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Jesse Jackson on Obama: Careless Whispers

By Carmen D. on Thursday, July 10th, 2008, 7:00 am Comments

So Reverend Jesse Jackson shoots his mouth off while waiting to be interviewed at Fox news. In a careless whisper, Jackson complains that Obama has been “talking down to black people” during recent church appearances. Okay, that’s Jackson’s opinion. But then the good Reverend lets it rip so to speak.

“I want to cut his nuts off.”

That is some rough talk.

Two questions come to mind. One, how in the world does an experienced television guest like Jackson get so worked up to forget that while he’s sitting in the chair, on set, that the mic on his lapel is always recording sound? Did Jackson learn nothing from the ‘hymietown’ debacle?

The second question is what is it about Obama that’s got Jackson so riled up that he couldn’t contain himself to wait until he was in a private space to go off about Obama’s message?

Jackson gave some clues to his thinking during his “I apologize” press conference. The interesting thing about Jackson’s remarks was that he started them off by spending a fair amount of time recounting the legacy and bloodshed of the Civil Rights Movement pioneers. Jackson kept reminding us of what we owe to that legacy and how we cannot forget who brought us to a present day ripe for Obama’s candidacy.

It is essential to honor history and recognize the sacrifice of those who have come before. However, it is also time for the legends to accept the dignified mantle of senior statesman and not to tear at Obama while trying to grab the spotlight for themselves.

Even Jesse Jackson Jr., who is a National Chair for Barack Obama’s campaign, felt compelled to weigh in:

Rev. Jackson is my dad and I’ll always love him,” Jackson Jr. said in a statement. “He should know how hard that I’ve worked for the last year and a half as a national co-chair of Barack Obama’s presidential campaign. So, I thoroughly reject and repudiate his ugly rhetoric. He should keep hope alive and any personal attacks and insults to himself.

  • Zishsr
    I agree with Jackson Jr.
  • yes,he wants a seat at the table...
  • Hey Celestine, welcome to the conversation. I am glad you're here. As you see, we don't always agree and really dust it up a bit sometimes, but to the best of my knowledge, we are all adults. (It's funny tho', who knows? We could have some precocious 'tweens' contributing, too.)

    It's been a little slow because I just completed a move and started a daily column over at AOL Black Voices/Black Spin blog.

    The pace and intensity of my posting here will accelerate again in early August.
  • Celestine
    "A slip of the foot you may soon recover, but a slip of the tongue you may never get over"

    A friend told me about this site, I will be back. Conversation with thinking adults will be nice.
  • fcg#p
    HAVE YOU ALL GONE NUTS??
    SOMETHING IS WRONG!
    NO ONE EVER AGREES WITH ME ON THIS SITE!
  • Jesse Who?

    I thought Jesse Helms died a few days ago! Is he talking from the grave, because it sure sounds like something he'd like to do - cut Obama's nuts off, that is :o)

    All kidding aside, I think it's much ado about nothing really - whether it was staged or just a careless slip of the tongue on JJ's part. He's Mr Irrelevant and his opinions simply won't matter to many in this election. His own son gave him a very public and embarrassing tongue-lashing, as have several other notable figures like Spike lee. It's as if he's a child being scolded!

    I think Fox News probably thought they had a stink bomb that they could use to foil Obama's campaign somehow, but instead it's having the opposite effect.

    And to address Tyler's question above - Obama is indeed a politician. And just like every other politician, he has to play the game if he wants to win. He (or we) may not like the rules, but he has to use them as a guide as he determines what actions to take or words to speak. Is he "the spook who sat by the door?" Likely not, nor do I expect him to be. Will he just be the Will Smith of government? I certainly hope not and don't think so either.

    If he becomes the next president, time will tell whether he lets the system surrounding him control him, or whether he dictates how the system operates. I think any speculation on how he'll perform as president is just that - speculation. All we can really expect from his presidency (at least all I would expect) is that he'll do what's best for all of America.
  • I absolutely agree that he knew the mic was on, he isn't nearly that inexperienced. I think he's jealous, sad and a hypocrite, nuf said.

    As I stated in a similar post, I am extremely disappointed when people focus more on how the message was delivered and by who, where, etc. The message that Obama delivered was something that needed to be said.
  • Dawncita, the "Reverend" had a child out of wedlock (while married) that he refused to acknowledge for many years. His potty mouth is the least of his hypocrisies.
  • Dawncita
    I agree he knew the mic was hot. And for crying out loud, he was on the set of FOX NEWS!!! I can't believe he would be that stupid. By the way, is anyone offended (like me) that the REVEREND Jesse Jackson is caught speaking like that?
  • Tyler, as I see it, unless and until poor people (of all colors) come out and vote in DROVES, they will never, ever have a true friend in the White House. Never.
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