Cornel West Is Upset With President Obama

[BridgeTheGap]

Dr. Cornel West apparently has a bone to pick with President Barack Obama. Over time, the good Dr. West has become increasingly vocal in his critique of Obama, and even went as far as to say that Obama treated him "like a cub scout" when he allegedly refused to address West's concerns about the administration's behavior:

"Well, I'll tell you, I had not talked to my dear brother since the Martin Luther King gathering in South Carolina, and very briefly Super Tuesday. But he did come and make a beeline to me after his speech on I think it was Thursday morning in Washington, D.C. I hadn't seen him for two and a half weeks, and he made a beeline to me, though, brother, and he was deeply upset. He talked to me like I was a cub scout, and he was a pack master. You know what I mean?

I said, well, my mother and father raised me right. I respect my dear brother, but I don't like to be demeaned and humiliated in that way, and I didn't get a chance to respond to him. And I hope maybe at some time we can. But it was very, it was a very ugly kind of moment, it seems to me, and that disturbs me because then it raises the question for me: Does he have a double standard for black critics as opposed to white critics?"

It's no surprise that West would be on the outs with Obama. The president has an intense loyalty to Harvard University and former Harvard University President Lawrence Summers, the man who has proven that he has almost no appreciation for black scholarship.

http://www.bvblackspin.com/2010/08/05/cornel-west-seems-angry-with-president-obama/

[tularetom]

1. I like Dr. West but maybe he should look in a mirror for the problem

I've heard him make some awfully snide remarks about Obama on Bill Maher show.

I'm not sure he should expect to receive a presidential embrace.

[DailyGrind51]

26. The President works for Dr. West and the rest of us, not the other way around!

When did "public servants" become "public masters"?

[tularetom]

28. No question about it but the president is still a human being

Why should he feel warm and fuzzy toward someone who has spoken about him the way Dr West has?

If he seemed a bit standoffish toward the good Dr., tough shit. It probably wasn't a matter of "treating white critics better than black critics", more likely a personal reaction to some ill advised remarks. Although he is indeed a public servant the President is, like the rest of us, entitled to feel resentment.

[Ian David]

2. Ima let you finish, but Obama is the best President of all time. Of all time.

Oh, wait... CORNEL West.

[SoxFan]

5. ...

:spray:

[Lost4words]

3. Wrong spot darn it

[BlueIris]

4. West is a critic worth listening to.

One of the best thinkers (and poets) we've got.

[KeepItReal]

7. Some folks don't wanna hear that. Post is being un-rec'ed.

Truth hurts I guess...

[emilyg]

13. I'll k/r

[KeepItReal]

6. Excellent article.

Are folks unrecommending it just because they think it has something negative to say about Obama?

"All the while, the notion that we must deal with Obama with kid gloves solely because we are happy to have a black man in the White House is absolute nonsense.

Falling in love with a politician is like asking a prostitute to be faithful. We set ourselves up for disappointment when we relate to Obama with extreme emotion, while he deals with us using cold, calculated rationality."

That quote from the article best summarizes the author's take on Black folks (of which I am one) and Obama.

I judge the President by his actions, not by the rhetoric. He's not an unknown, untested guy on the campaign any more, he's supposed to be in charge and capable of making his campaign promises come true. When he falls short, it our job to let him know, regardless of our race or affection for him personally.

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

8. He was never anything but cold, calculated, and rational.

And that's not even close to being a bad thing.

Further, Dr. West seems to think he is owed something more than any of his other critics. He thinks, for some misguided reason, that the President of the United States - arguably the most powerful man in the world - should deal with a man who hasn't done much outside of academia and has no significant power as an equal, which is egotistically insane. Dr. West needs to realize that unless you run another country, everyone is a pack member under Cub Scout Troop Leader Obama.

Finally, by his actions, he is in charge. He is making the vast majority of his campaign promises come true.

[Uzybone]

15. Well said

"Dr. West needs to realize that unless you run another country, everyone is a pack member under Cub Scout Troop Leader Obama."

[LostinVA]

22. Well no, it's actually the OTHER way around

WE are the President's "boss," no matter who the Presidnet, he is not our "troop leader." The President works for us.

[Uzybone]

30. WE are the president's boss.... correct...he works for US

He doesn't work for Cornel West...or for you.

[Tarheel_Dem]

20. Thank you Nicholas. While Dr. West is completely free to speak his mind,

he is certainly not on par with POTUS. Hell, he ain't even the president of Cornell.

[kjackson227]

11. Although West has accomplished a lot in terms of literary writings...

instruction/teachings at Ivy League institutions, and sounding off about civil rights, etc., what has he done for our mainstream society? Nothing. So, just like anyone and everyone else's opinion, West's opinion of the president is no more or less important.

edit to say: I replied to the wrong post.

[Clio the Leo]

9. There's an interesting passage in "The Bridge" that talks about the "deal" West/Obama have...

.... maybe "deal" is the wrong word, "relationship" is perhaps better. But basically, West has to critique the President to maintain his rep as a bad a** and the President has to ignore West to maintain his rep as someone who ignores the chattering class. It's something they worked out (along with .... oh, I'm drawing a blank .... the other guy who's infamous for criticizing the President, the BET guy, anyway....) during the campaign.

But in the end, no real hard feelings...

(from 7/29)

[LostinVA]

23. What is "the chattering class"?

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

10. ...and? (nt)

[Davis_X_Machina]

12. Sun rose in the east. n/t

[Uzybone]

14. 2 and half whole weeks!!!

Is the President supposed to see him every week or something??

Dr West...much love and respect to you and keep on speaking, but don't make it personal. You criticize a guy and he has every right to be "upset" at you. Its just the way it is.

[FrenchieCat]

16. No Cornel, the President doesn't have a double standard.

"I hadn't seen him for two and a half weeks...." :rofl:

But the question might be...do you have a double standard?
Is the President of the United States supposed to see you more often than
every two and a half weeks? And if so, why?
Just asking. :shrug:

[rasputin1952]

17. I think that Dr. West has one of the best minds out there...

but he often says things that smack of racism, like this:"...and that disturbs me because then it raises the question for me: Does he have a double standard for black critics as opposed to white critics?"

We're talking PotUS, with a remarkably difficult schedule, and a cantankerous minority GOP that he needs to deal with. Perhaps I should e-mail Dr. West and tell him that the president has never seen me, and I doubt he ever will. 2.5 weeks, and w/o an appt...Dr. West, methinks thou protest too much. Get a jar of Ego Salve.

[LostinVA]

24. That doesn't smack of racism in the least

Calling CORNEL WEST a racist is mindblowing and the height of irony.

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

29. Why?

Perhaps he can't be a racist due to some people's very strict semantic constructions of the word, but he can most certainly be a bigot.

[donheld]

18. Glad to unrecommend

[Ramulux]

19. What the hell?

Whats with the Cornel bashing?

Let me try to get this straight. So Obama gets all pissy with Cornel, Cornel says WTF? and somehow Cornel is the bad guy? Whats the problem?

[LostinVA]

25. He's apparently now also a racist

:wtf:

[Tarheel_Dem]

21. Unrec'd for more divisive bullshit. Did Cornel expect to become..

part of the president's inner circle? Was he part of the president's inner circle, prior to 2008? Did he expect a standing invite to the WH, whenever? Get in line Cornel, you're not a policymaker, you're a teacher.

[oasis]

27. Dr. West "tellin' it like it is"

Let the chips fall where they may.