“font-family: Verdana;”>Due to my initial disbelief, I am reevaluating last week’s “font-family: Verdana;”>Meet the Press “font-family: Verdana;”>broadcast. Urban League head Marc Morial rebutted Roundtable guests’ relentless scapegoating of President Obama for the country’s ills. The discussion unveiled the ludicrousness of smug and myopic assertions depicting current consensual reality, the President’s rising poll numbers or any fact sheet on Presidential accomplishments since 2008 notwithstanding. Perhaps the on-air remarks were not intended to be factual.
“font-size: 9pt; font-family: Verdana;”>There’s a lot going on in this episode. Morial is balletic, nimbly dancing in and about the metaspeak, frequently lancing it – Roundtable, indeed! I had not witnessed this degree of pomposity from Brokaw and Friedman, though expect endless self-serving meandering from Gregory. The Washington Post‘s Kathleen Parker, to her credit, seemed humbled by Morial kicking butt.
“font-size: 9pt; font-family: Verdana;”>The American Left has traditionally looked to an African-American vanguard to be the cannon fodder for its forward advance. Obama eludes such projections, never lapsing into what might even faintly be construed as an “angry black man” stance. His taking the high road with the Right, promoting bi-partisanship, rankled, provoking Matt Damon’s (among others) derisive appraisal of the President’s manhood. I got your manhood, Baby Boy.
“font-size: 9pt; font-family: Verdana;”>Native East St. Louis writer Bruce Petty wrote in his brilliant 2007 novel, An All-American Deal (Onegin): “If black people leave America, rich white people and poor white people will kill each other.” A potential rending of the country’s fabric is housed in other scenarios. Certainly, many are experiencing psychic displacement from a black man in the White House.
“font-size: 9pt; font-family: Verdana;”>Our parents used to tell us we “had to be better” to receive the same rewards from society as whites. What they failed to stress was that our “better” was never enough. Recent cracks in the glass ceiling are owing to Obama’s having blown the capability and performance factor out of the water.
“font-size: 9pt; font-family: Verdana;”>Conversely, the collective trip displayed on Meet The Press’ Christmas Day episode demonstrates little daylight between esteemed pundits and right wing elements’ stated desire to “take our country back.” Commentator Melissa Harris Perry recently begged the question: “Back from whom?”
“font-size: 9pt; font-family: Verdana;”>To anyone stating the ubiquitous phrase: “The country is on the wrong track,” I would ask, when did this novel realization seize you? Unemployment between 12 and 30 percent has been a fixture of black life for three decades. Wake up; coffee’s ready.
“font-size: 9pt; font-family: Verdana;”>It seems vastly irritating to pundits that Obama is not a sound-bite President. His communications reflect meticulous research, his consistently strategic initiatives the work of a formidable team, if not a functioning Congress. I said it before; I’ll say it again: “He ain’t your boy.”
“font-size: 9pt; font-family: Verdana;”>My first rant of the year; congratulate me.
“font-size: 9pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: Verdana;”>Ruth-Miriam Garnett is author of Laelia, a novel, and Concerning Violence, New & Selected Poems. A new novel, Chloe’s Grief, will be published in 2012.
