President Obama has addressed the Black community, but not a way that other groups of supporters are addressed. At the annual awards dinner of the Congressional Black Caucus, he said that Black Americans should stop complaining and fight along side him for jobs Considering that his poll numbers with Black supporters have slipped from 83 to 58 percent, is this the best way to address a core constituency? Whenever President Obama addresses a Black audience, there always seems to be a lecture dynamic present. Not feeling the need to deal with legitimate concerns of the African American community facing Depression like unemployment, he instead tells us to quit our bellyaching.
Also, let us think critically about how we are being engaged. Could you see any other constituency being told to stop complaining by a sitting president? If The President is going to rally support for 2012, then he has to find a better way to respectfully address the concerns of African Americans. Otherwise, his numbers will continue to plummet, and will have no one to blame but his own insulated and indifferent administration.
Marc W. Polite
The Blacker-Than-Thou Self-Righteous Judge *Smile*