President, Or Dead

A few months back a friend and I nick-named 2007 "the year of the young Black man," we do this, name years, because sometimes themes are apparent. We named 2007 so because of Barack Obama, and the hope I believe he inspired in both of us. Recently I blogged a prediction about Obama's presidential run rumours, and of course I always knew his announce would come with backlash, but I honestly could not have predicted the variety and the sheer nastiness of that variety.

http://mediamatters.org/items/200701180010
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=559kCaH1Shw
http://www.crooksandliars.com/2007/01/02

It is official, watching out for the lies about Obama is a full time job. If I were getting paid to do it, I'd probably make a living. It is ridiculous that these insidious jabs can keep coming with such speed, it would seem Obama has made the wrong enemies in Washington, the special interest kind. The kind that wants to fund your campaign, the kind that gets really mad when you refuse their handouts, the kind that can kill you. Take nothng sinister from that, I'm not suggesting some mass conspiracy (at least I can't without becoming an 'enemy combatant'; as an aside, a friend joked about making an Enemy Combatant T-shirt the other day and I earnestly begged him not to, it's not funny, especially when you're Black and male).

So when I say that in this race which will occur for 2008, Barack Obama finds himself with two choices, President, or Dead, I'm referring to the fight he MUST undertake, because he cannot deny himself that fight, he cannot deny me that fight. Win or loose, in a Barack nomination, the politics of America will lie naked for our inspection, for the first time in a very long time. From that display - the name calling, the cocaine jabs, the inevitable 'scandal' seeking - we shall learn what makes us a democracy, is it the few or the many? Can a man be president because he is the right man for the job? Will the people for once truly elect their leader, special interests be damned?

One of the recent Fox News jabs at Obama, listed in the links above, showed guest John McWhorter spouting trivial phrases like, Obama is "considered such a big deal simply because he's Black." Did I mention McWhorter himself is Black? So this question goes out to Brother McWhorter, why the f*** do you think FOX NEWS, chose YOU to be the mouth piece for that ridiculous statement?