Cornel West's Legitimate Obama Gripe Comes With An Unfortunate Side Of "Jilted-Lover"

[my2sense]

Sometimes I truly think that if President Obama had just invited Cornel West to the White House and baked him some cookies he'd never have anything to mean to say. In the professor's latest interview, West wraps up legitimate concerns about the poor and Civil Rights with "Where's my extra Inauguration tickets?" and "Why didn't you call me back?"

Falling the logic line of "jilted lover," West goes from a "Neo-Liberal" critique about Jews and finance reform to his version of Prince's "How Come You Don't Call Me Anymore."

First, West was totes calling Obama all the time, praying for him and such, but the presidential hopeful wouldn't return his calls in a timely manner:

I used to call my dear brother every two weeks. I said a prayer on the phone for him, especially before a debate. And I never got a call back. And when I ran into him in the state Capitol in South Carolina when I was down there campaigning for him he was very kind. The first thing he told me was, ‘Brother West, I feel so bad. I haven’t called you back. You been calling me so much. You been giving me so much love, so much support and what have you.’ And I said, ‘I know you’re busy.’

But, oh snap! He had time to call everyone else back!

But then a month and half later I would run into other people on the campaign and he’s calling them all the time. I said, wow, this is kind of strange. He doesn’t have time, even two seconds, to say thank you or I’m glad you’re pulling for me and praying for me, but he’s calling these other people. I said, this is very interesting.

And then the Heartbreak Kid messed up West's Inauguration tickets:

And then as it turns out with the inauguration I couldn’t get a ticket with my mother and my brother. I said this is very strange. We drive into the hotel and the guy who picks up my bags from the hotel has a ticket to the inauguration. My mom says, ‘That’s something that this dear brother can get a ticket and you can’t get one, honey, all the work you did for him from Iowa.’

More: link: http://blacksnob.com/snob_blog/2011/5/17/cornel-wests-legitimate-obama-gripe-comes-with-an-unfortunat.html

[Pisces]

1. West got his feelings hurt, so he is on a rampage?? This is crazy.

[Enrique]

2. no, and he's not on a rampage n/t

[SusanaMontana41]

12. Thank you. Dr. West rocks. n/t

[tularetom]

3. I've watched him on Bill Maher and he often makes a lot of sense

But for whatever reason I find his affected speech patterns somewhat annoying.

And it's plain in these snippets. Dear brother this and dear brother that.

Watching him is like a time warp back to 1968. It was the year that changed everything but really didn't and it's over now.

[Enrique]

4. West is human

I've never thought West was a saint, I just think he's saying things that are very true.

I've heard people say today, if Obama had been nicer to West, then West might not be as critical of Obama. I say, that very well may be. It happens all the time. That's why politicians "take care" of certain influential people. So if that's true, then I'm glad Obama pissed off West, because I'm glad he's out there speaking the truth.

It's like with a lot of whistleblowers, people say they're just disgruntled. I say, so what? I'm glad they got disgruntled enough to blow the whistle.

[texshelters]

5. Why do you interpret it as a jilted lover and not a hurt friend?

That's more about you than West, who says a lot of accurate things here.

Peace,
Tex Shelters

[my2sense]

6. I'm not interpreting it - this is an article I linked

that I found interesting on the entire situation. I do feel that Cornel West is simply acting out of some perceived disrespect from then Senator Obama. This entire issue began with BHO refused to go to Tavis Smiley's "forum" when he was running for POTUS. While West may be accurate in a few of his points, overall he's reaching.

[texshelters]

9. I missed that

I figured the first section was yours and the part in the box was the article.

Thanks.

Still, why "jilted lover"?

Peace,
Tex Shelters

[my2sense]

It comes across as he's

simply angry because other's rec'd more attention from Obama than he did.

[texshelters]

13. However

it's much more than that, he's an angry friend who thought he was equal, but he West was mistaken; Obama didn't see it that.

Peace,
Tex Shelters

[my2sense]

11. Self Deleted Duplicate

[Enthusiast]

7. Yup.............nt

[NorthCarolina]

8. West got played/used. Typical behavior for a DLC New Dem

where everything revolves around vested self interest. He should have expected it.

[Bluenorthwest]

10. Homophobic language.

No surprise. Not a friend betrayed, a jilted lover. God it gets so old and tired.

[Thumper79]

14. You are spot on

Cornel West has a bee in his pants so he makes these racist comments against the president. He needs to grow up and quit trying to say, "I'm a better black than Obama is." Pure, unadulterated "Oh, poor me." He needs to STFU. :tinfoilhat:

[joentokyo]

16. Right. We don't want anyone to express opinions with which we do not agree.

Especially if they criticise our perfect leader.

[classysassy]

15. Defending the president and his policies

are very difficult for me,I support Dr West,he speaks the truth there are too many citizens out there in our divided land taking pot shots at a man who does not mince his words.

[yurbud]

17. this is a pretty childish retaliation against a thoughtful critic. Kind of Karl Rove without the

fangs.

[Vattel]

18. More silliness about a few inconsequential remarks by West.

So West was pissed that Obama dissed him. BFD. His point was to explain how he gradually came to the realization that Obama wasn't really on his side politically. Personally, I'd rather discuss West's substantive criticisms of Obama's policies. Obama has, for example, continued military policies that kill many innocent people. West criticizes him for that, and that criticism merits discussion.

[truth2power]

19. You're correct. And why is attention being diverted to those few inconsequential remarks?..

Who are the people who don't want us to look at the real issues that West raised and discuss those issues on their merits? And why?

West says he feels betrayed, not only on the personal, but on the political and ideological level. To wit:

Pres. Obama appointed a neo-liberal economic team who are not concerned about downsizing banks or accountability for Wall Street. Obama's populist language is just a facade.

Obama seems to have been offended that West considers him "not a progressive" because of his education policy. Yet who on this board would consider what Obama (and Arne) are doing to public education to be progressive in any way?

West discusses the escalation of the class war and his hope that "Barak Obama could have provided some way out. But he lacks backbone." Is West right ot wrong about that?

What about the last 3 paragraphs of Hedges' article, where West suggests a different path that Obama could have taken? Not one person has addressed what's suggested there.

Instead we get lots of drive-by twaddle maligning West's character. Seems some people are concerned that we might look closely at what West is really saying.

[Number23]

20. Thank you for this. My hope is that DUers will read the blogs and comments

from black bloggers, academics and journalists and start to get some understanding (no matter how tenuous or vague) of exactly how revolting and destructive Cornel's comments were.

Call me a foolish optimist. :)

Edit: As usual, The Black Snob delivers. Classic!

"Which is why the President "feels most comfortable with upper middle-class white and Jewish men who consider themselves very smart, very savvy and very effective in getting what they want." (Just like that cheap punk who left you for some "Kim Kardashian" looking chick?) Ugh! Isn't that just like a biracial black man raised by white people who marries a black woman to cheat on you with some old, rich Jewish guys? Why does this keep happening!"

:rofl: