, a Syrian Arab who helped Obama in a deal to purchase his home, was in a partnership with NOI founder Elijah Muhammad’s son, Jabir.

Barack Obama can denounce Louis Farrakhan ad infinitum. But with supporters like Ms. Saltzman, high-level staffers who are Nation of Islam members, and constantly morphing views on Israel merely for donor appeal, a Barack Obama White House bodes poorly both for Israel and–far more important–for America.

Is Farrakhan Influencing Obama Through Jeremiah Wright?

Political Night Train believes the following articles are very revealing about Barack Obama’s relationship with Louis Farrakhan, a relationship that needs closer scrunity.  Also of question is influence the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, Jr. and other leaders of Trinity United Church will have on Obama’s policies and how he would conduct his administration. Obama Decries Farrakhan StatementsBy Shailagh Murray
Sen. Barack Obama’s campaign moved quickly today to quell another race-related flap, this one involving Nation of Islam leader, Louis Farrakhan. Columnist Richard Cohen stirred the pot this morning in an op-ed column in The Washington Post, writing:Barack Obama is a member of Chicago’s Trinity United Church of Christ. Its minister, and Obama’s spiritual adviser, is the Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr. In 1982, the church launched Trumpet Newsmagazine; Wright’s daughters serve as publisher and executive editor. Every year, the magazine makes awards in various categories. Last year, it gave the Dr. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr. Trumpeter Award to a man it said “truly epitomized greatness.” That man is Louis Farrakhan.Cohen chronicled Farrakhan’s long record of inflammatory statements, from denigrating the Holocaust, to accusing Jewish people of victimizing African Americans. He did stipulate, “It’s important to state right off that nothing in Obama’s record suggests he harbors anti-Semitic views or agrees with Wright when it comes to Farrakhan.” But, he suggested, “Farrakhan, in a strictly political sense, may be a tough issue for him.” The column spread like wildfire around the blogosphere — especially on the right — and, this afternoon, the Obama campaign responded with an unequivocal statement on it from the candidate himself.“I decry racism and anti-Semitism in every form and strongly condemn the anti-Semitic statements made by Minister Farrakhan,” Obama said in the statement. “I assume that Trumpet Magazine made its own decision to honor Farrakhan based on his efforts to rehabilitate ex-offenders, but it is not a decision with which I agree.”

http://blog.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/01/15/obama_decries_farrakhan_statem_1.html?hpid=topnews

 Obama ‘repudiates’ Farrakhan?Ed Lasky
The New York Sun is reporting that Barack Obama repudiated the views of Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan that were discussed in Richard Cohen’s Washington Post column. Cohen’s criticism regarding Obama’s ties to the Church and the Pastor that gave an award to Farrakhan were reaching a large audience that included potential Democrat voters who might be swayed to withdraw support from Obama. This statement by Obama is a political maneuver that should be given little credence. Obama is very actively involved in his church; he knew of this award long before Richard Cohen publicized its grant to Farrakhan. Furthermore, Pastor Wright has had a long relationship and alliance with Louis Farrakhan.  Obama did not object to these ties between Pastor Wright and Farrakhan before; nor has Obama rejected the anti-Israel diatribes of Wright. Regardless, Obama adheres to a church and a minister that have long espoused positions inimical to the American-Israel relationship, let alone the trumpeting of black values and racial exclusiveness.  This follows a pattern for Obama: he shows extreme loyalty to a church and pastor whose controversial views eventually become publicized. Then Obama “disappears” the Minister and Obama’s campaign (not Obama himself) issues a statement that Obama does not agree with everything that Wright espouses.  He solicits and gains support from the controversial George Soros, a man whose anti-Israel passions and allegations regarding America’s Jewish community and Congress are well-known. When these ties become publicized, Obama’s campaign (not Obama himself) issues a statement that Obama does not agree with Soros on this topic.  When Obama articulates anti-Israel positions in off-the cuff remarks, his campaign (not Obama himself-stop me if you have heard this before) issues clarifications that attempt to explain away the plain English import of Obama’s (the supreme orator) expressed views. In other words, Obama only disavows when it is politically opportune to do so. He seems to have never objected to these views before they become publicized and create a political firestorm because they belie his image of peace, compassion, unity.  Obama is not a profile in courage and his disavowals are political pabulum. 

http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2008/01/obama_repudiates_farrakhan.html

 Barack Obama and IsraelBy Ed Lasky Here are some excerpts from this article …… One seemingly consistent theme running throughout Barack Obama’s career is his comfort with aligning himself with people who are anti-Israel advocates. This ease around Israel animus has taken various forms. As Obama has continued his political ascent, he has moved up the prestige scale in terms of his associates. Early on in his career he chose a church headed by a former Black Muslim who is a harsh anti-Israel advocate and who may be seen as tinged with anti-Semitism. This church is a member of a denomination whose governing body has taken a series of anti-Israel actions.   As his political fortunes and ambition climbed, he found support from George Soros, multibillionaire promoter of groups that have been consistently harsh and biased critics of the American-Israel relationship.  There are literally hundreds of churches on the South Side of Chicago that Obama could have chosen from. He selected one that was headed by Reverend Jeremiah Wright, Junior. The anti-Israel rants of this minister have been well chronicled. Among the gems:  The Israelis have illegally occupied Palestinian territories for almost 40 years now. It took a divestment campaign to wake the business community up concerning the South Africa issue. Divestment has now hit the table again as a strategy to wake the business community up and to wake Americans up concerning the injustice and the racism under which the Palestinians have lived because of Zionism 

Pastor Wright is a supporter of Louis Farrakhan (who called Judaism a “gutter religion” and depicted Jews as “bloodsuckers”) and traveled with him to visit Col. Muammar al-Gaddafi, archenemy of Israel’s and a terror supporter.

Read the rest of this article here:  http://www.americanthinker.com/2008/01/barack_obama_and_israel.html

 Political Night Train also thinks it is time for the media to begin looking into Michelle Obama’s work with Trinity Unitied Church, especially some of the anti-white and anti-Jewish views of groups within the church.  

Kennedy’s Turn On The Clintons – HOT!!!

The Kennedy clan has turned on the Clintons and are throwing their support to Obama.  Monday will be the worst day in the campaign for Hillary.  More leading Democrats are to follow . . .

 The reason is two fold, Bill Clinton’s harsh words about Obama, and his overt race baiting, the likes of which have not been seen since Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton campaigned.

 This may be the beginning of the end for Hillary

The Black Bill Clinton, Revealed

 Political Night Train thinks the following is one of the funniest articles to come along during this primary.

Funny thing, it seems to summarize Bill Clinton pretty well as an Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson black wantabe. Sorry Bill,

you ain’t got the right moves, even though you got the right values for ol’ time racists.

Knocked Up

By RHONDA CHRISS LOKEMAN

Creators Syndicate Inc.

(Ex-President Bill Clinton announced he will campaign door to door in South Carolina on behalf of Sen. Hillary Clinton’s candidacy in that state’s presidential primary.)

Knock, knock.

Who’s there?

Yo, it’s Bill.

Bill who?

Bill Clinton, the first black president and soon-to-be first gentleman. Let me in, bro.

Sorry, but I need to see some ID.

You’re kidding, right? OK, OK, I know what you want. I get this all the time. How’s this? (Clinton bites his lower lip.) Look familiar?

Nope, sorry. Can’t be too careful these days. Some angry white guy’s been impersonating Bill Clinton and trying to separate white voters from Barack Obama by marginalizing him as an affirmative action hire for the Oval Office. Bill Clinton would never do that, so I want to make sure you’re for real.

Hmm. I see your point. How’s this for identification?

(A shuffling noise is heard outside the house.)

What are you doing?

I’m starting a “Soul Train” line.

What for?

Andy Young told y’all he knew I was blacker than Barack because I know how to form a “Soul Train” line. If that’s not proof of my negritude, what is?

Please tell me you didn’t just say that.

Just talking black, bro, like Jesse and Al.

You mean like Bob Johnson talked black when he made it seem like Barack was a drug dealer, and Hillary just sat there?

Hey, don’t dis my man B.J. It isn’t every day a black billionaire stumps for a white woman senator against a Harvard-educated black senator with no criminal record but lofty goals. President Lyndon Johnson said we shall overcome, remember? B.J.’s wealth and politics are proof that we did.

(Heavy sigh) Ambassador Andy Young also said you were blacker than Barack because you probably had slept with more black women. He must have forgotten he was an apostle of Dr. King and thought he was Chris Rock instead. Besides, it was Dr. King, not LBJ, with whom civil rights activists sang “We Shall Overcome.”

Whatever. Why do you keep bringing up race? Barack made you do it to make me look bad, admit it.

No, sir. I actually can think on my own. Anyway, you brought up race first, not me.

Did not! Take that back! It’s the news media stirring up trouble. Did you see how I wagged my finger at reporters when I told them, “I did not have racial relations with that man, Mr. Hussein Osama?”

Yeah, I saw it. I had a deja vu, actually. And it’s Obama, not Osama.

You know the media is always biased against us black men, right?

Sir, I think you’re confused. The media has mostly defended you as playing hardball politics, while making Barack look like a whiner just ’cause he’s not afraid to confront your lies and set the record straight. By the way, I think that’s the Truth Squad coming up behind you on the sidewalk.

Truth? Barack can’t handle the truth. What does that kid from Chicago know about truth?

Apparently, more than you, sir. Lying got you impeached, remember? Doesn’t that make you partly responsible for the Bush II reign?

Nope. That was Ronald Reagan. Say, you wouldn’t really vote for a black Muslim who was educated at one of those madrassa terror camps, would you?

Sir, Barack Obama is Christian, not Muslim. And that school in Indonesia was not a madrassa. Yet your pals, most recently former Sen. Bob Kerrey, keep beating that dead horse. Isn’t that using post-9/11 fears the way Bush II has done?

After all I’ve done for you, we feminists have to stick together. Speaking of sticking, I should get some street cred for sticking it to the press, right?

Not exactly. Demagogues are notorious for blaming the press. Bushies do it all the time and have been masters at media manipulation. Sir, I’m afraid you’re wrecking your legacy of elder statesman by coming off as an egomaniac having a meltdown.

Not true! I’m at your front door because I need your vote to help make Hillary the first woman in the Oval Office.

Sir, under your administration, there were many women in the Oval Office, as I understand.

Stop twisting my words! I’m a lover, not a fighter. Besides, this campaign is about Hillary and one giant leap for womankind. It’s not about me. By the way, what do you think about me? Does this orange tie make me look fat?

Sir, if you aren’t careful, you’ll gain a reputation as Machiavellian and the new Karl Rove.

I can’t be Karl Rove. Rove’s not a brother.

Neither are you, sir.

There you go again, bringing up race.

© 2008 CREATORS SYNDICATE INC.

 

Rhonda Chriss Lokeman ( lokeman@kcstar.com) is a columnist for The Kansas City Star. To find out more about Rhonda Chriss Lokeman and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Crea

Bill Clinton Says Obama Is Just Like Jesse Jackson – WRONG!!!

Political Night Train senses a dramatic change in the Clinton’s political future.  It seems black women have finally come to their senses and repudiated Bill Clinton, the supposed first black president.  They’ve finally realized that Obama represents the future, the kind of black man, and kind of candidate, black or white they want in office.  The South Carolina primary exit polls clearly show that Bill has hurt Hillary’s standings with blacks.  For Bill Clinton to then say Obama is just like Jesse Jackson is probably the worst statement Clinton has made thus far, and an indication of just how far they are willing to go.  The Clintons have made race an issue, not Obama and now they see the effect for the first time.  As a race baiter, Bill Clinton has more in common with Jesse Jackson than Obama.  Both Bill and Jesse Jackson use race as an issue to divide the voters; both have had extramarital affairs, considered by many to be a moral value among black men and an indication that neither respects women.  This is the real basis for those who consider Bill Clinton to have been the first black President.  Perhaps we are now seeing the end of racially divisive politics as practiced by the Clintons.  So, ask yourself, do you want four more years of Bill Clinton’s moral values in the White House?  Do you want four more years of Hillary Clinton’s divisive politics, dividing us by race and class?  Or do you want four years of politics where we really begin to transcend the race issue?

Bubba: Obama Is Just Like Jesse Jackson

January 26, 2008 8:18 PMSaid Bill Clinton today in Columbia, SC: “Jesse Jackson won South Carolina in ’84 and ’88. Jackson ran a good campaign.  And Obama ran a good campaign here.”This was in response to a question from ABC News’ David Wright about it taking “two Clintons to beat” Obama. Jackson had not been mentioned.Boy, I can’t understand why anyone would think the Clintons are running a race-baiting campaign to paint Obama as “the black candidate.” 

Black Americans, Keep Dreaming – Hillary Wants To Be Yo’ White Nanny

Hillary’s race card argument is that it was not enough for the civil rights leaders to suffer and endure for their dream, but that they did’t have the wherewithal to act upon those dreams and make change happen.  By extension, Obama too can only dream and hope, he can’t act and effect change.  Hillary repeated this message earlier by saying that Teddy Roosevelt, FDR and LBJ “gave” black Americans the right to vote, the right to equal housing, the right to equal access.  The operative word is “gave”, as if black Americans were told to go to the back door and a white leader would “give” them a meal.  Hillary said they, meaning Presidents, got “big” things done because they knew that it was not just about the dream, it was about the results, and that’s what we have to do again.  What Hillary is saying here is it’s okay for you poor black Americans to dream, but when it comes to getting it done, you need me, your white nanny to do the heavy lifting for you.  That’s my burden and I’m here for you.

Oprah Drops To 2nd Place In Ratings – Because She Backed Obama???

It appears that Oprah’s backing of Obama may have backfired.  Oprah’s largely female, white audience doesn’t seem to appreciate that she back a man over a woman, and a black man at that.  Subtle racism in the Oprah empire???

Yesterday, Harris Interactive released its annual poll rating the most popular television stars. For the first time in five years, Oprah Winfrey was bumped from first place with Ellen DeGeneres beating her out. According to Fox, this is proof that Oprah shouldn’t have endorsed or campaigned for Barack Obama and that she was “hurt by it,” which Fox surmised would happen. Fox’s “business news” guy, Neil Cavuto devoted a segment to pushing this theory today (January 15, 2008) — “Oprah Drops to #2 in Poll; Is Backing Obama the Reason?”

DERRICK Z. JACKSON: Hillary and the race card – Another Must Read!!!

Political Night Train believes this is another in a series of must read articles about why Hillary Clinton is playing the race card and what it really should mean to every voter.

DERRICK Z. JACKSON

Hillary and the race card

By Derrick Z. Jackson, Globe Columnist  |  January 15, 2008

HILLARY CLINTON’S surrogates constantly remind us of Barack Obama’s youthful cocaine use (which Obama himself wrote about to emphasize the power of redemption). Former President Bill Clinton said of Obama’s Iraq war opposition, “Give me a break. This whole thing is the biggest fairy tale I’ve ever seen.”

It is time to take a break to remember the fairy tales spun by the House of Clinton.

It increasingly appears that Hillary is unable or unwilling to break from the racial patronization of Bill. In 1993, in the same Memphis church that Martin Luther King Jr. spoke from 25 years earlier, I noted that Clinton spoke as “if African-Americans had full run of the promised land in the last 25 years.”

Clinton told the church, “We gave people the freedom to succeed.” Clinton said King would have said, “You did a good job . . . letting people . . . live wherever they want to live, go wherever they want to go . . . without regard to race, if you work hard and play by the rules.”

I wrote back then that in the broad context of the nation, no one “let” us do anything or “gave” us anything. Yes, African-Americans made progress and many white Americans aided in that progress, but it still came in the face of continued, documented redlining, workplace discrimination, and the decline of funding of public schools.

Bill Clinton hugely betrayed that progress by doing nothing as Draconian, and ultimately racist federal sentencing laws took full effect, punishing crack possession far more harshly than powdered-cocaine possession. Even though Americans use illegal drugs close to their racial percentage of the population, young black men made up the vast majority of those sentenced under crack laws. According to the Justice Policy Institute, the rate of black male imprisonment under Clinton grew from 2,800 per 100,000 to 3,620 per 100,000. As a result, 14 percent of black men lost the right to vote.

What was it that Bill Clinton said about “we gave people the freedom to succeed?”

Now, it appears that the House of Clinton, seeing that the race for the Democratic nomination is not an adoring coronation, is trickling with tricks that raise questions about how much she will toy with the race card and overplay the gender card. Her aides tried to peddle a kindergarten “essay” by Obama to mock his ambition to be president. She had to fire two volunteers in Iowa for peddling hoax e-mails about Obama being Muslim.

New Hampshire co-chairman Bill Shaheen had to resign for wondering aloud if Obama’s self-revealing cocaine use made him unelectable. Even after Shaheen’s departure, Clinton strategist Mark Penn claimed with crocodile words, “The issue related to cocaine use is not something that the campaign was in any way raising.”

This weekend, a prominent black surrogate did Shaheen’s dirty work. Robert Johnson, the shameless founder of Black Entertainment Network, the man who became a billionaire off grotesque, booty-shaking, thug-glorifying music videos, boasted at a Clinton rally in South Carolina how the House of Clinton is so “deeply and emotionally involved in black issues.” He said they were involved while “Barack Obama was doing something in the neighborhood – and I won’t say what he was doing, but he said it in the book.”

Obama has not been without fault in the patronization game. He made a dumb move in the New Hampshire debates by telling Clinton, “you’re likable enough” when Clinton was answering a question about her likability quotient. But this pales next to the steady drip, drip, drip of stereotyping from the Clinton camp of a lazy, drug-using, Muslim black man who believes in fairy tales. It also pales to the gender-card whining of Bill on Hillary’s behalf, saying in the 11th hour in New Hampshire, “I can’t make her younger, taller, male.” You have not yet heard Obama surrogates moaning they can’t make Obama older or female.

Hillary Clinton herself fanned the fumes of patronization when she reached clumsily for an analogy that appeared to link Obama and King to simplistic hopers and dreamers, while it took a white man, President Johnson, to pass the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Up to now, the Democratic race has been a victorious story of Americans saying they found it hard to choose between Obama, Clinton, and John Edwards, with issues and personality mattering more than gender or race. Let us hope the candidates, particularly Hillary Clinton, remember that, before they divide the Democrats into a bitter, weakened bunch for November.

Derrick Z. Jackson’s e-mail address is jackson@globe.com. 

Alissa Griffith Speaks Out On Hillary’s Comments About Dr. King – MUST READ!

Political Night Train believes the following article is one of the most revealing about Hillary Clinton so far.  This is a must read for anyone who cares about this campaign.

Maybe It’s Just Me: Hillary Clinton doesn’t care about black America

Published Wednesday, January 16, 2008.

Alissa Griffith / Columnist / ag180505@ohiou.edu

Remember “yo mama” jokes? You would say something to rude about someone, and they would reply, “yo mama.” Then of course, a fight would ensue because no one talks about your mother. Now imagine if 12 percent of the country agreed with you and the person saying “yo mama” was actually Hillary Clinton, and “yo mama” was Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Maybe that will explain the major verbal blunder committed by presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton this week.

It is an unspoken but always observed rule among black people in this country: No one should ever say anything that can be interpreted as something negative against Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Ever. And Clinton’s latest blunder has raised more than eyebrows around the country.

Even people my age (who only know MLK through stories, museums, books and the day off from school) know that to say anything diminishing his accomplishments would be the wrong thing to say.

I almost, almost feel bad for Hillary. I mean, it’s politics. Hopefuls say all sorts of things, and it gets no media attention. Why should she be criticized for minimizing Martin Luther King Jr.’s accomplishments as an example while trying to explain why she would be the best choice for the Democratic nomination? Why shouldn’t she be allowed to think that black people owe former President Lyndon Johnson for the freedoms that they enjoy today? Why shouldn’t she think that things like water hoses sprayed on peaceful protestors, dogs biting at children, people walking to work for a year and sit-ins resulting in arrests pale in comparison to politicians in Washington? I mean, Lyndon Johnson could have written a letter from the Birmingham jail. Right? Couldn’t he have endured his house being bombed? He could live with the knowledge every day that his father was no longer around because he was lynched for being a black man in the wrong place at the wrong time. Right? Black people would still be sitting at segregated lunch counters if Lyndon Johnson had not so graciously felt sorry for them and in good conscience decided that they should be allowed to integrate like normal citizens. Right, Hillary? Wrong. Lyndon Johnson may have signed the act into law, but the literal blood, sweat and tears of Martin Luther King Jr., other civil rights workers and countless nameless faceless people are what caused MLK’s dream to be realized.

Moreover, the comment would have been largely ignored by the media if not for the fact that the Clinton clan has always pushed itself off as the hope for Black America, the ultimate advocate in Washington and the first “black” president. Kind of scary to think that the very people who claim to represent black people would call the prospect of America electing a black president a “fairy tale” and commit the cardinal sin of insulting MLK Jr.’s accomplishments. Although Hillary accused her opponent of distorting her quote, “Dr. King’s dream began to be realized when President Lyndon Johnson passed the Civil Rights Act of 1964. It took a president to get it done,” is pretty clear to me. Speaking of famous quotes, ironically, MLK Jr. once said, “Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed.” Too bad the hope for black America doesn’t agree.

Then again, maybe the “we love black people” charade is finally over, and black people in this country can wake up. The Clintons don’t care about black people; they care about poor black people. It’s the soft bigotry of low expectations. They care about those who pose no threat to their dynasty.

Hillary’s careless comment leaves room to wonder what in the world she believes. I say, give her a mic more often and perhaps she will finally shock blinders off of eyes. But maybe it’s just me.

Alissa Griffith is a junior journalism major. Send her an e-mail at ag180505@ohiou.edu.